Normally the English version of the Energiser Bunny, Rooney’s batteries seemed drained in South Africa.

Given the utter completeness of England’s disappointing performance in South Africa this year, after so much was expected, it’s little surprise that there’s been no end of opinion as to who or what was to blame. One of the more interesting theories is that the grueling schedule in England, with two domestic cups, the Champions and Europa Leagues, international duty and an extremely competitive and physically demanding Premier League table, wore down the British players before the World Cup even began.

Fabio Capello, the embattled but retained England manager, has publicly called for a winter break in the English schedule. Is there weight to Capello’s lament that his side was simply too tired to show their best? The other major European leagues all take time off over the Christmas season. Should England?

Our intrepid writers, Geoff Edwards and Eliot Rothwell have gotten together to kick off a new WFC series, Over a Pint. Every so often, a pair of our columnists will meet in a virtual pub, to pinch the barmaid and debate a polarising football issue. In the first segment, Geoff will try to convince a skeptical Eliot that a little time off would be good for English football.

Geoff: As a follower of the Bundesliga, I’ve become familiar with the winter break. In Germany it tends to run for about 4 weeks, from late December, well into January.

The Germans call their national team a ‘Tournament Team’, as the Mannschaft always seems to progress further than many expect. The main reason for this, so they say, is their preparation, which starts with this winter break. The break serves to divide the season up into 2 parts, giving players a chance to recharge both physically and mentally, and making the latter session less of a slog.

I don’t see why this couldn’t be introduced in England. The England team invariably arrives at tournaments looking unfit and jaded.

Are footy and Xmas inseparable?

Eliot: Being a teenager brought up in the English culture and, more importantly, the English football culture, I’ve experienced the magical time that is Christmas for football fans. The holiday serves as a feast of football for us, from the early anticipation when the Christmas and Boxing Day fixtures are announced in July, to the feeling upon awakening Boxing Day morning and readying yourself for the short drive to watch Bury in an away fixture at Accrington.

The experience is less about the football and more about the banter, being able to share the experiences of the past few chaotic days with your mates and fellow fans. It would be a shame for such a vital social ingredient in the English footballing recipe to be taken off the menu by the big-wig bureaucrats at the FA.

Fergie says, "Bah, Humbug!"

Geoff: I was brought up in the English culture, too (although, unfortunately I’m no longer a teenager) and love the Christmas fixtures as much as the next fan. I’d hate to see the end of them in the English football calendar.  On the other hand, I’d like to see the Three Lions challenge for another World Cup in my lifetime.

That’s why I would propose the last fixture before the break actually be the FA Cup 3rd round at the beginning of January. The action would then kick off again with the the FA Cup 4th round on the last weekend of January.

In this way, we could keep the Christmas calendar intact and still give the players a few weeks to recover from what is a very busy period; the “worst period of the year” according to Sir Alex Ferguson, as poor weather conditions and pitches take their toll on players’ fitness, leading to the inevitable burnout at the business end of the season.

Eliot: The problem I see with that, is the fact it would mean a prolonged break over the January transfer window, when managers may want to see the current form and fitness of prospective new signings in a competitive match-day environment.

On the subject of national team stars being “tired” when it comes to major tournaments, surely a more sensible and less controversial move would be to rid ourselves of the Carling Cup. We already have the FA Cup and the league season, so the extra cup competition is just seen as a distraction to the top clubs.  Hence Arsenal and Manchester United fielding weakened/youth teams.

One less competition would limit traveling and the amount of competitive games played far better than a winter break.

Or this?

Wouldn't you trade this?

Geoff: I think, in this day and age, clubs have players well scouted before the January window. They should already know a player’s capabilities when they move in to sign them. A winter break would give clubs more time to take care of the administrative side of signing players and give the players themselves time to bed in before making their debuts.

I do agree with your point on the League Cup, though. If anything was possible, I would also advocate abolishing it. However, I don’t see it as a viable option. The Football League would never agree to dropping its most prestigious competition, especially as its flagship league is England’s second tier, the Championship.

Maybe a reform of the League Cup could be workable then? A whole host of things could be changed, such as abolishing two-legged ties, or getting the majority of League Cup matchdays in before Christmas.

