Should Capello have stuck to his word to only select players who are fit, playing and in form?
If there is one thing I appreciate in life, it is honesty and the ability to stick to one’s words. With this in mind, I find myself strangely disappointed with the English World Cup squad that Fabio Capello has selected to compete in South Africa.
When he took the job, back in January 2008, he declared to the nation that players would not be selected based on reputation and would have to prove that they deserved to be in his squads. The most basic requirements he put forward were that players must be playing regularly for their clubs, must be fit and must be in form.
It is with this declaration in mind that I feel slightly critical of the squad that has been chosen. Despite what Capello earlier promised, I find myself looking at a squad littered with players that have either not been playing regularly, not been playing well or have big questions about their fitness.
For those of you who have been asleep for the whole day, here is the squad that has been picked by Capello.
Goalkeepers
Rob Green (West Ham United), David James (Portsmouth), Joe Hart (Manchester City)
Defenders
Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), John Terry (Chelsea), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa), Matthew Upson (West Ham United), Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielders
Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City)
Strikers
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur), Peter Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur)
On paper, it looks like a pretty strong squad and, ordinarily, I would be pretty happy with that selection. So why do I feel so differently this time around? The squad is littered with players who have not been at their best, have not been playing or have much publicised injury problems. This squad does not fit in with the ethos of Capello’s early declaration and, instead, hints that he may have buckled under the pressure.
In defence we have Ferdinand and King who have well documented injury problems along with Carragher and Terry who have had their worst seasons for many years. It would be a huge decision to drop both Terry and Ferdinand, who have been the first choice pairing at the back for many years. However, they clearly do not meet the requirements so, by my reckoning, there are three centre backs and a right back who shouldn’t be there.
Michael Dawson must be devastated that he has not made the plane and, although he must wish King well, he must be wondering whether he will ever get such a clear chance again. Ryan Shawcross is another who has been in fine form this season, although even he would have found a World Cup spot a big surprise. Gary Cahill has been attracting the attention of England’s biggest clubs with his form of late. Right back is a position that is a little trickier, with no players having been in fine form there so Carragher’s inclusion, whilst strange, can be understood.
Gerrard has been a long way from the form that saw him lift the Champions League trophy in 2005
In the midfield, Michael Carrick, Steven Gerrard and Shaun Wright-Phillips don’t pass Capello’s test. All three players have been shadows of their former selves this season and, without their reputations, would surely have been staying at home. Both Carrick and Wright-Phillips are now firmly squad players for the two Manchester clubs, whereas Gerrard has played every game he has been available for but, seemingly, at 50% of his usual level. There has been some discussion about whether Joe Cole deserves to be in the squad too but, for me, he just about passes.
To discount Carrick, Gerrard and Wright-Phillips might cause a lot of surprise in England but there has been a lot of support for the likes of Scott Parker to make the squad and Tom Huddlestone has been equally impressive for Spurs in the run in to the end of the season. With Milner’s versatility to cover both wings, the flavour of the month, Adam Johnson, would also not have been out of place in the squad based on current form; he has certainly been better than Wright-Phillips.
Up top there is a further problem. Heskey has struggled to pin down a regular place in a very decent Aston Villa side. Whilst the statistics used to back up his inclusion are impressive, it is a fact that he simply hasn’t played enough games this season. Instead, Capello has decided to leave Darren Bent at home after a very productive season for Sunderland. He has hit 24 league goals this season for an underperforming side and you really have to ask yourself whether many strikers could do that.
In total, eight of the final twenty-three selected could, by the Italian’s early declaration, be deemed as dubious inclusions. Perhaps surprisingly, as many as four of these players could be considered important members of the first team. If the squad nominated today had omitted the eight players mentioned there would undoubtedly have been an outcry across the country. However, when you make declarations that players will be picked based on form and fitness, it is difficult to justify their inclusion only on these factors.
Being the England manager is one of the toughest jobs in football and requires a strong character. If the Three Lions underperform at the upcoming tournament with the players mentioned here the main culprits, Capello’s unwillingness to stick to his word may be questioned. On the other hand, if they do very well, he will be praised for having the courage to go against it.
Matt Dalton
Matt lives for football and has done from a very young age. Influenced by his older brother, he is a lifelong Liverpool fan, yearning for the days of yesteryear. Currently living in Germany, he has plans to return to the UK in August. His footballing heroes are Robbie Fowler, Jamie Carragher and, perhaps surprisingly, Roy Keane.
