Misplaced loyalty costs Fabio dear

So Fabio has gone!

The mistake the FA made when they appointed Fabio was thinking that putting a good manager in charge of the players would help create a great team.

But you can’t expect a chef to create a great meal with rotten ingredients.

And Fabio Capello couldn’t create a great team with overrated, overpaid and in the end, rotten players.

It is not surprising that the root cause of his downfall was a player who has caused and continues to cause ruffles and ructions wherever he goes. In his annoyance against the FA stripping John Terry of the England captaincy, Fabio Capello showed misplaced loyalty to a player whose very actions show little respect for the thoughts or feelings of anyone else. Capello would have been better off without him.

Whether England will be better off without Capello is open to question – and millions of words will be written in trying to answer it.

For now, it’s farewell to Fabio, but we’re still stuck with Terry.

Tough World Cup draws for home nations

The World Cup in 2014 in Brazil seems an awfully long time away. In Europe qualification for next year’s European Championship hasn’t even reached the business end of operations. Yet the draw for the qualifying groups for the 2014 World Cup took place on Saturday.

England found themselves in a pretty tough group, with tricky trips to Eastern Europe in Ukraine and Poland, as well as Moldova, together with Montenegro, who are proving tougher than expected in the Euro qualifiers, and minnows San Marino. If Fabio Capello though his stint as England manager was awkward, then he’ll be delighted that he’s leaving the hot seat before those trips come up!

As well as facing each other, Scotland and Wales have another pair who’ll have their own neighbourhood squabble – Croatia and Serbia – as well as Belgium and Macedonia. Qualification looks unlikely.

Northern Ireland have a couple of teams that they should beat – Azerbaijan and Luxembourg – but with Russia and Portugal heading the seedings, they’ll need something like a miracle to qualify. Israel make up the six.

Spain got the toughest non-top seeds in France, but there’s nothing at the moment that will worry the Spaniards.

Qualification goes directly to the eight group winners, and the eight runners-up are paired (no doubt on a whim by FIFA) in four play-off matches.

Give the captaincy back to John Terry

The discussion about John Terry's captaincy of England has reared its head again recently.

When it first came up for discussion in February 2010, I commented on it. Here are some snippets:

"So should John Terry carry on as England captain?

Chelsea obviously see no problem with the situation as he has carried on as captain of the Blues.

Why should it be any different for England?

Some may say the job's so important and it's representing the nation and all that. Is it? Is that the real reason for all this debate? Or is this just a typical media storm in a tea cup, brought about because of the lifting of restrictions on reporting this story, and the "haven't-we-done-well-to-expose-him?" media frenzy that has followed?

Let's face it. The media (newspapers in particular) love to "get" someone, don't they? And the bigger they are, the better. Captain of England? Top score!

If Fabio Capello sacked Terry as captain (and he won't), who would he put in his place?

Who are the candidates?

Steven Gerrard (he of the nightclub fight accusations)

Wayne Rooney (he of the dubious onfield discipline)

Rio Ferdinand (will he be fit?)

etc.

The fact is that Capello chose John Terry as England captain because he is the best man for the job - football-wise. Does there need to be another reason"

The only thing I was wrong about was that Capello DID sack Terry as captain. He chose Rio Ferdinand as his replacement, but Ferdinand has figured very infrequently due to injury (as I expected).

Give the captaincy back to John Terry - it's the right thing to do, Fabio. 

Dismal England's problems are deep-rooted

England's showing in the 2-1 defeat against France last night was truly poor.

Comparisons were made beforehand about both countries' dismal efforts in the World Cup in the summer, but whereas England have maintained a position of sixth in the world, France fell to 21st. On last night's evidence, these positions will soon be reversed.

France showed good control, passing and movement and kept the ball for long periods. England's control was sloppy, the passing wayward, there was little movement, and possession amounted to two or three passes at most.

France have bounced back since the World Cup; England patently have not. The reason is that France had good players before, during and after the World Cup - but were poorly managed and rebellious. England did not and do not have very good players (despite a good showing in World Cup qualification), and it doesn't really matter how England are managed, nothing changes.

