It all started on June 27th when England went crashing out of the World Cup to a well organised, fluid attacking German outfit. Since that day, things have gone from bad to worse for England and Capello. First, Heskey retires, a MASSIVE blow to the future of England followed by, in all seriousness, Paul Robinson and Wes Brown both announcing there retirement from International Football, Michael Carrick playing a part in the Community Shield final despite not being available for England selection due to 'injury' and, finally, Ashley Cole refusing to shake Capello's hand following the 3-1 defeat to Manchester United in the Community Shield final. Let's start from the top and the retirement of Robinson and Brown. The case with Robinson is a rollercoaster journey from Leeds to Tottenham to Blackburn. Since the infamous Neville own goal against Croatia 3 years ago, it appeared Robinson had hit a low that would be impossible to recover from. With his career faltering at Tottenham following 2 great years with the club, a move to Blackburn didn't seem like the best career making move. Yet, under Allardyce, Robinson has again proved why he deserved his place in England fold. Personally, I would've had him on the plane ahead of calamity Green and his 'save' against USA proves this so it was hardly surprising that Capello picked him for the friendly against Hungary. Yet, his decision to retire from the international outfit took me completely off guard as much as O'Neill leaving Villa (but more of that another time). He had a chance to prove himself to Capello yet has chosen, in my opinion, the easy route out and not given himself a chance to launch himself above Green, James and Hart as England's number 1 for the second time.
As for Wes Brown, well I wouldn't say its a massive loss to the England set up. He is a good defender but I would think Jagielka, Lescott, Cahill and Shawcross all deserve a chance ahead of him in defence. The only real aspect he had over these 4 is his versatility yet he is still behind Johnson at right back and Ferdinand, Terry, King, Upson and Dawson at centre back so, like Robinson, I feel Brown has also taken the easy way out and chosen not to challenge the above players for a place in the squad.
As for Carrick and Cole, I feel both have proven to be massive showings of disrespect by both Sir Alex Ferguson and Cole himself. Ferguson told Capello that Carrick was unavailable for selection as he was '2 weeks away from fitness' yet the very next day, up steps Michael Carrick for a substitute appearance in the Community Shield final. Ferguson has since apologised and rightly so although, these actions don't surprise me as Ferguson could pretty much get away with mass genocide if he apologised for his actions later on (as long as the BBC don't do a Panorama report on it).
As for Cole, I could blab on for almost a decade on his lack of respect for Capello and everything else but we all know Cole has no respect for anything but money (see examples with his ex-wife, Cheryl Cole and his treatment of Arsenal) so this doesn't really surprise me.
So, I wouldn't expect Robinson or Brown to 'do a Carragher' anytime soon and, in all honesty, I wouldn't expect Cole or Carrick to be seen in an England shirt in the future.
Just a brief thought on the England squad as a whole, I see Capello is preparing for the future with the selection of Gibbs and Wilshire. Yet, I am massively surprised to not see Rodwell or Huddlestone included. Rodwell deserves his chance more so than Wilshere and Huddlestone was almost on the plane to South Africa. All I can say is that I am glad there is only one Spurs player in Michael Dawson selected for the friendly especially with the massive Premiership opener against Manchester City on Saturday.
My concluding thought is that Capello appears to have lost the respect of the dressing room and must act swiftly if he is to regain it quickly. It will be interesting to see his team and the way the players perform on Wednesday night.
That's all for now, will write again soon.
Laters,
Macca
Hi Macca,
ReplyDeleteI would like to start my comment to your article with, your surprised at Huddlestone not being in there?! Huddlestone should have never been in the last 30 to go to South Africa and he certainly should not be in the squad now. Perhaps Capello took a closer look at him before the World Cup just to make sure that he had got it right first time and concluded that Huddlestone is useless and is not fit to be in an England shirt. What could Huddlestone honestly offer England when he can't even run around the pitch? But you are right, Rodwell deserves a call up. Drop Fat Frank and get in Rodwell.
I would like to also say that Carrick should not be in the England squad. He can't header, tackle or score goals and for a 'play making midfileder' he can't pass to his own team any where near enough.
I think Brown retiring is a good thing for England. Brown is a good player, but he would have only been in the squad as a deputy right back. Brown said the reason for retiring was to give some one younger a chance. In the role of deputy right back i think we should be looking at younger players to be called up for that role. I think this was a good move by Brown as he has effectively done Capello's job for him.
I can also understand Robinson's thinking in retiring, he is not getting any younger and after absolutley derailing his career, he has some how got his carrer back on track and another international howler could be just the thing to destroy his career again. Maybe Robinson has conceeded that hye is not actually good enough for England and he is having to put in all of his concentraion into maintaining a premier league career.
I would love to know your thoughts.
TMD
i feel Huddlestone should be given a proper chance, remember he is only 22 and has come on leaps and bounds the past season under redknapp. maybe not a starter but at least worthy of a look in. considering England need someone to unlock a defence at times, he should be given the chance IMO.
ReplyDeleteAgree on Carrick i dont think he is good enough and hasnt performed as well as perhaps couldve done in the past when he left spurs for United.
I agree to point on Brown, he has the right motives but he had the chance to usurp Johnson who isnt a great right back in the england squad.
As for Robbo, i still feel he is a good enough keeper and is better than rob green in my opinion. But he has his own motives and if he wants to concentrate on his career with blackburn, then you have to respect his opinion.
Sorry its not particularly in depth my good man
Macca
I think it's a disgrace that Robinson didn't go to the world cup. He kept the most clean sheets of all English keepers last season. And since going to Blackburn has really turned his career around. I don't blame him for telling Capello to shove it. As for last nights match. It was essentially a 2nd or 3rd string England side, and I wouldn't expect Capello to take too many of the newbies into the Euro qualifiers. Still, we'll see.
ReplyDelete