“This is a
very very long piece of article and is strictly recommended to those who follow
the football religion. Others who just want to read this so that they can judge
my writing skills can do so at their own peril.”
“’66 was a great year for English football”, we United fans jokingly
say, “Because, Eric was born.” Well, ’66 was indeed a great year for English
football, not because the great rebel who went on to become a king was born in
the caves of Marseille, which he of course did and as much joy as he gave to us
United fans, he did cause considerable amount of despair to opposing teams. But
the fact is that this was the year in which the English could finally claim the
right to call themselves ‘Champions of the World’ in a game that they invented,
pretty unlike in cricket, even till date. Like football, cricket was also
invented in England and holds a special place in English hearts as well. But
cricket was always the game of the Lords and serfs, football on the other hand
belonged to the working class, the common man of England. Like Jimmy Murphy
says to Bobby Charlton once*, “Old Trafford. This pitch sits in the
middle of the largest industrial estate in the country. Over there, that's where
the cotton boys stand. There's the joiners, the dockers, the millers. Nothing
in common until they're here. We are their pride...at the end of the week. We
set the world to rights for them.” And that is what football means to them,
it’s their biggest love and in some cases perhaps their only love. After
working their asses off for a week, on the Saturday afternoon they spend their
hard earned money and come to stadiums to watch and support their beloved club.
Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton may just be cities
for the rest of the world but for the common man of England they are the place
that houses their eternal love.
I am a supporter of the ‘Three
Lions’ too and it always hurts me to see England’s dismal performances in the
major tournaments but I must say that as someone who isn’t from England, I
guess I can never quite accurately gauge the measure of despondency and
disappointment the fans living in England must be encountering. Since that
great year of ’66, England hasn’t won a major championship, their European
championship records are as dismal as their World Cup showing if not worse. Every-time the WCs or Euros are at the door,
the English media creates a lot of hoopla, generates a lot of enthusiasm and
hope, just to see them come crushing down as soon as the tournament begins. At
times we blame the players and sometimes the coaches. But if you were to ask
me, I would say the English FA is a hoople, and the way they deal with players
and coaches and clubs is disappointing to say the least. Why the world’s best
league** hasn’t been able to produce
a World cup winning side or even a European Championship winning side? Why have
the richest and highest-profit-earning clubs in the world not been able
to produce 11 players that can compete with the likes of Germany, Spain and
Netherlands? Are the players to blame or have the managers been too stubborn in
their approach? Is the FA to be blamed for this whole fiasco? Is the ‘Under-21’
league instead of the ‘Reserve League’ going to be the panacea of English
football? There are a lot of questions and some pretty pertinent ones
surrounding English football especially after their not so impressive
performances (to put it mildly) in the last few World cups and in the Euros.
And these need to be addressed as soon as possible.
But the future actually doesn’t
look all that dark and bleak. And that is what I am here to discuss about :P
:P.
A few days back I watched the
English team take on San Marino and then Poland. And these two games clearly
exhibited what’s right and what’s wrong with English football. I know that to
judge a team based on its performance against San Marino is a folly but
nevertheless I must say that I saw some encouraging signs. The fact that
English football has again started producing some great young talents might be
music to some ears while most of them would say that it’s nothing out of the
ordinary, we have always produced good young players. You see, 10 years ago, on
this very day, a 16 year old Everton lad announced his entry into the world of
football with a tremendous goal against Arsenal that ended their 30-games
unbeaten run. Wayne Rooney was at once labelled as ‘England’s Messiah’, the kid
who will take England to the top of the world. And while Wayne Rooney has
developed into a great player, the English team hasn’t achieved anything
significant. Rooney still remains England’s best player and by quiet a margin.
