Losing for your country should hurt more, shouldn’t it?
September 10, 2008
Kev Fylan blogged about England’s fear factor being the root cause of their continual failures but Jamie Carragher’s autobiography reveals another possible explanation when he admits that he just didn’t care enough about playing for the national team.
The Liverpool defender, who retired from international football principally because he got fed up with playing out of position, said:
“Representing your country is the ultimate honour, especially in the World Cup. Not to me. Whenever I returned home from disappointing England experiences one unshakeable, overriding thought pushed itself to the forefront of my mind, no matter how much the rest of the nation mourned: ‘At least it wasn’t Liverpool.’
“I confess: defeats wearing an England shirt never hurt me in the same way as losing with my club. I wasn’t uncaring or indifferent, I simply didn’t put England’s fortunes at the top of my priority list. Losing felt like a disappointment rather than a calamity.”
For most England fans such an outlook may be hard to understand but for backers of Croatia, who England face on Wednesday, it will be beyond comprehension.
As a young nation, Croatian fans and players are among the loudest and proudest in the game. They don’t need to kiss the badge to show what it means to them.
As with the All Blacks in rugby, merely wearing the shirt says it all.
There are many in the England set-up who hold the opposite view to Carragher — just look at David Beckham’s continued involvement.
But is it possible that there are other players out there among the pampered millionaires for whom representing their country is something of a chore?
Funnily enough, Croatia’s victory at Wembley in the final Euro 2008 qualifier, which ended England’s chances, might well have been avoided if Carragher had decided not to throw his toys out of the pram. With a defensive injury crisis England had to use Sol Campbell and Joleon Lescott at centre back, and were badly exposed.
PHOTO: Portugal’s Ricardo Pereira saves from Jamie Carragher during England’s penalty shootout defeat in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final in Gelsenkirchen July 1, 2006. REUTERS/Jose Manuel Ribeiro
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English football needs a Kevin Pietersen
September 9, 2008
England play Croatia on Wednesday and you know what? It won’t be a surprise, or a disgrace, if they lose.
Why? Because Croatia are a technically gifted, cleverly organised, highly motivated international team, who beat England twice to reach Euro 2008 and outplayed Germany when they got there.
I also half expect it to happen simply because England are so terrified of losing.
This fear of failure pervades the national team. It comes across in the insistence on tactical discipline and conservative team selection even against the weakest of opponents (think Joe Cole against Andorra) and the consistent failure of the team’s senior players to be their confident, inventive selves while on England duty.
For a while it was the same with the England cricket team but recently things have changed. Here’s what Kevin Pietersen said last month after taking over as captain:
“The recipe for success I’ve tried to use is to be confident and play without fear. To express yourself once you go over the white line and trust your instinct and your practice.
“That’s what I want my lads to do, to play without fear. International cricket can roll into a routine of train, play, train, play and I want the guys to get the passion back.
“I think fear has crept in a bit. The more you fear, the more you worry about stuff instead of being a clear-thinking person.”
How English football could do with someone like Pietersen — a player or coach who could inspire the team, help them shrug off their fear and let their talent shine through, accepting the fact that sometimes it’ s not going to come off and that, yes, you can lose to teams like Croatia, with no disgrace at all.
There’s a piece in the Guardian today suggesting that winning ugly might do Fabio Capello’s England a lot of good right now.
I’d suggest that playing well and losing might not be such a problem either.
PHOTO: Joe Cole (L) shoots and scores during England’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra in Barcelona September 6, 2008 REUTERS/ Eddie Keogh
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Capello back in the England spotlight
September 4, 2008
Fabio Capello’s less than spectacular start to life as England coach has been forgotten of late, as the back pages have been dominated by the petrodollars at Manchester City, the mysterious goings on at Newcastle, where Kevin Keegan has not been seen for three days, and Alan Curbishley’s sudden resignation as West Ham manager.
With World Cup qualifiers coming up against Andorra and Croatia Capello will soon have everyone’s attention again … and he is about to discover the size of the task that awaits him.
