England’s finals test…
Good morning, everyone. You are now subject to exam conditions. You should make no attempt to communicate with anyone whatsoever. Mobile phones are strictly prohibited, if you do have one with you then you should bring it to the front where you can collect it at the end. Should you require any additional sheets of paper or anything else then raise your hand in the air and wait until someone comes over. This exam is four weeks long. Your time starts now…
Eleven Englishman will take the field on foreign pastures later this week for one of the longest examination of their lives. Everyone will say that they don’t think they can pass their World Cup test but if the affliction of Terry Venables’ crooning is anything to go by – it’s merely an act.
There’s that twitchy sense of hope filling every communication channel.
An indication of the hysteria that sweeps the country when a major event comes round is the effect it has on our news coverage. Rio Ferdinand becomes the first defender that Emile Heskey has actually terrorised in months (some would say years) and it tops the six o’clock news. Gareth Barry takes a break from a season meandering around due to an ankle injury and a dozen theories fill workplaces up and down the country about how to plug the leak in England’s midfield. There’s also the collective intake of breath that fills each and every lung whenever Wayne Rooney lands on THAT ankle.
However, once all this furore dies down and England line-up for the first time one of the most striking features about this England side will be just how old they all are.
This side will have an average age of 28.1, greater than with the favourites Spain, who clock in at 25.9. And outstripping reigning champs the Italians, who traditionally value experience above all else, and their 28.2-year-old side (although the presence of an Italian in the English dugout should not be underestimated). Three separate managers over the course of six years have found themselves reverting to the same old names in their time of need. Repeating the same moves as their predecessors like the kid who used to sit next to you at school and copy your answers.
When an unstoppable force teams up with, well, immovable object
1. You have two similar but incompatible elements called X and Y. What do you do with them?
a) Pick one alongside a more compatible element and keep the other in reserve.
b) Discard both and find two different elements.
c) Gerrard and Lampard – it’s got to click some time surely.
2. You have one item (N) with a higher value than three others put together (R, S and T). How do you extract the highest value by using just two items?
a) Partner N with the best of the three
b) Leave N on its own
c) N and Heskey
The failure of a viable solution to these problems points to an obvious imbalance in the quality of the players that Fabio Capello has at his disposal. It is so uneven; it’s like watching Phil Taylor playing see-saw with Theo Walcott.
The failure of Gerrard and Lampard to fulfil any sort of cohesive partnership is a testament to the managers’ lack of faith in the alternatives. While the inability of any striker except Rooney to do more than one single job of a striker (ie. Link-up play, score goals, form a decent partnership) is a testament to top heavy England’s talent is.
The simple fact is that since the golden generation was born all those years ago the well has dried out. The FA’s youth system is failing. Lost in the bloated riches of the Premiership.
Before he shuffled his way back through the revolving door at FA headquarters, grass roots training and education was an area that former chief executive Ian Watmore was able to effect change. During his tenure, Watmore made Trevor Brooking technical director for youth development and the blueprint for a national centre of excellence was reborn at Burton-on-Trent – all be it on a scaled down version from the original plans laid out in 2001.
Trevor Brooking: The copycat behind the rebirth of St. George's Park
St. George’s Park is the FA’s attempt to re-establish its own France’s Clarefontaine complex, which produced the likes of Nicola Anelka, William Gallas, Thierry Henry and, of course, Abou Diaby.
A place to pool the best talent nationwide and usher them under the guidance of the best coaches the country can offer… or that the cash-strapped FA can afford. Should it break British tradition and open on time the beginning of St. George’s Park will mark 11 years since the original centre of excellence, Lilleshall, shut down.
Howard Wilkinson was the man behind the closure of Lilleshall under the premise that clubs all over the country had begun establishing their own centres of excellence in the FA’s mould. This would create a greater distribution level and actually produce more players with greater technique and ability. The problem is that it has created greater inequality in the quality of coaching across the country and was coupled with a rule that requires young players to live within 90 minutes of the ground. This has seen the most productive youth systems hovering up the best talent from the continent at the expense of our most capable home grown footballers.
Will revisiting the old plans put England on course to that allusive World Cup triumph or just another expensive footnote in the FA’s list of mistakes?
The Sync’s cynical voice is telling us the latter. The biggest problem the FA faces in implementing the plan lies in its one-size-fits-all approach. The French can successfully house a national centre because the country boasts a heightened sense of patriotism with the international stage ruling the club scene.
In England, the line between major clubs and the national side is quite often reversed and it’s difficult to imagine the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United relinquishing control of their talent for a few months never mind a year.
The major French graduates were also plucked from small sides before being picked up by clubs higher up the food chain. It formed a vital part of the development process. In England it will only act as a supplement to the entire system.
It would be remiss to suggest it’s all bad. For youngsters lower down the football ladder it will give them access to the better facilities and better coaching but where are the best coaches likely to reside
However, the chance that this will see England producing players with the touch and poise of those that ply their trade for Brazil, France, Italy, Spain or the Netherlands is unlikely. Watching some of the finest midfielder’s England have produced for a generation surrendering possession so meekly to the likes of Mexico, Japan and even Platinum Stars is likely to be a taste of what’s to come in South Africa. It’s a result of an obsession with work rate and physical prowess that is engraved in our culture from top to bottom.
Of course, there’s a chance England can go all the way but it will rely on a resilience, unity and solidity that has escaped this particular band of players over the last six years or so.
On the 12 June, Fabio Capello and 23 other candidates will sit the longest exams of their lives. The line between success and failure at the highest level is paper-thin.
They undoubtedly have the core skills in most subjects to score well but will probably turn over the paper to find it’s written in a different language… probably in Spanish or Portuguese.