When Bernhard Langer was captain of the Europe Ryder Cup team at Oakland Hills, Michigan, in 2004 he left nothing to chance. His preparations were meticulous and the result was spectacular: victory for his team by a record nine-point margin.

And while he was his own man that year, Langer leant heavily on a backroom team that brought him all the information he needed to decide on his pairings for the four-balls and foursomes. He could not, he felt, be everywhere at once.

Which is why, speaking here on the eve of the Mercedes-Benz Championship yesterday, Langer questioned the wisdom of the decision by Nick Faldo, this year's captain, to rely on José María Olazábal as his eyes and ears and not to ask Paul McGinley to rejoin the team as a second vice- captain for the match, which starts at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, a week tomorrow.

McGinley had originally accepted the role but then said that he wanted to try to qualify to play for the team. The Irishman was unsuccessful, but Faldo did not ask him back and has not replaced him. Langer enlisted the help of Anders Forsbrand, Thomas Björn and Joakim Haeggman.

“I think he [Faldo] is making a mistake by not having somebody with each group,” Langer said of Faldo's assertion that he and Olazábal have enough experience to cope, echoing Sam Torrance, another former Europe captain, a week earlier. “Once you have four teams on the course, I know, as captain, that I would like to have one person with each group. I can't be everywhere and I need information.”

It is an opinion at odds with that of Faldo, who was asked at Gleneagles - where he announced Paul Casey and Ian Poulter as his wild cards 11 days ago - if he considered himself a control freak. “If somebody came and gave you information, would you trust it 100 per cent?” Faldo replied. “Would you make a decision on what somebody else had seen?” The inquisitor said that he would take such action if it was somebody he knew and trusted. “Well fine, then, we're different,” Faldo said.

Langer could see no harm in asking McGinley, as well as somebody else, to join the team. “If he was available and would like to go, why not?” the German said. “Paul has been there a number of times and he would be a great asset for Nick.” However, that was as far as the advice would go. “He [Faldo] is not going to ring me and I'm not going to ring him,” Langer said. “He has played in 11 Ryder Cups. He should know most of the things he needs to know. If he calls me, I'll be happy to talk to him about it, but I'm not going to push myself on him.”

Only four of Faldo's 12-man team - Graeme McDowell, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Robert Karlsson and Søren Hansen - are competing in Cologne this week. The others are using the week to practise and to relax.