John Terry sacked as Captain

The Daily Mail carried a story today that John Terry has a private box at Wembley stadium for his personal use as part of the deal he has as England captain. Undercover reporters ascertained that they could rent the box for the forthcoming friendly against Egypt in March for £4000… Cash! Oh…and a John Terry signed shirt thrown in. This was proposed by his management team.

Fabio Capello has flown into the UK after an operation on his knee that was performed in Italy. After a meeting with Terry it was apparent that Terry’s position had become untenable. Terry has attracted too much adverse media attention and it is clear that this could not go on.

Rio Ferdinand is the new captain and Steven Gerrard becomes the vice-captain.

The JT Affair

The press have been reporting the affair of John Terry and Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of Wayne Bridge. The question that is being asked by the public and media is whether Terry should be stripped of the England captaincy? The Football Association have come out and said that the decision will be Fabio’s.

The problem Terry has is that this is not the first media story that has enveloped him. His father, his mother, his mother in law and himself have all attracted adverse attention in rather alledged sordid misdemeanors. For sure Terry will be under the press microscope for the foreseeable future as well as his family, as any fuel to add to this story will be thrown on the fire.

Questions have been raised about the morals of football players as a whole, the usual accusations of overpaid, uneducated young men who feel they can ride roughshod over common decency. Feminists, sports psychologists and radio phone in enthusiasts are all proffering their opinion.

It has been suggested that maybe the players themselves might be upset by Terry’s actions and see it as a betrayal of the team spirit and consequently might affect the changing room dynamic. Wayne Bridge and John Terry lived next door to each other so it is not that difficult to understand the circumstances that this affair might have begun. It is also understood that Vanessa Perroncel at the time of the affair had split up with Wayne Bridge.

On a footballing level , Terry is the right man to lead England. He is probably the best central defender England have had since Bobby Moore, his workrate, commitment and sheer detrmination are unquestioned. He would throw himself in front of the proverbial train to stop a goal whether it be at club or international level.

The matter is not a pure footballing matter though. People are questioning his morals and whether they should be at least partially justifying his behavior by allowing him to retain the captaincy. The argument that he is a role model to the young is a familiar and oft recited one.

It is a tricky issue and one that should be allowed to develop to determine whether Terry’s position is untenable. Having an affair and the consequences that this might cause for those immediately affected is of course not isolated to football players. Have the public become so prurient that this rather tawdry story is taking the dimensions that it has? Keen historians of the game might cast their mind back to the lead up to the 1990 World Cup and a story that was background to Italia 90 and the England team.

The decision will hopefully be Capello’s and Capello’s alone. This whole business is rather a reflection on the modern times we live in and what consitutes public interest. We shall see how this pans out, and have a clear indication of the manager’s thinking when the friendly against Egypt (winners of the African nations Cup 2010) takes place at the beginning of March.

Yes we could do without this story but the matter has to be addressed.
Unfair as it might be, it might be best for Terry to resign the captaincy with a full “mea culpa”. Anyway we shall see. What does remain true is that Terry has been a very good England Captain, and in footballing terms is essential to the team.

No World Cup Song

Fabio Capello has said that the team will not be recording a World Cup song prior to the 2010 tournament. Whenever England have qualified for the finals it has become a tradition to record a song featuring the squad. This time, the manager would prefer the players to remain focussed on the football and the games ahead. The last time England did not record a song for the World Cup finals was in 1966.

Joe Hart comes into form at the right time?

The impressive form that Birmingham City have been showing has prompted speculation that on loan goalkeeper Joe Hart, might be in line for the No.1 goalkeeping position in South Africa. He has been instrumental in Birmingham’s current good form keeeping 4 clean sheets in the last 5 games. Nonetheless it should be remembered he is only 22 and experience is crucial to a goalkeeper. The World Cup might be too much for him. On the other hand, he is a an excellent goalkeeper and might be England’s answer to Iker Casillas the legendary Madrid goalkeeper who was given great responsibilty at a very young age.