The Italian was given a tough time by England’s ruthless football writers after an unimpressive 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic last month, when most of the country’s eyes were focused on the battle for gold medals in Beijing.
Only a 10-0 victory against Andorra in Barcelona is likely to gain him plaudits in Sunday’s papers and should England suffer a third consecutive defeat by Croatia, the team that haunted their doomed attempt to qualify for Euro 2008, all hell will break loose.
The Italian has put his head squarely on the chopping block by choosing a squad without the country’s best striker, Michael Owen.
The four strikers he has selected, Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Theo Walcott and Jermain Defoe, have managed just 24 goals between them for England. Owen has 40 on his own.
While Capello could select a bunch of park strikers to beat Andorra, not even considering Owen for the Croatia match, one that could determine the outcome of a tough but not daunting group, could come back to haunt the coach.
Sadly for England, just as the domestic game gets richer and richer, the cupboard looks increasingly bare at international level.
With Steven Gerrard injured there is a real possibility that Fulham’s Jimmy Bullard, an honest player but hardly one to set the pulse racing, could be called in to play a midfield role in Zagreb after his shock call-up.
In some ways that is a refreshing prospect.
With all the money sloshing around the Premier League, the idea that a bloke who learned the game playing non-league football in the Thames estuary can be England’s knight in shining armour restores a little faith in the beautiful game.
PHOTO: Fabio Capello attends an England training session in London Colney, August 18, 2008. REUTERS/ Eddie Keogh
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If you want to match United, try copying Ferguson
September 4, 2008
With the top four never changing, it is almost more entertaining following the Premier League when there are no matches taking place. So it proved this week, from the takeover and mega-spending at Manchester City to the Kevin Keegan saga at Newcastle and Alan Curbishley’s exit from West Ham.
Curbishley claimed that his position had been undermined by the men in suits selling players without his approval and that is the underlying sub-plot that links all three acts in this week’s Premier League soap opera.
Many of the rich men who now own England’s top clubs want a more influential role in their clubs. They want to bring in the players they would like to see wearing their club shirts, perhaps to help their global brands or to boost sales or awareness in their other enterprises.
It’s a policy that can leave a manager with a team he might not feel entirely comfortable with and it is one that is not necessarily going to bring success.
Putting together title-winning teams is a far more complex science than opening
up a cheque book. Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United are testimony to that.
Everyone wants to be as big as United, but they are a big club because, at the heart of everything at Old Trafford, Ferguson, a football man, controls a football team.
That’s not a coincidence.
PHOTO: Alex Ferguson takes his seat before United’s pre-season friendly against Peterborough United, August 4, 2008. REUTERS/Darren Staples
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Another false dawn for City?
September 2, 2008
Manchester City fans aren’t used to breaking the British transfer record, but that was the headline that turned up after pub closing time once the Robinho deal had been completed. Despite what we might have feared, it wasn’t just the effect of the beer either.
The new owners, Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment, immediately impressed supporters by trying to snub United, which showed intent even if the last-minute bid Dimitar Berbatov did not succeed. Beating Roman Abramovich and Chelsea to Robinho, though, really showed financial muscle.
Great news? Well it would be for most clubs. But those who have suffered through City’s if-you-don’t-laugh-you’d-cry history will not be counting chickens yet.
The last few days have typified the often farcical nature of the club — from seemingly flat broke and relying on short-term loans from directors, with an owner accused of human rights abuses in Thailand, to the richest club in England in just a few hours.
This is a club that spent most of last season in the top four, only to lose the last match 8-1 to mediocre Middlesbrough; that spent the last few minutes of the 1995-1996 season wasting time to play out a draw when actually they needed a win to avoid relegation; and that, on its return to European competition in 2003, managed to go out to Groclin Dyskobolia despite playing Nicolas Anelka and Robbie Fowler up front.
Supporters haven’t yet forgotten those, or last year’s Thaksin- and Sven-inspired false dawn. A rosy glow from City’s nouveau riche status, the marquee signings and third place in the nascent Premier League table hangs over Eastlands.
But will this one last?
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