Fabio Capello may make mistakes, but the underlying problem is not really his fault. When the FA appointed him they thought that a 'big name' with a 'track record' was what was needed. It was deluded thinking. At this level, a good manager can turn a good team into a great team, but a good manager cannot turn average players into good players, or even into a good team.

As I have said many times before, the problems are much more deep-rooted than this. With so few English players playing at the top level (e.g. the English Premier League) it is little wonder that we cannot produce a top-class eleven to compete with the best in the world.

We were told and we hoped that after the 4-1 thrashing by Germany in the World Cup that 'something would have to change now'. It didn't.

The misery is with us for many years to come.

Clueless England remain in the World Cup doldrums

The England football team cannot escape the doldrums of the summer's World Cup. Last night's showing against 40th-ranked nation Montenegro was another sorry display.

The 0-0 draw leaves England with seven points from two games; Montenegro have ten from three. England face trips to Bulgaria as well as Montenegro and the tricky double-header against Wales, who are bound to raise their game against their local rivals, in addition, of course, to having a new manager and a potentially revitalised squad come March (Wales v England in Cardiff).

Scoring the England team out of ten:
Hart (9); G.Johnson (6), R.Ferdinand (7), J.Lescott (6), A.Cole (7); A.Johnson (6), S.Gerrard (6), G.Barry (4), A.Young (6); W.Rooney (5), P.Crouch (5). Subs: K.Davies (3), S.Wright-Phillips (4)

The trouble is we have no one creative, no one with imagination. We have no one who can carry the ball forward through the middle with menace, to turn the opposition defence and give them problems. Adam Johnson did so on the right flank, and Cole and Young tried to do so on the left, but there is no threat down the middle. Gerrard was too deep, Barry was very poor and Rooney (still way below his best) came so deep as to present no problem for the Montenegran back line.

It was dismal.

And then for Capello to bring on Kevin Davies and Shaun Wright-Phillips gives real concern for his football judgement. Wright-Phillips has continually shown that he is not up to it at this level; control all over the place, passing never the right weight, woeful shooting. Every time the ball goes near Davies the result is a free kick (usually against him); he can't score; and he's 33.

What is going on?

Ferdinand back as England need a win

England face the surprise package of Group G in this evening's Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley.

Rio Ferdinand is back as England skipper, despite managing to play in only two games since boss Fabio Capello named him as his captain. This will be Ferdinand's first competitive England game for a year.

Meanwhile, injuries continue to dog the England team, with Darren Bent joining John Terry on the unavailable list. Phil Jagielka and Aaron Lennon also dropped out of the squad a few days earlier. Stewart Dowing of Aston Villa and Gary cahill of Bolton Wanderers have been called in as replacements.

Wayne Rooney has been pronounced fit, and Capello will be hoping for a return to top form for the out-of-sorts striker, although Rooney did get one of his two goals this season in England' last game in Switzerland.

Meanwhile, Montenegro have beaten Bulgaria, Wales and Switzerland, all by one goal to nil, to take nine points from their first three games and head the group. England are second with maximum points from only two games.

Anything other than an England win will suddenly make qualification look extremely tricky.

Lack of strikers exposed for Capello

The dearth of fit England strikers has been exposed by Fabio Capello's latest England squad for the game against Montenegro next Tuesday.

The four forwards selected are: Darren Bent (Sunderland), Peter Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur), Kevin Davies (Bolton Wanderers), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).

The inclusion of Bolton's Kevin Davies has raised a few eyebrows. Davies, now 33, whose career has spanned Chesterfield, Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Millwall (on loan) and Bolton Wanderers, had scored 98 goals in 515 appearances before this season.

Injuries to Jermain Defoe, Bobby Zamora and Gabriel Agbonlahor have helped Davies, but Capello has overlooked Andy Carroll of Newcastle, and the door seems firmly closed to Michael Owen (160 goals in 342 English league appearances).

As for Capello's attempt to coax Emile Heskey out of international reitrement - I am lost for words.

Heskey goes but nothing will change

Emile Heskey announced his retirement from international football yesterday. That's a bit of a shame for him as it was the only place he got a game - Aston Villa don't pick him! On the same day Thierry Henri announced his retirement from French international football. I wondered who will be more fondly remembered by their compatriots.

