I have to be honest – there is little of international football with England that I find entertaining. That could be attributed to my being part of a generation of supporters that could probably now be best defined as passive supporters of the national team after a series of high profile campaigns by the media to consistently single out Manchester United players and identify them as the villain of the piece for their various exits from the competitions.
Still, of course, an interest remains. It may be because as a wide eyed child Italia’ 90 represented something of a cultural leap, or being allowed to stay up late on school nights to watch USA 94 with the massive nets, or the fondness with which I remember Euro 96.
The widespread media vilification of David Beckham after 1998, the non-stop mocking of the Neville brothers, the blame placed on Phil Neville against Romania, and the unbelievable under-rating and poor use of Paul Scholes to accomodate Stevie Me are just a few of the incidents that served to alienate me from a more passionate support. I wouldn’t say I’ve ever gone as far as wanting England to lose but I certainly allow myself to indulge in schadenfreude in situations such as (for example) the last World Cup.
From the press ridiculously printing pictures of Rooney’s foot so it could be rubbed, and the ridiculous expectancy levels on him to not only return from a broken bone far ahead of schedule but also to perform to a sensationally high standard, to the over the top reaction when he failed to score against Sweden or Ecuador and their widespread blame on him or Ronaldo for the exit, and non-United fans saying Rooney was over-rated yet seeing their club represented by national underachievers. That it was Carragher and Gerrard who missed penalties softened the blow, somewhat.
As we build up to another World Cup the burden of expectation once again lays at the feet (or perhaps given his recent form, his head) of Wayne Rooney who can now rightfully claim to be one of the best three players in the world. Knowing how passionate he is you can’t help but want him to succeed; but that’s the thing, my desire for England to succeed is more vicarious on behalf of the United players in the squad.
My “relationship” with the national team will never be what it is with United and in a roundabout way it enhances my enjoyment of international football and the tournaments. In the absence of that combination and team play that comes through weeks and months of training together is the camaraderie of compatriots and that pure individual ability that shines through. In the FA Cup or domestic league I find myself wanting Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal to lose so of course we naturally have a greater chance of winning a trophy. However at international level I don’t have that same desire; just as in the Champions League, I loved seeing United drawn against Milan because it’s a glamour tie, I love the prospect of two of the top nations playing. I want England to play Brazil; Argentina, all the big nations. It’s what the tournament is all about, but it also means I can enjoy the game as a football purist rather than with that inherent nervousness that I habour naturally as a United supporter.
All of which leads me to the point of the blog; as what could be described as more of an interested spectator than a real fanatic, the whole Terry/Bridge fiasco is one that has, for obvious reasons, took the national media by storm.
Wayne Bridge’s position was made “untenable”, not that it was guaranteed in any event, and his decision to not play the the national team is one that did grab my curiosity. Not because of the popular opinion that he probably isn’t good enough to command a squad place anyway (see Carragher, J) but because it raises a moral question. I think it’s a misconception that Terry is the brilliant centre half he is labelled as; he has never been particularly impressive at international level and for both club and country has always been the weaker of the central pairing.
But while the Bridge “semi-retirement” can be glossed over to some extent due to the fact that in Leighton Baines we have a better alternative after Ashley Cole, the Terry issue isn’t so straightforward. Because, although his form is far from sparkling, he is a settled member of that back four and particularly with doubts over Ferdinand’s fitness he is better than the alternatives – the next best being Dawson. I discount Woodgate and King on the basis of their fitness but were both available consistently I would instantly regard Terry as fourth best. English central defenders are at a premium; it is unlikely that Wes Brown will be considered there instead of as a right back – Ryan Shawcross has had a magnificent spell at Stoke but is set for a media backlash led by Arsene Wenger; Gary Cahill, injured currently, is good but only rated at £15m given that City spend over £20m on Lescott, a defender who has already displayed that he is easily troubled on the national stage. Fabio can’t just go out and buy Carvalho, he has a much more narrow pool of selection.
The decision by Capello to remove Terry as captain was seen as a moral choice; something to rightly say he was not the man to lead this team. The more I think about it, the more I think that it was the easy thing to do, because this was the only action he took.
The hard, and the right thing, to do, (in my humble opinion) would be to have dropped Terry completely. Because as it stands, the problem still exists. That he is no longer captain will be seen by the players who are on “team Bridge” as a first step; there will still clearly be a division in the ranks that won’t be appeased by what amounts to a token gesture. That division may prove crucial. For the players it wasn’t just being led by him, it’s his mere presence that will cause a problem.
It will be interesting to see if Capello is actively monitoring the situation or if he thinks the problem has now been dealt with. Will he have the courage to drop Terry if he identifies a split in the camp this week?
Above all of this, Terry is probably the person sweating most on the fitness of Ashley Cole. There will be no disciplinary issue regarding his public scandal given the different circumstances but nonetheless Cole’s presence would not only lessen the odds of Bridge’s selection, it would also give Terry a kindred spirit, an ally. No Cole and the former skipper is suddenly very isolated. Terry’s case has not been helped by his apparent complete refusal of responsibility. He has not publicly apologised; he did not step down as captain. This is his right, of course, but such a lack of responsibility means no compassion, certainly from the public and probably among his team mates as well. It not only blows his ability to lead out of the water but also undermines his team player responsibility. As these are two of the primary abilities Terry previously brought to the team and are now redundant, replaced with ill feeling and division, there is little left, no strong argument to support Terry’s selection. Bridge’s “retirement” has been met by some pundits and supporters with derision given his standing in the squad but there is no reason that Terry’s position should be secured only on the basis that injury doubts plague the other top defenders. Had it been, for example, Michael Carrick who slept with Terry’s wife, would you expect Carrick to be considered for selection again? Make your own minds up on that, but I know what I think.
It was all well and good making the decision to remove the armband from John Terry but that was clearly done as a moral stance by the manager – that in itself makes such a decision a weak one, because to make the correct moral statement on this particular indiscretion would be to remove Terry from that squad altogether. In doing so it’s just as likely that what you lose in Terry’s natural defensive ability (no discernable difference if you picked, for example, Wes Brown) you gain in unity.
The only solution for Capello if he wants unity within the ranks is to expel Terry from selection. His indiscretion did not solely raise the poser “is he fit to lead”, it screamed that he is not a team player. After all the talk of team Bridge and team Terry, it’s team England that the legendary Italian boss needs to focus on.
Naming Terry in the squad is tantamount to trying to squeeze the “I” into “team”.
The article is written by Yolkie who writes for the Stretty Rant. You can follow Yolkie on Twitter.
