England’s Future
A long forgotten draft, written in the immediate aftermath of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and never published anywhere. I believe there’s merit to some of what I said then that still rings true, but looking back on some of my choices for a bold future squad is amusing today.
I’ve stated on more than one occasion that this most recent World Cup
left an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. While this extends far
beyond England’s dismal showing, it’s the fallout from this element of
the disappointment that I intend to cover here.
The current crop of England players have long been referred to as the
Golden generation — the most promising squad of footballers to wear
the Three Lions for many a year. An above average qualifying campaign
successfully eradicated the doubts that had set in following a failure
to even make it to Euro 2008 and served to elevate the hype as we
entered the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
But when it really mattered, they just didn’t click. The same old
questions arose: How to play Gerrard and Lampard together; Who to
partner Rooney with; the left wing dilemma; which centre back pairing
to pick. And thus, the same complaints from the fans: don’t put
Gerrard out on the left; Don’t pick Heskey; Where’s Joe Cole?; Terry’s
overrated.
The problem, however, is that even the old criticisms that were being
rolled out — “Why can’t they perform for England like they do for
their clubs?” — were wide of the mark. Sure, the issue is exacerbated
on the International stage and it’s plain to see how off the pace we
are as a national side, but the teams our supposed “stars” are playing
in at club level allow these players to flatter to deceive. Lampard’s
great at Chelsea is he? Terry, too? How about that Michael Carrick,
superb at Manchester United, right?
No. While I’m not suggesting they’re bad — far from it — they’re just
not world class. They’ve all taken their foot off the gas, smug and
self-assured in their status, until you strip away the Carvalhos, the
Essiens, the Vidics. Those players that enable ours to flourish in the league, covering the gaps and playing the passes that their national team equivalents don’t. That’s when our top players are exposed for
lacking the technique and skills that other nations are investing in,
other players are honing and other fans are relishing.
This is no knee jerk reaction. Germany did not beat England because
England are terrible. Germany beat England because Germany were very,
very good. Clinical, ruthless and most importantly, a solid team built
on effective communication and working with and for each other.
Losing to a team like that is not in itself a cause for panic, but taking a step back and looking at the performance at all levels of this current squad leaves
a lot to be desired. In Capello, I feel we have the right sort of
manager. He’s not perfect, and I was questioning some of his
selections in each game like many, but he has the tactical nous and
experience to take the right group of players — note the keyword
there, “right” — and turn them in to a world class team.
So, where do we go from here? Before I can answer that, let me first explain who “we” are. We are England. That’s theEngland team, the Football Association, every Football team from the top of the pyramid to the bottom, the fans, the media and the general public. Wide ranging group, eh? But here’s why (bold statement coming up):
England will not win a major tournament while the attitude of all of
the above stakeholders remains as it is.
Like that? Here’s another one:
England will not win a major tournament while the approach of all of
the above stakeholders remains as it is.
Take a look first at the term Stakeholders. We are all stakeholders.
The success or failure of England in International Football affects
us. We’re invested in this; Emotionally, intellectually and
financially.
So what’s wrong with our attitude?
We’re results oriented. For far too long, we look only at the last
result. Did we win? Great! Medals all round, pats on the back and
let’s come up with a chant to sing at the next game to sing our
praises.
We’re resistant to — often fearful of — change. If something isn’t
working, try something else. Sticking with what you’ve got and hoping
it fixes itself never works. We have a formation we like, so we play
that formation. If our opponent renders the formation ineffective, we
don’t change things up — we just get frustrated trying over and over
to play our same game.
The same problem explains why players who have
not performed in the famous shirt continue to get picked to wear the
shirt. The passion is gone, the determination lacking, yet time and
again we see them trot out like the kids who could do no wrong.
We’re negative. We’re playing Germany? Oh great, that’ll go to
penalties. And we always lose penalties. Sod it. This is where the
general public come in. This goes far beyond the realms of Football or
sport in general. We, the English, need to snap out of the negative
funk we’ve been in since the dawn of time. Confidence is the key to
success and going in to things with a glass-half-empty view dooms us
before we even begin. Let’s raise our young with a positive, happy
outlook. Let’s realise that we do have the potential to do something
great and then let’s get out there and put everything we have in to
doing it. It’s a cultural change but it’s necessary.