David James another candidate who has experience in his favour is rumoured to be joining Stoke City in an effort to boost his international chances. The goalkeeping position is definitely up for grabs, which goalkeeper can grasp it firmly?

Capello to have knee operation

From The Times Newspaper today.

Fabio Capello’s World Cup preparations are set to be hampered by an injury — although this time it is not one of his star players but the England manager himself who is at the centre of concerns.

It is believed that Capello will have surgery in a hospital in his native Italy tomorrow to replace his left kneecap.

The operation on his injury, a legacy of his playing days, is likely to force Capello to use crutches for six weeks and it could be three months before he is fully mobile again.

Even if the surgery is successful, Capello, 63 — who has watched his players regularly in domestic action since his appointment just over two years ago — is unlikely to be able to check their form personally for several weeks as the build-up to the finals in South Africa next summer continues.

Franco Baldini, the Italian’s assistant, is likely to fill in while Capello is recovering.

England’s next friendly is against Egypt at Wembley on March 3 and there are likely to be only two other warm-up matches before Capello has to name his squad for South Africa. They are also likely to play Mexico in May and finally Japan. Their opening World Cup group match, against the United States, is on June 12

World Cup Year

Happy New Year to all those that find this blog. It’s World Cup year and all we can hope at this stage is that our squad finds form, fitness, consistency and stays injury free for the rest of the season. To all those with current injury problems we must hope for a speedy recovery and a return to full fitness. It would be a great boost to choose the World Cup squad from a pool of inform, fit and hungry players.

Surprised to see England quoted at 5/1 to win the World Cup and Brazil 11/2. Strange odds. I actually do not think we are second favourites (Spain at 4/1 are the favourites) but one of a number of teams capable of getting to the quarter final stage. Should we get through our group, we will play one of Germany, Ghana , Australia or Serbia.

The World Cup being in Africa might afford the opportunity for an African team to surprise the World. With the African Nations Cup imminent, the African teams will be having a dress rehearsal tournament and that could be an advantage for the World Cup. I do not think any nation would fancy an African team at the knockout stage.

Bobby Zamora was being talked of as a possible squad call up after his performance against Man Utd for Fulham. We must remember though he was not playing against first class defenders in a 3 man Man U makeshift defence. Nonetheless good on Zamora for even getting to the stage of being mentioned, albeit by journalists, but it does show the progress he is making.

So the year begins and we can look forward to the tournament in June. It should be fun!

Potential Problems

During a tournament, the successful team will have a game plan, a sense of purpose and great team spirit and the right players to carry out the manager’s strategy. While the press seem pretty upbeat concerning the England team’s chances in the 2010 World Cup, we should consider the problems we have in our team.

1) The position of goalkeeper is not resolved. All the candidates, James, Robinson, Green or Foster have some problem with their selection whether it be inexperience, form or age. Every winning team needs a formidible goalkeeper who can instill confidence and marshall the defence.

2) Right side of midfield is still open with candidates including Walcott, Wright-Philips, Lennon or even Beckham.

3) Left side of midfield is still open with Gerrard, Cole and Downing all possibilities. Milner is also an outside choice.

4) Can Gerrard and Lampard play together in central midfield?

5) Who plays up front with Rooney?

6) Will Terry and Ferdinand be able to resurrect their partnership?

7) Will altitude become an issue?

These are all big problems. There is more cause for concern than buoyant optimism.

The World Cup Draw

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia
Group E: Holland, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark
Group F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland

At first glance a great draw for England. As the dust settles we have to take stock and realise the teams at this stage have all got here on merit. There will be no home advantage and a game of football is essentially 11 good men v 11 good men.

The USA beat Spain in the Confererations Cup tournament last year in South Africa. The USA have been a gradually improving football nation. Whilst the victory over Spain was seen as slightly lucky, nonetheless they were and are able to produce a result like that.

Algeria beat Germany in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. African football is improving and Algeria should not be underestimated by any means. The African nations Cup in Jan 2010 will give us a clearer idea of Algeria’s style of play and the threat they may pose.