To relive this?

Eliot: Maybe a winter break is not the issue here. Maybe it’s the whole concept of the extremely long English season. Training for the league season starts at the beginning of July, while Spanish and Italian leagues start much later, giving the players extra time to recover from the previous season before they have to push their bodies to the limit again.

Another remedy to this is to reduce the number of teams in the Premier League to 18. This would lessen the season by four games, giving four extra weeks to national team managers for working with players and four added weeks for the players to regain fitness.

Geoff: I agree in principal but, again, I can’t ever see any of the clubs, or the Premier League, agreeing to reduce the league down to 18 teams, as they would miss the revenue that comes with those 4 lost games. Also, the domestic leagues of the previous two world champions (Italy and Spain) are contested by 20 teams.

With that in mind, I’ll reiterate my belief that the winter break is the best alternative available to help England’s players recharge their batteries both mentally and physically, to help get them in better shape to contest major tournaments.

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At least, no one blamed the WAGs this time!

Now that you’ve heard what Geoff and Eliot think, whose side are you on?  Do you believe they’ve covered all the relevant points?  Give us your opinion.  Vote on whether English football should take a holiday break, wait a few weeks, eliminate or lighten part of the domestic cup schedule or leave well enough alone.  Voice your opinion in the comment section below.

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Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Since England were knocked out of the World Cup, the pundits and the media have been circling, offering up various reasons why we failed. Some are calling Capello incompetent which, frankly, is ridiculous, whilst others are blaming the players, who must surely bear a large portion of the responsibility. There are theories that the style of play didn’t suit the England players but, strangely, they were playing the same system that saw them pick up 9 wins out of 10 in qualification. Many experts are declaring that our mentality is wrong, right up from grass roots football, whilst others believe that captain, Steven Gerrard, got himself into a bit of personal bother a while ago and this caused deep rifts in the squad.

With all of these theories being thrown about, it is hard to see the wood from the trees. Who, exactly, is to blame? Is it the players? Is it the coach? Is it the Premier League clubs who bring in foreigners, rather than give the youngsters the chance to prove themselves? Is it the players who, if you listen to the majority, simply “don’t care”? This, to me, is a fundamental problem for the England national team. The media build them up to be on a footing with the likes of Spain, Brazil, Holland and Germany, yet their record against these teams in recent times is anything but World Cup winning.

Whilst the fans of England continue to hold these false beliefs, championed by the tabloids, England will always fail. The pressure on the players is at such a level that even a misplaced pass draws groans from the crowd. Every single thing that they do is under such microscopic analysis that they no longer feel free enough to simply enjoy their football. Nobody wants to be the one that fails; nobody wants to be the one that gets England knocked out. This presents its own problem, though. If nobody is prepared to fail, then how exactly can they be prepared to succeed? As the old saying goes, he who dares wins, Rodney.

Do the fans expect too much?

The key thing to remember when assessing England and their international tournament record, of recent times, is that there are many things wrong with the way things are set up. I believe that most of the reasons, or excuses as some like to put it, outlined above, do, in fact, hold a certain weight. Most, if not all, of these issues need to be addressed if England is ever going to be in a position to win a major tournament again.

There are so many problems, though, where do we start? Should we look to address things in the short term or should we simply  accept that we will be poor for a few years and try to alter the set up all the way from the bottom to the top, in the hope that things will improve?

The biggest problem that anyone who tries to tackle England’s problems faces is the weight of public expectation. Football fans can, at times, be very short-sighted; they want immediate success and rarely think of the future. It is this impatient attitude which has helped create the situation in which England currently find themselve. Everybody in England is an expert; every pundit knows better than Capello. Quite simply, the nation is deluded. Whoever takes on the task of reinventing English football will have one hell of a fight on his hands.

