WHY CAPELLO’S PRAYING
ENGLAND GET THE
GROUP OF DEBT -
NOT THE GROUP OF DEATH!
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WATCHING Fabio Capello’s England huff and puff through their two friendly internationals over the last week left me feeling knackered. It was hard work for the players on the pitch as they battled to succeed via an unholy mix of blood, sweat and toil – and it was just as much a hardship witnessing the ugly game, rather than the beautiful one, being promoted at Wembley.
True, Capello comes from Italy and as an Italian his natural instinct will always be safety first – to get the draw rather than lose with free-flowing, entertaining football. But I was left reeling and drained by the sheer brute ugliness of his team set-up and defence-first tactics. True also, I am a romantic: I believe football is there to entertain us.
Yes, I know I am naïve but I would rather England go out in the group stages in Euro 2012 by having a go than stinking Poland and Ukraine out with a functional style of football that might get them to the last eight, but would certainly win no hearts or plaudits. That would mark Capello and his men down as dysfunctional dinosaurs from a bygone, desperate era, prowling for scraps in an expansively modern footballing world that has been defined by the beauty of Spain at international level and Barcelona at club level.
Worryingly, Capello’s ‘brave’ new England reminded me of Denmark in the Euro championships of 1992 – horrible to watch, a grim band of hustlers and bustlers who battled and defended for their lives. But here’s the rub…that same mean team went on to win the competition and become European champions, getting by in matches by the odd goal scored and none conceded. That fact won’t have escaped Capello, a master of football history…it just scares the hell out of me that he may be planning a Denmark version 2 with England next year!
So what were the high points of the last week for England? Well, the two wins obviously – especially the 1-0 victory over world champions Spain. But nine times out of 10, and in a proper competitive arena, England, even with Capello’s new defensive mantra, would have gone down by at least two goals.
Yet there were some pluses. Phil Jones, as I predicted in this very column a few weeks ago, showed glimpses of how he could thrive in midfield as an anchor man, despite his natural role being in central defence. If Capello decides on safety first, Jones will be needed in that role with Scott Parker alongside him. For me, that is merely accepting that the heart of the defence is not good enough; Jones being merely an extra safety net to compensate for John Terry’s lack of pace. Why not simply put Jones alongside Terry? Then you could open up the midfield a bit more – and add more creativity to the team.
I would put Parker in front of Jones and Terry, with Steven Gerrard and Jack Wilshere in front of Parker. Then you could play Ashley Young and Theo Walcott to the right and left with Danny Welbeck up front until Rooney returns for the knockout stages.
That’s assuming, of course, that England get to the knockout stages. When the pots were drawn on Wednesday, they found themselves in Pot 2. That means they could, at worst, be drawn in a Group of Death with Spain, Portugal and France.
How Capello most be praying that they get a slice of luck and are drawn with Greece and the Republic of Ireland – the Eurozone financial strugglers. Yes, that Group of Debt would be much more preferable to Capello and his bruisers!
MARTIN JOHNSON
HAS PROVED HE IS
A MAN OF REPUTE
BY RESIGNING
THIS column never said that Martin Johnson was a bad man. We merely pointed out that he wasn’t the right man to be manager of the England rugby team after the debacle in New Zealand.
Johnson did his best but he was tactically naïve and never established boundaries between himself and his squad. The greatest England captain ever as a player, he found it difficult to draw a dividing line when plumped in the role as manager.
He loyally stood by men whom he had played alongside – most notably Mike Tindall – but paid a heavy price when they let him down badly. With hindsight, a tougher manager would have sent home some of the players who stepped so badly out of line. But Johnno wasn’t strong enough to do that – and England’s bid to win the World Cup descended into farce and disappointment.
Finally, he has seen the light and recognised the true nature of the situation. He has resigned and gone, rather than hanging on with no respect or being sacked in due course. And by doing so, Martin Johnson has once again earned our respect and admiration.
We all know you did your best and did what you thought was for the best, Martin. It wasn’t good enough – but it didn’t help that you were so badly let down by some of the men you put your trust in.
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