Slovenia we played in September 2009 (please see September archive) and this blog noted the shortcomings that were apparent in this game. It was a friendly and we did win, but Slovenia will also remember the game and be able to take lessons from it.

The draw could have been worse, and whilst we do not have traditional “old school” soccer nations in our group, we nonetheless have opposition that should not be dismissed. It is also better to have tough opposition in the group stage, so that the team is finely tuned and competitive when the knock out stage begins. Remember 2002? We had a tough group, the games were hard and when we progressed to the knock out stage we were able to make short work of Denmark. We were competitive against Brazil in the following game, but as noted in yesterday’s post we were beaten by a better team.

We must go into these games with humility and respect. If we progress we will need to be a well oiled and a fully operational machine in the knockout stage. To achieve this we will need hard games at the group stage. It may not be as easy as being suggested in the press, though it can be considered a decent draw from the England viewpoint. But, please, please, do not think it is going to be a pushover.

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A little bit of history from wikipedia on the 1982 World Cup.

Group 2 saw one of the great World Cup upsets on the first day with the 2-1 victory of Algeria over reigning European Champions West Germany. This famous result for the Algerians put the Germans in grave danger of failing to qualify for the next round. This led to many people believing that the final match in the group between West Germany and Austria was fixed, as Algeria had already played their final group game the day before, West Germany and Austria knew that a West German win by 1 or 2 goals would qualify them both, while a larger German victory would qualify Algeria over Austria, and a draw or an Austrian win would eliminate the Germans. The fourth team in the group, Chile, were eliminated regardless of the outcome. After 10 minutes of all-out attack, West Germany succeeded in scoring through a goal by Horst Hrubesch. After the goal was scored, the two German-speaking teams went into an unspoken agreement and just kicked the ball around aimlessly for the rest of the match. Chants of “Fuera, fuera” (“Out, out”) were screamed by the appalled Spanish crowd, while angry Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players. This sham performance was widely deplored, even by the German and Austrian fans who had hoped for a hot rematch of the 1978 FIFA World Cup match in which Austria had beaten West Germany. One German fan was so upset by his team’s display that he burned his German flag in disgust.[1] Algeria protested to FIFA, who ruled that the result be allowed to stand, but events led to FIFA introducing a revised qualification system at subsequent World Cups in which the final two games in each group were played simultaneously

England’s World Cup woes (A Short History)

With the draw for the 2010 World Cup upon us, perhaps we should examine the circumstances that have prevailed since England last won the World Cup in 1966 that have contributed to our elimination from subsequent World Cups. It will be very fortunate should we avoid any of the problems that have faced an England team in past World Cups.

1970

Food poisoning to Gordon Banks, considered one of the greatest goalkeepers in the game and who had performed perhaps the greatest save ever against Brazil in the group stage, meant that Peter Bonetti had to go in goal for the quarter final game against West Germany. Seemingly comfortable at 2-0 England conceded a goal in the 61st minute. The subsequent substitution of Bobby Charlton disrupted the rhythm of the team and an equaliser by West Germany took the game to extra time. The Germans scored a winner in extra time and Peter Bonetti has been faulted for the goal.

Reason for exit: Food poisoning to goalkeeper, possible wrong tactical substitution.

1974

Failure to qualify was due to a 1-1 draw with Poland at Wembley in 1973. England dominated the game, but could only draw. Poland took the lead with a goalkeeping error by Peter Shilton, perhaps marginally vindicated by the fact that he had practically nothing to do in the game. Poland’s goalkeeper Jan Tomaszewski on the other hand performed heroics that night, making save after save as England sought to win the game. Poland went on to finish 3rd in the 1974 World Cup and perhaps we had understimated how good Poland actually were. It certainly was the golden age of Polish football.

Reason for exit: Heroics by opposition goalkeeper, emergence of the golden age of the opposition, goallkeeping error.

1978

Quite simply we had Italy in our qualifying group and they were the better team. Matters were not helped with the management of Don Revie that was perceived to be too dossier centred, and his assertion that his former club Leeds united were better than England hardly instilled confidence. He resigned midway through qualification.