I can't even remember when Ferdinand was last fully fit

When I wrote Form and Fitness, eh?, just over a month ago, I was quite frustrated at Capello’s choices. I counted as many as 8 players in that squad that I felt, by Capello’s alleged selection criteria, shouldn’t be there. King, Ferdinand, Terry and Carragher were all players I considered lucky to be at the World Cup. All of them had either suffered through much publicized injury problems or been way out of form. Not surprisingly, King and Ferdinand suffered injuries,whilst Terry and Carragher looked devoid of both form and confidence. The result was a defence that was slow and cumbersome, with a startling lack of ability to play a simple pass. Every attack was met with an “if in doubt, boot it out” response. Dawson, who was probably the best English centre half in the Premier League in the final months, didn’t even spend a minute on the pitch! Perhaps the confidence that he had could have made a difference to the setup at the back for England. I guess we will never know.

Gerrard looked out of form, frustrated and lacking in confidence

Carrick, Wright Phillips and Gerrard were also subject to my criticism and, by the looks of it, that criticism has been justified. Gerrard looked out of sorts, as he has done for much of the season for Liverpool, Carrick had injury problems that kept him well away from the first team sheet and Wright Phillips looked like a lost schoolboy every time he stepped on the pitch. Adam Johnson, team mate to Wright Phillips, had been in great form for Manchester City and had, in fact, taken Wright Phillips’ place. How ironic that Wright Phillips got the nod over him.

Lampard, having scored 22 league goals last season, should have been the focal point of England's midfield

Midfield is a big, big problem area for England. In Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, England undoubtedly have two of the best midfielders in club football. The problem is that both of them play “in the hole” for their clubs, yet England’s set up didn’t even have an “in the hole” role. Gerrard was shunted out left, whilst Lampard was required to play more as a central midfielder. I can’t understand why Lampard wasn’t given a more advanced role, with Gerrard being dropped to the subs bench to provide a very handy option and an actual left winger being used on the left.

The last player who was the focus of my bewilderment at his inclusion was Heskey. Okay, he creates chances, he holds the ball up well and he helps to give England an extra option. The problem is, he doesn’t play club football regularly enough to be in form and has always had confidence issues. I like the guy, but he should not have been in the squad. I don’t care that he doesn’t score goals as long as he adds to the squad, which he does, but you can’t expect a player who has had sporadic football at best to find the groove to help his country win the World Cup.

I have a lot of issues with the squad that Capello chose and I think he made a lot of poor choices. I have my own ideas about what should have happened, but I am not deluded enough to think that I am right – see Andy Townsend. Some of the things I have highlighted, although good in theory, simply might not work. Would dropping Ferdinand, King, Terry and Carragher for four centre backs who had been in form actually succeed, or  simply create confusion at the back? I don’t know. The problem as I see it is that the same players are religiously selected, regardless of form and fitness. If the in-form players aren’t tried before the tournaments, then it is simply impossible to change completely for a World Cup.

Should players' places be guaranteed as Rooney's is? There is no doubting his passion but, sometimes, he just needs a break

I would like to see the general selection policy changed. I know that John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are our best centre backs just as I know that Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are our best midfielders and Wayne Rooney is our best striker. I cannot accept, however, that their places should be guaranteed just because of this. When you select a squad full of players that is out of form, low on confidence or recovering from injury is it any wonder that the performances they put together look disjointed and fall far below par?

There are many things that need to change in the English game to make the national team successful. I would like to see a manager who is strong enough to make the unpopular decisions. In Capello, I thought we had that.

I always thought Harrod's was one of the most fashionable shops in the world.

Having just sold the iconic London department store, Harrods, for a cool £1.5 billion, Mohamed al Fayed suddenly finds himself with some last minute shopping to do.  The manager of his football club, Fulham, has left Craven Cottage to take on the challenge of his life.  Roy Hodgson, famous for making quite a lot out of not much at all has moved on to Anfield, where he will attempt to squeeze blood out of the stone that was once Liverpool FC.

His 2+ years at Fulham have brought him to the forefront of English football’s managerial echelons, after a decade long exile in the figurative and literal deserts of professional football.  There were 2 short stints at Inter and Udinese, when the Italian game was still in full flower, but most of the time was spent in Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and, the sandy expanse that is the United Arab Emirates.