The sad thing for poor Emile is that over the last few years England have not been able to find anyone else who is definitely and comprehensively superior. Fabio Capello obviously thought a big target man would bring out the best in Wayne Rooney (it didn't), and equally obviously felt that Peter Crouch was not that man. It's a shame Crouch got so little playing time at the Wolrd Cup as his scoring record does stack up, and a goal against either United States or Algeria might have brought a very different outcome to England's campaign.

However, it would have only disguised the harsh truth - that England are not good enough, the system and structure of the game in England is not suited to producing a competitive international team at the top level, and that something needs to be done urgently. Nevertheless, nothing will be done because the FA have confirmed Capello will carry on and they (wrongly) think that having a big name manager is the cure for all the rotten ills of the English game.

None of this is Emile Heskey's fault.

The Premier League stands in the way of a good England side

I've been listening to a radio phone-in on BBC FiveLive this morning. From 9am the only topic has been "What's wrong with England?" This after the dismal failure of the England team who lost 4-1 to Germany in the World Cup second round yesterday.

The mood of people phoning was bleak and angry, with solutions ranging from changing the game at grass roots level to sacking the manager.

Personally, although manager Fabio Capello make some mistakes (see below), I think the problme is more deep-rooted than at managerial level. The FA thought the solution upon sacking Englishman Steve McClaren was to bring in a 'show us your medals' soaraway successful foreign manager in the form of Capello. It was patently not the right answer, and papered over the cracks of a failed system.

Capello's main errors were these:

• Took injured players to the tournament.
• Took out-of-form players not even in their club team.
• Failed to change the system when it was evident that playing Gerrard on the left and Rooney with a strike partner was failing.
• Repeatedly played or brought on the worst two players in the squad: Emile Heskey and Shaun Wright-Phillips. Neither should even have been in the squad.

However, the main problem is that the players are not good enough. There is not a large enough pool of good players for Capello to pick from. Let us banish, once and for all, this myth that any of the English players are World Class. None would make it into a Best of the World squad of 23 players.

The reason that there are not enough good English players is that there are not enough English players playing in the Premier league.

Dave Whelan, chairman of Wigan Athletic, was on the programme and said that the Premier League should run the England team. Oh My God! He then went on to say that the England team should have an England manager, and England coach. "England, England, England," he said.

The Premier League is not run by English people. In the main the clubs are OWNED by non-English, the teams are MANAGED by non-English, and the teams have mostly non-English PLAYERS. Indeed, there has even been moves to PLAY THE GAMES on foreign soil! Yet Dave Whelan says the Premier League should run the England team!

The result would be no friendlies, no gatherings, top players not released for some England games. In other words a step so far backwards it would be out of sight.

The real answer is move the other way and insist on English ownership, English managers and Englsih players.

But it won't happen. Because the Premier League (which does already hold most of the power) won't let it. Already it's too late because the owners have no interest in the England team.

Get used it to it - the England national team will be a third-rate team for decades to come.

4-5-1 is the route to success for England

And so we come to England's final group game in the South Africa World Cup 2010. Will it be their final game of the tournament? They really need to win; a draw probably won't be good enough.

The two performances so far have been poor, then dreadful. A vast improvement is needed against a Slovenian team who top the group, only need a draw, and are bound to play defensively. This is bad news for England who are very poor at breaking down packed defences. Good performances always come against sides who come out to play - even if the results still don't always match!

What is the reason for the terrible form so far in the competition? Against Algeria no player could really hold his head up high and say he had played well. Is there unrest in the camp? Are player egos getting in the way of team harmony? Has Capello 'lost the dressing room'? Is the formation wrong?

I think the formation is wrong, and so is the continued use of two of the poorest players in the squad - Heskey and Wright-Phillips - together with the lack of use of Joe Cole. I believe a 4-5-1 formation would bring the best out of Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard (the latter of whom has performed abysmally so far).

A team of James; Johnson, Terry, Upson, A.Cole; Lennon, Lampard, Barry, Gerrard, J.Cole; Rooney might have a chance of prising open Slovenia's defence. If Capello is stubborn and persists with 4-4-2 then I think we can wave South Africa goodbye.

