The parlous state of the England team can be summed up by a simple fact: an
injury to one player constitutes a minor crisis. John Terry will miss Fabio
Capello’s first match in charge and perhaps more than that. So who will
partner Rio Ferdinand against Switzerland on February 6?
This is a position, centre half, in which England would claim to be strong,
remember. Yet as Chelsea make contingency plans to cope without Terry for
the rest of the season, if the worst-case scenario pans out, a cursory look
at the candidates to replace him reveals why the FA’s investment in Capello
has a vulnerability that would result in most underwriters heading for the
hills.
England have no competitive matches until September, so this is not yet a
grave problem; then again, Terry suffered seven serious injuries during
2007, including a fractured foot, a broken toe, a knee problem that required
surgery and a fractured cheekbone, and his uncompromising style is always
liable to end in a visit to A&E. His absence for the matches against Russia
in Moscow and Croatia at Wembley coincided with England’s European
Championship campaign falling apart.
Under previous managers — Sven-Göran Eriksson was no different from Steve
McClaren in his pecking order for the central defenders — Ledley King would
fill in for Terry, and he is a fine player. Yet he has lasted 90 minutes on
only one occasion since June 6 and has played 224 minutes of football this
season, during which time Tottenham Hotspur’s defence has leaked five goals
to Fulham and Reading.
The last time King played for England, against Estonia in the summer, his
rival for the starting place, Jamie Carragher, of Liverpool, was so
impressed that he retired from international football and has shown no
desire to reverse this decision, despite Capello’s appointment. “I cannot
see it changing,” Carragher said in the week that the Italian was named
England manager, adding that a personal plea from the new man was unlikely
to make a difference.
From Capello’s point of view, therefore, watching Carragher in Liverpool’s FA
Cup tie against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road yesterday was much like the
segment of Bullseye in which Jim Bowen showed the contestants what they
could have won. “Nothing in this game for two in a bed,” as Jim might have
said.
Immediately Capello is into the realm of stopgap replacements, most
specifically the Sol Campbell-Joleon Lescott axis that failed so dismally
against Croatia. Campbell has been a rock for Portsmouth again this season,
but he is 33 and looked it at Wembley when faced with the quick-witted
Croats. Lescott has been a star for Everton, but may not have recovered from
the trauma of defeats by Russia and Croatia. Not every good club player is
an international. Lescott may have hit his glass ceiling.
Beyond this pair are converts — Wes Brown, who has recently been impressive
for Manchester United, but at right back, and Micah Richards, who is a
centre half for Manchester City but has started for England only in the
full-back role and whose move inside would leave a big hole on the right,
where Gary Neville used to stand. Richards is still learning, so it is not
certain if he is ready for the responsibility of the central position at
international level anyway.
And there you have it. One position, one injury and one scare. There are those
who wish Terry to be stripped of the captaincy for alleged unseemly
behaviour off the field, or would have Capello take an iron fist to
England’s precious golden generation, but a manager can be a bully only if
he has options.
The England squad is handled with kid gloves because there is not a great deal
out there. If King is injured — and this is a player who was fit enough to
start only ten matches in 2007 — Capello must look to the group of players
that, charged with keeping it tight against Croatia at Wembley, were two
goals down within 14 minutes.
That is the reality. The England team are like a castle built on poor
foundations and if Capello’s luck with injuries mirrors that of his
predecessor, all the riches in the Soho Square treasure chest are not enough
to buy his way out of the swamp.
There’s no need to shout
In all the talk about the funereal atmosphere at Old Trafford, one point has
largely been missed: the predictability of the majority of home matches
involving the elite four clubs.
Most weeks, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool do not have to
play well to win. Victory is something that happens naturally, like night
following day. Birmingham City’s match at Old Trafford on January 1 was a
case in point; the supporters knew that if United played to anything near
their potential they would collect three points, so why make a fuss? The
team did not need encouragement; hell, they did not even need Wayne Rooney,
Ryan Giggs, Owen Hargreaves, Paul Scholes, Wes Brown, Gary Neville or Edwin
van der Sar, all of whom were rested, injured or on the bench.
It is a generalisation to claim that the gentrification of football equates to
a subdued environment. I know guys on Millionaire’s Row who never shut up
during matches and others from humble origins who have never sung a song in
their lives.
Old Trafford is buzzing when the big Premier League clubs turn up and on
European nights when there is a lot at stake because crowds respond to the
situation more than the performance — that is why there is often the biggest
roar at the restart after the home team have gone a goal down.
United’s victory over Birmingham was a dot and, after going a goal up after 25
minutes, the pressure was off. Just as Sir Alex Ferguson saves his players
for the big games, so the supporters save their voices.
Europe or bust, again
Liverpool and Rafael Benítez are trapped in a vicious circle. The club may be
only 12 points adrift in the title race — nine, provided that they win a
game in hand — but, as Arsène Wenger observed, the problem is that Benítez
requires three teams to fail between now and May.
So, faced with another underachieving season in the league, the Liverpool
manager will revert to type and focus on the biggest prize, the Champions
League, tailoring his selections to reaching full potential against Inter
Milan on February 19 and March 11.
That will mean greater tinkering to keep his best players fresh — Steven
Gerrard and Fernando Torres, particularly — running the risk of more
disappointment against lesser opposition in domestic competitions, meaning
dissatisfaction will build and here we go again.
It is a high-wire act and Benítez has almost pulled it off twice in three
seasons, but, in the present climate, it will not make for peace at Anfield.
Under-21s? Don’t bother
Among the names under consideration by Fabio Capello are Gabriel Agbonlahor,
of Aston Villa, and David Bentley, of Blackburn Rovers. Both have been in
scintillating form for their clubs this season, both ducked out of the
European Under-21 Championship finals with England last summer and both came
into this campaign fresher than their rivals. It is not for Capello to play
moral guardian, but good luck getting anyone to turn up for the next
under-21 tournament.
Big problem for Spurs
Big clubs do not sell their best players, even for £31 million. If Tottenham
Hotspur cash in on Dimitar Berbatov, particularly to a league rival, what
was the point in taking all that trouble to lure Juande Ramos from Seville?
Grant misses a sitter
Avram Grant needs a stunt that will endear him to the British public. He
certainly missed a trick by not decking that poxy Badger during Chelsea’s
match away to Fulham last week.
martin.samuel@thetimes.co.uk