In his 1st half season with the Cottagers, Hodgson started out slowly but a torrid finish saved the club from seemingly certain relegation.  In 2009-10, he took the club to 7th place in the Premiership and a berth in the inaugural Europa League competition.  Faced with a heavier schedule, an early start to the year in Europe and the added weight of several key players’ international duties in a World Cup year, Fulham slipped to 12th last season.  The campaign was hardly a failure, however, as the London boys found themselves in Hamburg, late in May, where they fell just short of being crowned Europa League champions, tripped up by Diego Forlan and Atletico Madrid at the last hurdle.

With the Anfield outfit mired in debt, out of the Champions League and looking for new ownership, Hodgson’s performance with Fulham and his reputation for overachieving abroad make him just the right man for Liverpool.

Hodgson: Leaving comfort and safety for challenge and adventure

The trouble is that al Fayed and the Fulham faithful feel he was just the right man for them, as well.  Hodgson will be difficult to replace and the man who steps into the void will be hard put to keep the nucleus that he so skillfully assembled in his short time in London.

American Clint Dempsey’s stock has shot through the roof following stellar performances in last year’s Confederations Cup, Fulham’s Europa League run and the World Cup in South Africa.  Rumours abound that he will be heading to the Serie A, tongues wagging that both Napoli and AC Milan are gunning for the Texas born sharpshooter.

Defender Breda van Helgeland, who was so impressive in his Premier League debut that the Cottagers felt comfortable in selling centre back Chris Smalling, to Manchester United, and striker Bobby Zamora, transformed from a rebel without a clue into a deadly finisher, one recently mentioned by Fabio Capello as a potential partner for Wayne Rooney at the Euros in 2012, are both also linked to serious interest from major clubs this summer.

Mr. al Fayed, while wealthy even by Premier League standards (sorry that looks like an oxymoron to me, too), not only knows how to make a buck but also how to keep it.  Whomever he selects to carry on Hodgson’s good work will not have an unlimited amount of cash to throw at the players of his particular fancy.  The Saudi is passionate about the club but not blindly so; every purchase will have to be well justified.

Said tactician will also have a short window in which to operate, once hired, and will be faced with an immediate imperative in deciding what to do about Dempsey, Zamora and van Helgeland.  The list of possible successors is lengthy and contains many of the usual suspects, as well as a few interesting alternatives.

The main candidates are:

If these are peccadilloes, I'm in!

Sven Goran Ericksson

Short-lived, peculiar and not particularly successful stints at Notts County (as Director of Football), Mexico and the Ivory Coast, all in the past 12 months have not detracted suitors from inquiring after the availability of  the Swede.  Tactically speaking, he is the equal of Hodgson but his emotional detachment doesn’t lend itself well to motivating flawed and average talent into playing far above their expected level.

As well, there is his, shall we say, liberal lifestyle.  Sven has never been very concerned about the more conservative English morals towards sex and celebrity.  When he has it, he flaunts it.  That openness and the publicity that comes with it may not appeal to al Fayed, known to favour a pretty skirt but in a more discreet manner.

You draw some and you lose some

Mark Hughes

As it turns out, Roberto Mancini was able to do no better at Manchester City, than Sparky, with or without the petulant Robinho.  In the rundown to the season, the Italian’s more conservative tactics took a back seat, as well, and he came to rely on the nose for goal of  Hughes’ two favourite terriers, Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy.  Strangely, Hughes has been passed up for at least one job (West Ham), since his unexpected exit from the Eastlands, even though he has been forecast as the next man for virtually every new opening this year.

If he comes to Fulham, he will bring the same straightforward manner that Hodgson displayed, if not so genteel, but he will have to be prepared to work on a budget.  Results in that sort of environment have been a bit of a mixed bag for the Fergie disciple.  He may be up to the challenge of keeping Zamora on the right track, however, and he is also the type of manager that may convince Dempsey to stay put.

Has it all passed him by?

Alan Curbishley

Having sat on the curb (ouch) for quite some time now, the former Charlton and West Ham man is keen to get back in the game.  He did very well for the majority of his decade and a half at Happy Valley, bringing the Addicks up from the Championship and establishing them as a solid mid table side until financial woes saw them slide back down the mountain.  His thrifty approach will certainly catch al Fayed’s eye but, while at West Ham, he had serious issues with the now Fulham defender, Paul Konchesky and captain Danny Murphy.