A 4-5-1 might just give us a win, and, incredibly, might just open the door to a semi-final - so long as we avoid Germany en route.

So what, really, of England's chances?

There's always huge optimism before a World Cup. Since 1996 the St George's flags come out, the paparazzi chase players, staff and WAGs around the world, the newspapers blow hot, and the pundits all say, "semi-finals, at least."

What the pundits base their predictions on I have no idea. England have a pretty poor record in World Cups: one win on home soil in 1966 and one semi-final in Italy in 1990. I think the pundits (mainly ex-players) think they owe some sort of loyalty to the current players, but it's usually misplaced.

Basically England are a quarter final country; eighth in the FIFA rankings now backs that up solidly. Sadly, England - unlike other countries, such as, Sweden (3rd 1994), Bulgaria (4th 1994), Croatia (3rd 1998), Turkey (3rd 2002), South Korea (4th 2002) - never perform above their station. In fact, disappointingly, the sum of England's parts is always less than the whole. They always underperform.

Even Fabio capello deosn't appear to have knocked the current mob into shape. Recent friendly performances have been depressingly poor, and Fabio seems to be finding it hard to contain his anger - cue attack on paparazzi yesterday.

Back to the football, and how might England fare? Some people say it's an easy group. I'm not so sure. England are 8th in the world; the USA are not far behind at 14, Algeria are 30, and Slovenia have recently improved to 25. Its easy to see a draw with the USA, leaving us having to beat Algeria to recover a strong position.

I think England will qualify for round two, but we may have to settle for second place. If that is the case, then the Germans will be likely second round opponents. And we all know what happens next.

The excitement of the World Cup beckons

I'm back after a long break! And just in time for the World Cup.

Just four days away, the greatest show on earth will kick off at 3pm on Friday afternoon with the hosts South Africa playing Mexico at the final stadium, the Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg. It's at an altitude of 1,753m, but that won't be a problem for the Mexicans, familiar with playing at the altitude of the Aztec Stadium, Mexico City.

South Africa are the lowest ranked team at 83, but the hosts traditionally perform above their rankings in the finals. Mexico are ranked 17, but their recent form has been patchy. Expect a nervous game played in front of a loud and expectant crowd.

Meanwhile, England play a final warm-up game on Monday afternoon against local South African side the Platinum Stars. It will be a last chance for Fabio Capello to try out the players who will start the tournament against the USA on Saturday evening. Gareth Barry looks likely to miss out, and with Rio Ferdinand out of the competition, Capello has those two bis decisions to make.

England will also be hoping that there is no repeat of the crowd problems that blighted the Nigeria v North Korea game when a stampede left 16 hurt at the game at the Makhulong Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday. The FA is confident sufficient security measures are in place.

The excitement builds!

Why Terry should stay as England captain

 suppose, as it appears to be the hot topic of the moment, that I should join the debate about John Terry's captaincy of England.

He has crossed some sort of a line by having an affair with the girlfriend of a Chelsea team mate (Wayne Bridge, now at Manchester City). In doing so, of course, Terry has upset not only Bridge, but the balance of his own family - his wife and twins.

So should John Terry carry on as England captain?

Chelsea obviously see no problem wih the situation as he has carried on as captain of the Blues.

Why should it be any different for England?

Some may say the job's so important and it's representing the nation and all that. Is it? Is that the real reason for all this debate? Or is this just a typical media storm in a tea cup, brought about because of the lifting of restrictions on reporting this story, and the "haven't-we-done-well-to-expose-him?" media frenzy that has followed?

Let's face it. The media (newspapers in particular) love to "get" someone, don't they? And the bigger they are, the better. Captain of England? Top score!

If Fabio Capello sacked Terry as captain (and he won't), who would he put in his place?

Who are the candidates?

Steven Gerrard (he of the nightclub fight accusations)

Wayne Rooney (he of the dubious onfield discipline)

Rio Ferdinand (will he be fit?)

etc.

The fact is that Capello chose John Terry as England captain because he is the best man for the job - football-wise. Does there need to be another reason?