We look to the short term. What can we do to squeeze out of the group?
What tricks can we rely on to overcome today’s opponent? We’re always
looking at the next game, a way to jump the hurdle that is directly in
front of us with no thought of what we’ll face next. “One game at a
time” is a great way to stop people getting carried away with a run of
good results, but it’s a terrible strategy for building a dominant,
world class side.
Rather than looking a month ahead, let’s look 5, 10, 15 years ahead and build a dynasty. Do we want to be Greece, who somehow won Euro 2004 without doing anything particularly special, before reverting to the also-rans they had always been — or do we want to emulate the current German and Spanish squads, teams who will play together for years to come with minimal changes, creating a dominance in the football world?
And what about our approach?
We’re cash obsessed. There’s too much at stake financially in the top
levels of the English game. We have academies bristling with talent
screaming out for the match experience they need to propel their
careers forward, but rather than nurturing that talent our top clubs
instead pour millions and millions in to bringing Portuguese, Spanish,
Dutch and Italian talent in to their squads. There is no racist nor xenophobic tone to this post — of course, there is irrefutable talent on display from these players. But we’re doing ourselves a disservice in blossoming the foreign talent when homegrown players are missing out the chance to make it big.
The players are cash and fame obsessed. I’m sick of hearing the term
“big club”. Whenever we do finally see a player progress through one
of the clubs’ academies and see regular first team action (usually at
a lower league club where there is less money to splash around on
foreign talent), it’s only a matter of time before one of the
powerhouses of the Premier League snaps them up with talk of
propelling them in to superstardom and the young naive player gushing
over the dream of playing for a “big club”.
6 months to a year later, you’ve practically forgotten their name as they sit warming the bench (if they’re lucky) or limited to forgettable encounters against lower league opposition in the increasingly apathy-withered cup
competitions. The so called “big clubs” are stifling progression by
buying up the talent on show simply to stop their rivals having them.
We need to instill a sense of loyalty and perspective in our young
footballers so they can see that playing every week as an integral
part of a team is far better than sitting on the sidelines at a club
that you can brag about being a part of.
We’re negative. We tell our children to concentrate on other things as
well as their passion, because they probably won’t make it. We prepare
them for failure long before we instill the tools for success. We send
out a weakened side when we don’t think we’ll win, to rest our best
players for the matches we think we have a chance of winning. It’s
negative, it breeds the wrong mindset and it’ll be our ongoing
downfall until we correct it.
We make quick win choices. We’re lazy. Rather than develop a long term
strategy that is sustainable, create a culture of success and promote
homegrown talent, we do whatever brings results quickest. Whether that
may be importing talent, plunging our clubs in to near financial ruin,
or resorting to conning our way to advantages, it’s only hurting us in
the long run.
We need to make changes at the lowest level. Grassroots,
basics. The passion is there, we’re just stifling it until it’s lost
or at the very least watered down.
It’s a substantial list of changes, sure. But year after year of
disappointment and missed opportunity can only be rectified by change
on a grand scale.
We’re not going to win Euro 2012. With it being less than 2 years away
now and qualifying commencing shortly, there is little time for real
change. But let’s signal our intent and take the plunge. Here’s the
sort of squad I’d like to see named for our first match in qualifying
which, as an aside, is on Friday September 3rd at home to Bulgaria:
GK: Hart (Manchester City), Forster (Newcastle United), Smithies
(Huddersfield Town)
Joe Hart is the future of English goalkeeping, as long as the pitfalls
of the Premier League do not destroy his promise. A great season for
Manchester City, then displaced by their signing of Shay Given, but he
then bounced back with an astounding season for Birmingham. He should
and will be our No. 1.
Fraser Forster, seeing limited first team opportunities at Newcastle,
spent the season on loan at Norwich, keeping 22 clean sheets in a
season of 39 games which saw Norwich promoted back to the
Championship. Tipped for great things, I implore Newcastle to make use
of him this season now they’re back in the top flight. At 22 years of
age, it’s crucial his career takes the right path without delay. With
Hart as 1st choice, he won’t play but being involved in the squad will
bring along his game.