His time out of the game may count against him, as well.

A clubbed man

A club man

Sean O’Driscoll

The former Cottager, who featured in almost 150 matches for them in the early ’80′s has made his mark as a boss at Doncaster.  After guiding them into the Championship 2 seasons ago, they fell off the pace for a playoff spot in 2010, very late on.  He has been touted for a top flight job before, losing out at Bolton to Owen Coyle.

Tony Mowbray

After a nightmarish but mercifully short stint in charge of his dream club, Celtic, Mowbray may want to pinch himself to make sure he’s awake if another job comes his way this quickly.  His open style, so successful at keeping West Brom on the fringe of the Premier League, despite (again) a short budget, did not translate into the rough and ready Scottish League.  The handsome devil will certainly land somewhere. The question is:  has the shock worn off enough for him to cope with another high profile position so soon?

And the surprisingly silly but, hey, you never know, candidate being pushed in some circles is:

Stepping up in a big way?

Danny Murphy

Yes, that’s right.  Danny Murphy.  He has no coaching badges, is still playing and already has a moonlight gig blogging for Yahoo! Eurosport but there seems to be a kernel of truth to this bit of gossip.

Murphy has made it known he’d like to manage at some point, he’s well liked, is very much the Fulham version of Alan Shearer, if you will, and he certainly knows the squad.  Still, Shearer at least waited until after he retired to take a test drive in the hot seat.  As for being a nice guy, we see where that got Gianfranco Zola. Lastly, although he may have pull on the pitch, it’s not clear that Danny boy has the juice off it to keep Dempsey, Zamora and van Helgeland with the club.  Likely enough, there are just too many questions here for al Fayed to put further faith in his captain.

The rest of the pack includes Glen Hoddle, Slaven Bilic, Gareth Southgate and <raise eyebrows here> Carlos Queiroz.  Whether the Portugal man is ready to step back into the club scene is in doubt.  Despite the disgruntlement of some players (most notably Brazilian born and soon to be returning home midfielder, Deco) with the conservative style employed by their manager, the boss is insistent that he will remain in charge of the Iberians.

The outgoing Chelsea player’s opinion may not carry that much weight with the Portuguese federation, when it comes down to it.  Open play is all well and good but no one can deny that Queiroz ‘ tactics brought the Portuguese safely through the group of death and earned them a nil-nil draw against the Brazilians, not an easy feat to accomplish under any circumstances.  Even in their final game, the underdogs looked the more likely side to score for the major portion of the match, until disaster struck in the form of David Villa.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s former understudy  may return to club football at some point in the future.  If he does, however, his work at this World Cup promises to land him at a more high profile out fit than Fulham.

An intriguing, if unlikely, possibility

There are certainly a lot of fish in the managerial sea for Mohamed al Fayed.  He will need to be wise but quick in choosing which one to go after.  There is one name, though, that I haven’t heard thrown about with regard to the Cottagers.  Perhaps, if the Saudi tycoon can wait another 10 days or so, before casting his net, he may be able to bait and land a very big fish indeed.

Fabio Capello is in London already.  He claims to like it there.  If the FA casts him adrift, is it possible he’d be willing to stay and take on the challenge of turning the minnows of Craven Cottage into a whale that swallows Wembley?

Opinion is divided on the appointment; there are large, vocal groups of fans who believe this is indicative of the ambition, or lack thereof, the current owners hold for the club. They’re disappointed with the news, having wanted a “bigger name.” However, these are, in many cases, the same fans who think we should have bought David Silva, David Villa and A N Other this summer. In short, they’re dreamers, locked into the club’s past and finding it difficult to realize just how serious the trouble is at Anfield.

Opinion is divided amongst the Kop faithful

This is the same group who love to remind Chelsea they have no history and, until very recently, couldn’t wait to tell Manchester United fans to come back when they had 18 top flight league titles. These will be the fans that make the job Roy Hodgson has to do virtually impossible. No matter what happens this season, these fans will believe that Benitez would have done better or that Liverpool simply should have challenged for the title. They’ve put themselves in danger of becoming the “new Geordies”.