Michael Owen gives Capello a firm nudge

From one oldie yesterday (David Beckham) to another today. Step forward, Michael Owen.

Although hardly a critical match for Manchester United in the Champions League, it was still an important one against Wolfsburg last night, and United had to cater for the loss of a whole host of players through injury. United wanted to avoid defeat to ensure that they topped the group to avoid some of the hardest potential encounters in the first knock-out round.

Michael Owen duly delivered with a match-winning hat-trick.

One header, one tap-in and one sprint through to chip over the keeper would surely have given England manager Fabio Capello the firmest nudge yet that Owen is not finished and would be worth a place in the England World Cup squad.

Less than a week short of his 30th birthday, perhaps Owen showed that experience is invaluable.

Although Wayne Rooney is obviously top of the strikers' pile, Jermain Defoe has scored plenty of goals for Tottenham this season, and Capello is evidently a fan of Emile Heskey, it is hard to imagine that Owen is still behind the likes of Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Carlton Cole and Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Owen has proven he can do it at the top level. The doubt had to be over his fitness and sharpness. No doubts any more.

Indeed, Sir Alex Ferguson might now find it hard to leave out Michael Owen.

Beckham the superstar worth a World Cup place

Watching the Wolrd Cup draw on Friday evening I was once again struck by the incredible worldwide popularity of David Beckham.

As the only non-South African assisting with the draw in Cape Town, Beckham still received the loudest reception of the evening, eclipsing those received by other home-grown sporting heroes.

When interviewed briefly after the draw, Beckham was diplomatically sincere.

How far he has come from his petulance in the 1998 World Cup, and his subsequent period of vilification at every venue except Old Trafford.

When I went to Wembley in September to watch England trounce Croatia 5-1, the single biggest cheer of the night - among all those goals, and World Cup qualification itself - was when David Beckham came on as substitute when the game was already won.

With Beckham on board for the 2018 World Cup bid, England's chances have risen dramatically.

Fabio Capello must take David Beckham to the World Cup next summer. As well as being a potentially game-turning substitute, Beckham's mere presence will increase England's popularity with the locals and, given that we have always struggled to stay in locals' good books at World Cups over the years, this must be worth a squad place.

He really does live up to his superstar billing.

Latest injury is a big blow to Michael Owen

It was a great shame to see Manchester United's Michael Owen leave the field after just 20 minutes of last night's Champions League clash with Wolfsburg.

The striker could be out of action for up to three weeks after injuring his groin in the early part of the game.

It will have done his chances of returning to the England squad no good at all, despite being watched by England manager Fabio Capello. The injury will sideline Owen for at least three weeks.

"His fitness levels are good so we shouldn't need to worry too much about it. We will treat it as a normal groin injury," said United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

Owen has spent too much of the last few years on the injured list. Now 29, he must still hope he can return to fitness and form in time for next year's World Cup. He had a big boost a week and a half ago when he scored United's winner in the 4-3 victory over rivals City.

Sadly, time is running out.

5-1 - England qualify for the World Cup finals

Well, blow me, England delivered in style last night. All doubts about World Cup qualification dispelled in an exciting and enterprising first half which ended with a two-goal lead which really should have been double that.

Cheered on by a boisterous crowd - the atmosphere definitely enhanced by undaunted and undiminished Croatian supporters - England rose to the occasion and were good value for the 5-1 win.

Fabio Capello has made this collection of good - with one or two very good - players into a team - something Steve McClaren patently failed to do. It comprehensively demonstrates the value of having a top manager in charge. The riches that English football (World Cup qualification is reported to be worth around £100 million) will reap from the World Cup make Capello's salary dwarf into insignifance. Well done Fabio!

And well done the England players, many of whom shone: Lennon, Johnson, Gerrard, Lampard were excellent; Terry, Cole, Barry and Rooney were very good.

The biggest doubt must remain about Heskey. Although he obviously stands out as a target man, his heading wasn't great, his control was poor, and his finishing was woeful. Nevertheless, he is a handful for the opposition, and Capello is likely to stick with him for some time yet.

As for Beckham - he got the biggest roar of the night when he came on, and he still looks worthy of a squad place.