No surprise, at least once Mourinho took himself out of the running, that the English FA picked Fabio Capello to take over the reigns of the England National Football team. It was clear this marriage was in the works since the Italian was openly lobbying for the role, while the FA's first choice - The Special One - was playing coy, really using the heat to position himself for a potential big club this summer.
The FA has at least hired a manager with a good track record, albeit one that has limited knowledge of the England game and players. However Capello has managed some of the world's largest clubs - AC Milan, Real Madrid (twice), Roma and Juventus - and has won titles at each of his stops. He has a reputation of imposing his style and will to a team and is not afraid to challenge star players - see his benching of Beckham at Real Madrid...granted Becks found his way back into the side and was integral to their winning the title. I think this is where his character will be tested. I would argue that the England national team has the most egos of any national team, primarily due to their playing in the Premiership and having a sense of entitlement - see players such as Terry, Cashly Cole, Rooney, Lampard, et al. An example of this, and something Manu Petit called out in the English media, Cashley Cole and Terry did not play in the crucial England v Croatia game, a game that was for the survival of England for the Euros...yet three days later they are fit for a Chelsea game....makes you wonder if wearing the three lions means anything to some of these lads....oh and Terry is the England captain, way to lead from the front John. Capello will have to determine how he moves on, who he calls from the youth ranks, who he builds England around, and what system he will employ...as well as how he will communicate all this to his players since his English is not so good.
Here are the main issues I think Capello will have to address to find any modicum of success:
- Who do you build around? It is clear that the experiment of having both Lampard and Gerrard in your midfield does not work. Gerrard being forced to play holding midfield does not make sense, and neither player seems to know what to do next to the other, they are too similar. Does Capello stick with one of these stars or look else where? Maybe a David Bentley who is starting to come into his own this season. Or does Capello look to build up front, but around whom?
Rooney is too often injured and to much of a hot head to build around, I fear that we might have seen the best of Rooney at the 2004 Euros in Portugal. Michael Owen....is he still an active player? I feel like he has become too fragile and also living a bit off his magical 1998 wonder goal against Argentina. So who to build on up front - Crouch...please. Heskey....granted had a few good games in emergency call up for England, but no. Walcott, maybe but I am still not convinced he can bring the goods. Okay what about defensively? This is where Capello may look to put his stamp on the team, he is an Italian master at defensive football. First Capello must determine if and where he can find a reliable defensive midfielder to protect the back four....Hargreaves....well maybe if he were ever healthy. Otherwise he needs to find someone to hold that role. But I think that Capello will find a way to develop Micah Richards, either start slotting him in the middle of the defense...or maybe as that holding/defensive midfielder. And in goal...well that is a mess....not sure what to do there, the fact that David James remains an option is all you need to know. - What about Becks? The former England Manager seemed to have a strange love/hate relationship with the golden boy of England. Even flying half way around the world to
watch Becks play in scrimmages....maybe McLaren was more interested in leveraging the pound and doing some shopping in the US. It will be interested to see if Capello still sees value in Becks. During their time together at Real it was clear the Italian was reluctant to play Becks. Since Beckham's game has become very one dimensional - hit crosses with his right foot...and that is about it - do you need to play him at his right midfield spot? There maybe the outcry to get Becks to his 100th cap, but will Capello want to waste what few friendlies he has to have a "coronation" of Beckham? - The future of English Football - I am not one that thinks the English national team is a victim of their domestic league's success (the Italian league was the first to be overrun by foreigners yet the Azzurri have made and won major tournament finals). However I do think England is behind other nations in youth development from a national level. The fact that resources were diverted from building the national development center at Burton to complete the White Elephant that is Wembley (why do you need such a structure when you already have two world class stadiums in London - Emirates and Stanford Bridge and have other venues through out england??? oh and you are going to be building a huge Olympic stadium as well...smart). Capello and England will need to determine how to get the necessary resources and staff at a youth development center, otherwise England will fall behind other nations such as France who have made Clairefontaine the center of excellence for finding, grooming, developing and creating tomorrow's national footballer.
No comments:
Post a Comment