Reason for exit: Not good enough, probable managerial problems.

1982

Qualification albeit rather fortuitously, saw England’s two key players Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking injured before the tournament. Unable to play a meaningful part, England did well to go through the tournament unbeaten, but emergence from the second group stage was hampered by lack of goals as the team drew with West Germany and Spain. Germany went on to the final.

Reason for exit: Injury to the two best players.

1986

England picked up momentum with a couple of easy wins after a bad start to the tournament. A quarter final against Argentina saw the now infamous “hand of God goal” in a finals that was always going to be Maradona’s. Exit to the eventual champions, by a dubious goal and a wondergoal perhaps papers over the fact that England were just not good enough to win that World Cup.

Reason for exit: Wondergoal, Maradona and loss to the eventual World Champions.

1990

The nearest we have come. An epic semi final saw England eliminated by a lucky deflection after a free kick was charged down by Paul Parker, gave the team an undeserved 1-0 disadvantage. Valiantly keeping to the game plan, Lineker scored a deserved equaliser. A tense and tentative period of extra time saw the teams go to penalties. This marked the beginning of our bad experiences with penalties. Again the team succumbed to the eventual World Champs. We could have won it.
Nessun Dorma!

Reason for exit: Lucky deflection, Penalties.

1994

Elimination in qualifying, and perhaps the most crucial game against The Netherlands in Holland, saw an unbelievable refereeing decision, in not sending Ronald Koeman off after a blatant foul. England played well in this game, but poor refereeing and Ronald Koeman who went on to score for Holland in a 2-0 defeat put paid to the England World Cup challenge.

Reason for exit: Bad refereeing and a team that was not probably not good enough overall.

1998

The sending off of Beckham characterised the last 16 game against Argentina. A disallowed goal prevented a heroic win, and the subsequent penalties after a hard fought and sometimes elegant game of football saw England eliminated.

Reason for exit: Sending off, penalties.

2002

Beckham was injured but played. Beaten by the eventual Champions Brazil in the quarter final, in a very humid and hot arena contributed to our elimination, not to mention a lucky goal by Ronaldinho. England were beaten by the better team of that there is no doubt, but the heat certainly was to the team’s disadvantage.

Reason for exit: Beaten by the World Champs, deservedly so.

2006

Injury to Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney evoked memories of 1982. The managers baffling decision on forwards that to this day makes no sense by including Theo Walcott who had not broken into first team football at his club, in a selection of 4 that included the unmatch fit Rooney and Owen and Peter Crouch. Owen was to limp out of the tournament in the group stage. Lack lustre performances culminated in an exhausting draw with Portugal in the quarter final. The sending off of Rooney in the game and penalties saw us eliminated.

Reason for exit: Baffling squad choice, sending off, penalties.

So whether it be injuries, penalties, sendings off, wondergoals, bad refereeing, wrong tactical decisions or just plain being beaten by a better team, there are many possibilities that can conspire to eliminate the team. As the draw is made and we see our group opponents and the pattern of the draw, the first obstacle to be negotiated is our squad for the tournament. If we can have a more or less a full complement of fit and in form players to choose the 23 from, then this would in itself be a very welcome platform to begin the challenge. We will have to wait until May to see our possibilities.

World Cup Seedings

After much speculation the World Cup seedings have been announced and yes England are in Pot 1 and therefore seeded.

The seeding was based on the October 2009 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking and Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina and England are therefore the seven squads that join hosts South Africa as seeded teams for the Final Draw.

Netherlands were initially expected to be placed in Pot 2, but the Dutch eventually replaced France in Pot 1. Portugal also missed out on a place among the eight top seeds.

Pot 2 will be composed of teams from AFC (Australia, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic), CONCACAF (Honduras, Mexico, USA) and OFC (New Zealand).

Pot 3 will include teams from CAF (Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria) and CONMEBOL (Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay).

Pot 4 will have the remaining UEFA teams (Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland).