England once again under perform at a major championship and the inquests and the recriminations begin. Almost churlish to add to the despondency but it is the British way!
Already the calls are out for Capello to be removed from office. As if that’s the major problem.
Yes he did probably pick the wrong formation (although it got us through the qualification stage and we beat better opposition than Algeria to qualify).
Yes, he did bring Joe Cole into the fray far too late (not a panacea but he does at least have a little flair).
Yes, his substitutions were baffling. Why bother taking Peter Crouch at all if you are going to bring Heskey on in preference when we have to score.
But frankly you could have had your own version of your own God managing this side and it wouldn’t have mattered. Overpaid, egotistical, self important individualistic “sportsmen” (I use the term loosely) are the real issue. I listened to Alan Shearer’s summation after the game with increasing disbelief. The gist was that there was ‘something wrong in the camp, maybe the players don’t like the manager‘. Well that’s OK then. Presumably, everyone has popped into work today and decided, having suitably reflected, that they aren’t that keen on their boss and will therefore consistently carry out their duties incompetently for the duration.
Capello didn’t seem as tactically astute as we would have hoped and stubbornness did appear to be driving a few key decisions so by all means decide he’s not the person to manage the team from now on. But let’s be honest, that wasn’t the root of the problem. We should have beaten Algeria with an eight – one – one formation or any other kind of set up you care to mention. No, the real problem is exemplified by commentators describing Terry’s egotism and stupidity as ‘heart and passion’ – a mistaken belief that these players can cut it on the world stage. Yes, a few have proven themselves if or their clubs at the highest level (and are rewarded with a mere 100k a week and more) but pull on an England shirt and it disappears. I’d also argue that at club level most are surrounded by incredibly gifted and technically accomplished players from around the world. It goes a lot deeper than a tactically suspect manager.
Apparently, one of Terry’s classics to the press during the tournament was that it was a bit boring in their HQ (luxury hotel, fantastic food, swimming pools, snooker tables, pool tables, gym etc.). Could I respectfully suggest To Mr. Terry that if he was that bored he could have taken his colleagues onto a patch of grass somewhere and learnt how to actually pass the ball to each other. But I guess that isn’t what passes for entertainment for John Terry!