And that is the cause of concern. While Rooney remains the undoubted
superstars, players around him just haven’t matched up to his standards. This
may seem as harsh statement considering the fact that players like Gerrard and
Lampard have been in the team for more than a decade now and they too very much
like Rooney are great players. But the fact remains that these two have never
been able to strike a great partnership with each other. Lampard’s ability as a
goal-scoring midfielder and Gerrard’s ability to lead a team can never be
questioned and another fact that can’t be challenged is that they have been
England’s two best midfielder in the past decade. But a great team isn’t
necessarily formed by 11 great players. While a team needs great player what
matters more than an individual’s talent is the team’s cohesion which is what
the English teams have lacked over the past few years. And unlike the teams of
the past, I believe that this team that we have now can easily be moulded into
world-beaters. The thing that attracted my attention was the number of young
players that are starting for England thesedays and also the ones who are on
the wings waiting for their chance. If Roy Hodgson plays his cards right
England can be a serious contender in Brazil in couple of years’ time. Here’s a
look at some of them:
Joe Hart: At 25, Hart can actually
be termed as a ‘young’ goalkeeper but the Manchester City man is today one of
the best goal-keepers in the world. He is not just a good shot-stopper but an
excellent distributor of the ball as well and he also commands the D-box better
than most in England. A leader in his own rights, Hart is England’s answer to
the likes of Casillas and Buffon. If his performance against Dortmund in this
years’ Champions league is anything to go by, it won’t be wrong to say that
scoring against England might just be the toughest thing, even for the best in
Europe.
Phil Jones: This 20 year old
defender has been tipped by many as the future England and Manchester United
captain. Jones not just brings in a strong character but he also brings in versatility
on the park with him as he has shown at Old Trafford. He is equally comfortable
as a right back, a centre-half and as a defensive midfielder. Gary Cahill
should be an automatic choice for the centre-back position and Jones along with
him can actually form a very formidable partnership at the back for the
three-lions. But for that to happen Jones needs to be fit and sadly for such a
young man he has suffered far too many injuries. As a England fan and certainly
as a United fan I hope he remains fit in future.
Kyle Walker: Tottenham’s Kyle Walker
won the ‘PFA Young Player of the Year’ award this year, one whose former
recipients include the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, David
Beckham and some of the best footballers in the world. The fact that he beat
off competitions from the likes of Aguero, Bale, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Welbeck
is even more significant. He also made
it to the PFA team of the year for 2011-12 season. England and English fans
certainly have high hopes from this 22-year old pacy right-back from White Hart
Lane.
Jack Wilshere: Like Kyle Walker,
Wilshere is also a former recipient of the ‘PFA Young Player of the Year’ and
like Phil Jones, he is highly injury-prone. When Wilshere plays, it’s difficult
at times to believe that he is just a 20 year old kid but that’s how talented
he is. Wilshere, when in full flow is highly influential in the middle of the
park and has the capacity to run a game, a fact which he clearly exhibited in Arsenal’s
champions’ league tie against Barcelona in April of last year. He was just 19
then. If he remains fully fit, not many can deny him a place in the starting
XI.
Tom Cleverley: At 23, Tom Cleverley
is perhaps the most sought-after English youngster. He has made a handful of
appearances for the senior team but whenever he has put on the English shirt,
his performances have been highly appreciated. Cleverley performed
exceptionally well on his two loan-spells at Watford and Wigan and started last
season at United with a strong performance in the community shield but a series
of injuries later in the season did hamper his progress to an extent. He has
again started this season on a high and if he can stay fit, he is going to be
one of the most important cog in the wheel of United and England, whichever
shirt he pulls on. A player full of energy and enthusiasm, Cleverley like
Wilshere has the ability to control the midfield and distributes the ball
better than most. He does like to take occasional shots from outside the box as
well and has scored some outrageous goals, none better than the one against
Newcastle a few weeks back.
Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain: Earlier this year, Oxlade-Chamberlain became the second
youngest player ever to represent England in the European Championships. A
product of the Southampton academy Alex now plies his trade at Arsenal under
Arsene Wenger. “The OX” is slowly becoming fans’ favourite both at ‘The Emirates’
and when he dons the English shirt as well. He is strong, fast-paced and has an
eye for goal and under Wenger, one can be assured of his all-round development.
The performances he put on for Arsenal last season was more than what one could
have asked from an 18-year old kid and the English fans would hope that he
keeps growing and utilizes his full potential, at-least for the sake of
England.
Danny Welbeck:
At 21, Welbeck is one of England’s best new and upcoming talents, perhaps
the best one in the position he plays. But for us United fans it feels like
Welbeck has been playing football for eternity. Well, you can’t actually fault
us for thinking like that, he joined the academy when he was just 9. Welbeck
isn’t a forward in the mould of say someone like Michael Owen. He is a player
who likes to hold the ball, he is comfortable on both feet, can actually play
in a variety of positions and can score goals (like Owen) as well. His
partnership with Rooney is going to be crucial for England because from what I
have seen of Roy Hodgson’s tactics, Welbeck is his first choice man.
