England Features

John Terry or Rio Ferdinand for England? Neither – May 10th 2012

The issues that exist between John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are obviously well-publicised, and supposedly Roy Hodgson will be meeting with both of them prior to announcing his final 23 for Euro 2012.

Here’s a solution for you Roy: don’t pick either of them.

The off-the-field issue first. If one is picked and not the other, the conspiracy theorists will start whispering – as presumably will the press. If Terry is on the plane and Ferdinand isn’t, the suggestion will be heard from some quarters that the latter is paying the price for the former’s alleged transgressions. The FA and Hodgson will also predictably be accused of being ‘soft’ on racism.

Flip the situation around, with Ferdinand heading to Polkraine without Terry, and the howls of disapproval will be heard over ‘due process’ and being ‘innocent until proven guilty’.

What a nightmare – either they both have to go, or neither of them should.

On their current form, and despite their sacred cow status, neither of them deserve to be included in the twenty-three. On the basis of form in the Premier League, Gary Cahill and Joleon Lescott should be the starting centre-back pairing for England, and Chris Smalling and Phil Jagielka should be their deputies.

We have a problem in this country with letting go. We – mistakenly – believe that once you’re in the England team, you’re entitled to your place forever. No, that’s one of the many areas where our national team falls down – the managers in charge haven’t had the strength of character to tell under-performing mainstays to sling their hook.

Rio Ferdinand was once a great player, he’s not now. Take the sentiment out of that, and the cruelty of passing time, and it’s just a reality – he’s no longer good enough for England. He’s slow, his composure has evaporated, and he can’t be relied upon to stay fit through the congested schedule of an international tournament. John Terry? Has anyone been watching him recently? His recklessness in the Nou Camp, his humiliation two nights ago at the hands of Luis Suarez; he can’t be trusted against Europe’s elite. If John Terry wasn’t ‘John Terry’, and he was just another Premier League player vying for international selection, he would barely feature in the debate. That he does is just proof of our continually accommodating English nature.

“Well, he’s played a lot before, so he might as well be picked. It’s John Terry, after all.”

Yeah, that’s bollocks though, isn’t it? That’s not a philosophy that ever won anybody anything.

Roy Hodgson would do well to leave both players, and the problems that they bring, back in England this Summer. Brave new world.

Roy Hodgson already in an impossible situation over Andy Carroll – May 9th 2012

This will be the first contentious issue of Roy Hodgson’s reign as England manager.

The press, in their infinite wisdom, have already decided that Andy Carroll is worth a place in the England squad this Summer. The irony of that conclusion being made off the back of 120 minutes of effective forward play is lost on our media.

If we know one thing in this country, it’s that when our sportswriters think they’re right about something, there’s no convincing them otherwise.

Hodgson’s now damned if he does and damned if doesn’t include the Liverpool forward in his squad for Poland and Ukraine. If Carroll goes, and he’s a failure, then the England manager will be hammered for including him, and for ignoring the more logical and more experienced options that exist in the big targetman role. The media are not so great at admitting they were wrong about something, so expect all this clamour for Carroll to be conveniently forgotten should it not work out.

The other scenario is that he doesn’t pick him. That’s the worst of both worlds for Hodgson really, because when England fail to win the trophy – an inevitability – Carroll will be heralded as the missing link, the ‘proper English forward who those Jonny Foreigner defenders wouldn’t have been able to handle’.

The problem with this perceived purple patch in Carroll’s form, is that it’s been at the expense of John Terry. This is a creaking, broken down centre-half who’s played the last three weeks with fractures in his ribs – of course he’s going to struggle against a physical opponent. What we have to remember, is that Terry – as much as we may like to pretend otherwise – is not an international class defender, the Germans made that point pretty well at the last World Cup. Bullying someone like the Chelsea captain is really not an adequate context for making a decision on whether a player deserves to be playing for England.

None of that reasoning seems to make any sense to the press, so good luck to Roy Hodgson – he’s going to be hammered for whatever he does with this decision.

Michael Carrick should be in the England squad – May 8th 2012

Of all the English midfielders, Michael Carrick is probably the most misunderstood and certainly one of the most derided.

Perhaps the cause of this is the way we watch football now; most people develop opinions based on extended highlights, and as a result the reputation of players like Carrick suffer. Until you see him play live, you can never have an appreciation for how composed he is with the ball at his feet. What is it that they say about good players? They operate at their own pace, and dictate the temperament of the game around them.

That’s Carrick. Sit in a stand and watch him for ninety minutes, and then decide if he’s a good player or not.

Manchester United fans find it hard to love the Geordie; he’s neither Roy Keane nor Paul Scholes, he’s a completely different type of player. Both of those two – at their prime – were highly visible in the United midfield, their influence transcended most of the games they took part in. Carrick’s not like that – he’s a midfielder caretaker, he looks after the ball and distributes it, he never looks to impose himself on a game. English football doesn’t really have another player like him, there’s no other midfielder that can fade into the background whilst also retaining an influence through his distribution.

Yes, of course, he gives the ball away – but actually that’s more a symptom of how the team around him are performing than necessarily a measure of his own contribution. Carrick’s a pretty good barometer for how well United are playing, because he relies so heavily on the provision of passing options by those around him.

If you’ve watched England in the last few years, and sadly we all have, the most noticeable deficiency in our national side is in their ability to keep the ball. It’s an alien concept to players reared under the Premier League’s back-and-forth style – and each and every tournament it costs us dearly.

Who are the reigning World and European Champions at the moment? Who are the world’s most renowned proponents of possession football?

The answer’s the same for both questions.

Putting Michael Carrick into the England midfield would be a masterstroke from Roy Hodgson. Balance the all-action approach of a Gerrard, Lampard, or a Rooney with a steadying force – someone who can be trusted with the ball, and a player who can remove part of the ‘kick and rush’ ethos from our play.

Play Carrick alongside Scott Parker, with Steven Gerrard ahead of them, and you have a midfield trio who tick a lot of boxes. The hunter-gatherer style of Parker, the pyrotechnics of the Liverpool captain, and the metronomic qualities of the United man. That’s a really solid and balanced midfield.

Do it Roy.