While I agree that Capello has been forced to change his policy very late on, I think the situation warranted it. You may remember a similar sea change he made while at Real Madrid, vis a vis David Beckham. It's good to have sound principles but at the same time you can never say never. If the Italian had left many of the players you suggest are unworthy at home, then who would he replace them with?
Scott Parker is admittedly someone Capello does not seem to rate: he saw no action in either of the tuneups. Most of the other options are either unproven (Johnson, Cahill), redundant (Bent, with DeFoe on the squad) or simply not good enough (by all accounts, Huddlestone was unimpressive, especially in his final chance versus Japan).
I confess that Michael Carrick and Stephen Warnock's inclusion puzzle me. Overall, though, it seems that Capello feels confident asking more of the veterans, given the shambles that the jam-packed Premier League schedule has made of his carefully laid plans. In the face of such chaos, looking to youthful and untested players would, in effect, be akin to falling on his own sword.
Posted by mpalazzotto | 2 June, 2010, 01:39I agree with Martin. I think he's been compromised a bit in his principles by the paucity of alternatives to pick from
I'm puzzled by the Wright-Philips inclusion though. I would've def taken either Johnson or Walcott ahead of him but at the end of the day we don't see what's been going on behind the scenes. Capello's obviously seen things we haven't. That can be applied to Parker aswell.
I think he took Warnock because Leighton Baines told the world he gets homesick and didn't know if he could handle 6 weeks away. If I take off my biased Evertonian, and put on my neutral, hat I would've taken Warnock anyway, he's a bit more versatile.
Posted by geoffedwards | 2 June, 2010, 07:39I think that the situation highlights the danger of making statements like the one he made when he took the job on. Clearly, Gerrard is capable of playing at a level that Huddlestone could never reach, similarly when you compare the likes of Ferdinand and Terry with Shawcross and Cahill.
If I had the job then I am pretty sure that the squad would not have looked very different at all, bar maybe two or three changes. I think it is good that Capello is a strong enough character to change his mind but, like in the case of David Beckham, I think he now needs to come out and clarify his position. If he now intends to select players he trusts, that is fine. For me though, he needs to come out and state it.
Posted by Matt Dalton | 2 June, 2010, 09:49I do completely agree about Fabio Capello's squad basically contradicting his original plan. If we'd been asked to pick the World Cup squad this time last year, it would not be much different. Looking at the list of names, there's only really Joe Hart who has played himself into that squad this season.
It's still a strong squad, and as everyone has said, players like Gerrard should always be in. I just wonder what impact it has on the likes of Dawson and Bent, who were led to believe that they can earn themselves a World Cup place, have had brilliant seasons, and then seen their places taken by players who have not been anywhere near as strong this season.
Posted by David Harrison | 2 June, 2010, 15:02Dawson and Bent must be devastated. I don't think that either player will have as much of a chance of getting to the World Cup again as they have this year. It is not often that so many players fall to injury, lack of games or lack of form but both players much be scratching their heads wondering how they have been excluded.
Posted by Matt Dalton | 2 June, 2010, 15:48I'm a Manchester United fan and once upon a time, I believed Rio Ferdinand to be one of the best centre backs in Europe. Since January 2009 when he first got injured it's been a slippy slope for him and I don't feel that he's in the top 4 centre backs England have. I think he's the biggest example of somebody picked because of who they are and not their form and especially not fitness.
I agree with Matt – Darren Bent must be devastated. I think he's still held in the same esteem as Andy Johnson and Kevin Philips were – can score domestically but in the big game in International football they simply haven't had the experience and do not possess the quality – saying that I don't see how Heskey has been selected either.
Posted by Steven Jones | 2 June, 2010, 20:29It's very refreshing to see a Manchester United fan criticising a Manchester United player, Steve – It doesn't happen very often!
Posted by Matt Dalton | 3 June, 2010, 10:49It appears Dawson might get his chance after all. Rio Ferdinand has suffered a knee injury and is currently being checked out.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cu…
Posted by Matt Dalton | 4 June, 2010, 12:26In light of rio getting injured and Dawson coming in, I have an open question:
"Is Darren Bent sat at home hoping Wayne Rooney gets injured so he can get on the plane?"
Double edged sword as he'd love to go to the World Cup but surely Rooney is the best chance of England winning, what does everyone think?
Posted by Steven Jones | 4 June, 2010, 15:54I think he would be more likely to be wishing for Crouch / Defoe / Heskey to get injured but it is a very interesting question. As much as he would love to be at the World Cup, I am not sure he would want our best striker to get injured so he could go.
Posted by Matt Dalton | 4 June, 2010, 16:57