Well, these are some of the best upcoming talents we
have and if they can realize their potential there is no reason why England
can’t be a serious contender for the World Cup in Brazil in couple of years.
But these aren’t the only good and upcoming stars in England. In goalkeeping
department, we have the likes of Jack Butland and Ben Amos, and then we have
Caulker, Smalling, Shawcross, Kelly, Clyne, Dawson, Bertrand to name a few in defence.
The midfield is also brimming with young talents like Sterling, Shelvey,
Powell, Ince, McEachran, Rodwell, Barkley, Gardner and add to that the likes of
Wickham, Sordell, Carroll, Keane and Kane leading the line. There is no dearth
of young talents in England and the clubs have been throwing young talents by
dozens, what is required is to keep track of their development because a lot of
the times some good young talents especially in big clubs get lost in the
shadow of more illustrious team-mates. But the new Under-21’s league also gives
me hope that England will keep producing good young talent and the process if
anything might get accelerated a bit as well. I can’t speak a lot about the
academy of other football clubs but as far as Manchester United are concerned
there are some really good young players who are coming up and if they keep
working hard they will certainly get their chance in the course of time. Some
notable names are Scott Wooton, Larnell Cole, Jesse Lingard, Sam Johnstone,
Ryan Tunnicliff, Michael and Will Keane. If Roy Hodgson and English FA wants to
see England do well in major tournaments, they have to blood some of the
youngsters into the team now, when there is still time. And Hodgson also need to get his tactics and
team selection in sync. In the game against Poland, England were playing a lot
of long balls, and they had to because the pitch wasn’t in the best of
condition. But for that to have worked Hodgson should have started with Carroll
up-front rather than Defoe. These kind of mistakes are the ones which in past
have proven to be detrimental for England and unless the manager gets his act
right, it may again bite him on the back. It’s also time that Hodgson takes
some stern steps and selects players on merit and form rather than on the basis
of their weekly wages. In the past we have seen that former managers have
carried on with the Gerrard and Lampard partnership when it was quiet clearly
not working and the likes of Parker and Carrick were kept on the side-lines
despite giving good performances week-in and week-out. Hodgson has in a way
closed the door for Rio and I am happy with that. Rio isn’t getting
any younger and he is losing pace, his greatest attribute as a defender. The
likes of Cahill, Jagielka and Lescott are at their peak and need a chance. And
with Jones and Smalling knocking at the doors as well, I have to say Hodgson
has taken a good decision. In the midfield, he needs to give the likes
of Cleverley, Wilshere and Oxlade-Chamberlain more chances rather than giving
long rope to some of the older (but great) members.
My future starting XI (granted all of them are fit) will be:
GK: Hart
RB: Walker
CB: Cahill and Jones
LB: Baines
RM: Oxlade-Chamberlain
CM: Cleverley and Gerrard©
LM: Young
CF: Rooney
ST: Welbeck
Squad Members: Foster, Butland, Lescott, Smalling, Bertrand, Johnson, Walcott,
Wilshere, Carrick, Sterling, Carroll, Defoe
The English team had, has and will have a lot of good
players, players who know how to win games and therefore, at times it baffles
us fans to see how little success they have achieved since ’66. The future
seems bright but then it has seemed even brighter many times in the last 46
years. And for some reasons which I can’t fathom, we have hardly been
successful. It again seems like a new dawn, so let’s just hope our day isn’t
marred by a cover of black cloud.
I know some of you would raise eyebrows on my opinions and at my selection but
then, the comment section is all yours :P :P
*: that’s what’s shown in the movie “United” (2011)
**: It is debatable but I firmly believe EPL is world’s best league.
P.S.: To be honest this is not how I had hoped this
piece will come out. For a starter it’s far too long while I had intended to
write a brief and crispy piece, and I’ll certainly acknowledge that. Maybe I
should have presented it in two parts but you know what, let it stay as it is.
To quote a friend of mine, “We have got ideas. Brilliant ones. But the rather
insipid happenings around us have started having an effect and somehow we are
ending up doing something completely opposite to what we had set out to do.”
