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bradley headstone - drawn to any world cup disgrace

apoplectic texters and NOT the best squad since 66...

Posted: June 10th 2010
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It’s been a while since I put my jaundiced thoughts down in type and the enforced break has allowed me to leave a desperately poor season behind and concentrate on enjoying (and I really am planning to enjoy it) the World Cup. I know regular readers (you have to believe there’s at least one) will be surprised to hear that this particular cup is half full, but if I can’t find a way of enjoying football soon I’ll be blogging about gardening.
I am genuinely looking forward to the World Cup, I really enjoyed Euro 2008...I did, I know it was to a large extent because England were not there and the ridiculous expectation and hype was removed, but it was a great tournament, filled with great games, genuine shocks and the right team won.
I love the build up; I really enjoy the pointless speculation by people who know nothing. In the days before 24 hour rolling sports news I would read every paper available, scouring the columns for news of Tony Adams’ thigh or Bobby Robson’s sanity.

In 1990 I was a student and for the only time in 3 years I would rise in the morning, eschew Keynotes and the bizarre Doug McClure sitcom about a disembodied voice and head off to the local library (which is where you used to get newspapers, newsagents were not invented until 1996.) This intensive preparation period proved to be a not inconsiderable factor in Football turning a corner and becoming the multi-billion pound industry it is now.

Nowadays we can Google to our heart’s content and have every breaking story before the story even happened. Takes the edge oFf a little bit, I’d read that Emile Heskey was uncontrollably careering towards Rio Ferdinand’s Knee as it was actually happening!

Our thirst for knowing everything straightaway isn’t always helpful though. I enjoyed the BBC’s live text coverage of Capello naming his squad recently. For those of you who haven’t used BBC’s live text it’s basically a man (although sometime’s a woman) typing in the news or a sporting event as it happens and strange people, usually office dwellers with little social life and sense of perspective, will text comments in.

The idea was that Capello would ring those players dropped in the morning and name the squad around midday. The typer waited, typing aimless comments to entertain the waiting office dwellers. Midday came and went and no squad. Apparently the issue was that one of the players was refusing to answer his phone, which makes one assume that whoever it was (we’ve narrowed it down to seven) thought that if he avoided taking to Capello for long enough he’d change his mind and drop someone else instead, presumably someone whose  phone was on.

The squad was actually named at 4pm, the texters were apoplectic, disgusted even. Why should they have had to rely on leaks from those players with working phones and football writers desperate to prove how many contacts they have? My favourite was the man who had decided not to watch the whole tournament because of this perceived slight!

With the squad named we can settle down and really enjoy the build up. Missing from this tournament is the phrase ‘golden generation’. Capello is definitely the best manager we’ve had since 1996, but he’s also the first one not to be saddled with the ‘best squad since 1966’. This is not to say that England fans’ expectations are not inflated and wildly optimistic, but with an average age approaching 30 and several established players playing their last World Cups there is a palpable sense that whatever we achieve will have more to do with what the Boss will add to the team rather than what he will bugger up.

In hindsight the golden generation, if that is what they were, suffered from desperate mismanagement. It’s generally assumed that Eriksson had the best years with them. 2002 and 2006 should have been their prime and while he can point to key injuries and individual errors it was ultimately his ineffectual inability to inspire and make the right changes at key moments that would lead to failure.

McLaren was just laughable. Personally I think Hoddle stewarded the best England Squad assembled. A combination of being handed the unit that Venables had crafted with the ‘golden’ boys in support could have taken England to the final stages of France 98. A glimpse at that squad looks pretty good to me, Seaman, unlike this year,  was undisputed as no1, the defence had the experience and vigour of Adams and Campbell, Gary Neville is as good a right back as ever played for England (you don’t agree, explore your motives!). Le Saux wasn’t everyone’s first choice, but with Southgate in reserve the only change you might have made would be to swap the non-playing Neanderthal Keown for the promise of Ferdinand.

Hoddle’s midfield, even discounting the tearful and ham-fisted dropping of Gazza, could boast Ince, Scholes, Beckham, Anderton and Macmanaman, all effective performers for England. Of the backup midfielders, Lee was a makeweight and Batty should’ve been. It’s in the forward line that you felt England had a chance. Shearer and Sheringham who ruled Euro 96, the promise of Owen and what would England give now for a Les Ferdinand to lead the attack. Four genuine options.

Unfortunately England’s decision to cut Venables off and hand his team to Hoddle would condemn the team to ignominy. Hoddle, a player who couldn’t rise to international expectations himself, would take any opportunity to undermine any player who could potentially eclipse his own glory. His handling of Beckham both before and after the sending off was deplorable and his own ignominious demise as England boss made me believe in Kharma too.

Since 1966, England’s chances have usually depended on having their perceived first eleven fit and raring to go. As usual this won’t be the case in South Africa. Ferdinand’s injury is a huge loss; the idea that any of the other Centre backs in the squad are adequate cover is ridiculous. It’s now about whether Capello can steer his team through a tricky if not impossible group and get into the knock out stages where English heart combined with a genuine world class football brain might be enough to keep our interest going.

In Fab we trust!