THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT. GO THREE LIONS!!!!

“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.”