Alex Smithies has made a name for himself with Huddersfield Town and
with the right nurturing has a bright future. Much like Forster, his
inclusion in the squad would be for the experience more than anything
else, but an experience that would do more for English football than
another bench warming experience for Carson, Green or Kirkland.
A youthful start to the squad, especially in an area where experience
is often rated higher than other positions. How do we combat that,
though? David James, goalkeeping coach. He’s qualified, to the best of
my knowledge, and has the experience and skill that would be an asset
in the camp. Let’s just not give up a space in the squad for the
benefit. No disrespect to David James, but he knows as well as the
rest of us that you don’t build a dynasty with a 40 year old player in
a key position. Sustainability, remember!
D: Beevers (Sheffield Wednesday), Jagielka (Everton), G.Hoyte
(Arsenal), White (Leeds), Mancienne (Chelsea), Bertrand (Chelsea),
Naughton (Tottenham Hotspur), Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur)
A mix of youth and experienced youth here. Beevers, White, Bertrand
and Mancienne all made good names for themselves last season, as did
Gavin Hoyte and Naughton. The inclusion of Jagielka and Dawson offer a
level of experience at Premier League level, without the infectious
addition of the same ol’ characters that have looked off the pace for
England.
On the coaching side, keep Stuart Pearce involved. Psycho has the passion.
M: Rodwell (Everton), Gerrard (Capt. — Liverpool), Milner (Aston
Villa), Moses (Wigan), Wilshere (Arsenal), Bostock (Tottenham Hotspur),
Shelvey (Charlton), James (Manchester United)
I know, I know. Gerrard keeps his place for the simple fact that in my
opinion, he actually looked like he wanted to be in South Africa. He
also worked his way up at Liverpool, cleaning the senior players boots
as an apprentice and so has the right angle to bring on the younger
players around him. We’ll need some experience and without the weight
of the majority of the rest of the current squad, I think we’ll get
the right response from Steven. Jack Rodwell is a promising talent and
likely to see a lot of first team opportunities at Everton, while
Milner was another of the few who emerged from this World Cup with
some dignity. Victor Moses has that special spark that we’ll need to
put us on the next level and the only thing that should stop his
inclusion is if he personally decides he would rather play for
Nigeria. Jack Wilshere looks to be a good talent in the middle and
dependent on playing time at Arsenal, should be in a position to help
shape the future of this England side. Bostock, Shelvey and James have
all shown promise in the U-17 through U-21 England sides and with the
right opportunities at club level, should make the progression needed.
Another addition to the coaching staff here, formally appoint David
Beckham. Say what you like about the former Captain, he’s a good
influence to have around.
F: Beckford (Everton), Rooney (Manchester United), Carroll
(Newcastle), Sears (West Ham)
Jermaine Beckford has seen his stock rise exponentially after
impressing first in non-league, then for Leeds as they returned to the
Championship after a longer absence than they would have hoped. Now
bought by Everton, getting time on the pitch will be the key, but if
he retains the form he ended last season in, he’ll be a force to be
reckoned with.
Rooney was one of the bigger disappointments in South
Africa, but is another of those special players. He has that slight
spark that’ll mean the difference between glory and despair, so I’ve
included him with hopes that the World Cup was just a blip. A poor
performance come September though, and he can join the others on the
scrapheap.
Andy Carroll, meanwhile, had a sublime season as Newcastle
dominated the championship. The hope here is that the Magpies keep
their faith in him as they look to re-establish themselves in the
Premier League and should that be the case, then he should be
recognised with a call up to the senior squad.
Freddie Sears camethrough the academy at West Ham and repaid their investment on his debut, scoring a priceless equaliser against Blackburn. The Hammers managed to stay up, so I’ll be praying they give Sears the chance to progress further.
Would we qualify for the finals with this squad? Would the experience
be a positive one, leading to qualification for Brazil 2014? Only time
will tell but I truly, honestly believe the only hope for England is
to start work now on a world beating squad for the 2018 World Cup,
regardless of where that’s held. Remember to do your part.