Maybe I’m all doom and gloom, but my assessment of this once glorious club, which I have loved from the moment I knew what football was, is very different from theirs. Liverpool has not been deserving of their followers’ constant demand for league titles in almost 20 years, when the last age of dominance ended. Liverpool have been left behind their Mancunian rivals in terms of  the “brand”. Liverpool fans love nothing more than to say they are a club built on traditions and their rivals sell outs. That has never stopped the excitement at the thoughts of rich billionaires buying the club, though.

On the other hand, if you can ignore the mindless and senseless shouting of the masses, there’s also a section of fans that calmly look at this appointment and see the merits. It’s no secret that the current owners are looking to sell the club, unfortunately at a tidy profit,and it’s that requirement which may delay the process. Hodgson’s longest tenure in club football  was at Malmo, between 1985 and 1990, where, arguably, he enjoyed his most success. In 34 years of management, he has held 17 positions. He is the managerial equivalent of a journeyman.

There is a largely held belief that Roy, or “Woy” as some sections of the English media have dubbed him, has had a largely unsuccessful career. Most English fans are only aware of his spells at Blackburn Rovers and Fulham, however,with the former,  almost ending in relegation, feeding this opinion.  It’s often forgotten that Blackburn finished 6th and qualified for the UEFA Cup in his 1st season.

His start at Fulham was largely uninspiring, with only 9 points being garnered from 13 league games. Fulham looked set to be relegated and Hodgson’s second spell in top flight English football seemingly destined to end in disaster, once more. In the last 5 games of the season, however, Fulham performed miracles, picking up 12 points, including a remarkable 3-2 win against Manchester City on the final day, after trailing 2-0 with only 20 minutes of the game remaining.

During his spells in Sweden, he picked up seven league championships, two Swedish championships and two Swedish Cups. Of course, a large part of this success was with Malmö and thus discounted by many as being expected rather than achieved.

His time at Halmstads, at the very beginning of his managerial career, was anything but expected, though. In the previous season, they had battled against relegation and were everybody’s favourites to leave the top flight in Hodgson’s first season in charge. This made his achievements all the more remarkable as they picked up the league championship; an honour he delivered once more in 1979.

Swedbank Stadion, where the Malmö fans named a corner after "Woy"

If you ask the man himself, he will say,  “My greatest achievement would have to be the water into wine job at Halmstads.”

Fans of Halmstads have a special place in their heart for the English gentleman but the fans of Malmö went one step further, unofficially naming a section of their new stadium after him – Roy’s corner. The fans there will never forget the day when Malmö knocked Inter Milan out of the European Cup, as it was then, 2-1 on aggregate.

Of course, many would say that this is all very well and good, but where is his big club experience? Jobs in the Swedish league, along with mid table Premier League jobs, offer little in the way of encouragement to many fans. Many of these same fans have no idea about the job he did at Inter Milan back in the ’90s and wrongly believe that he was a failure there too. In fact, Hodgson took over an Inter Milan side that, similarly to Liverpool now, were in dire straits.

Most fans will remember that, in the 1993-94 season, Inter won the UEFA Cup. What most fans will not recall is that they also finished the domestic season just one point from the dreaded relegation zone. It is easy to assume that because Inter Milan is a household name, Roy inherited a great team. This was not the case. In fact, when he took over in midseason, the Nerrazzurri were in big trouble once again, having suffered a terrible start to the season. Remarkably, he managed to steer them to 7th place and ensure qualification for the UEFA Cup.

In his first full season at the San Siro, Hodgson not only took Inter to the UEFA Cup final, where they lost on penalties to Schalke, but also delivered a superb 3rd place finish in Serie A. The biggest mistake Hodgson made at the San Siro was deciding to jump ship and take the reins at Blackburn, with the lure of the Premier League and Jack Walker’s millions proving too strong. The following season, Inter built on Hodgson’s success, winning the UEFA Cup and finishing second in Serie A.

Throughout his career, with the odd exception, he has shown the ability to steady the ship, taking clubs forward. Given the predicament that Liverpool in which currently find themselves, Hodgson is a sensible, if slightly uninspiring choice. Many of the more informed fans at Anfield Road will welcome Roy and wish him luck. They may privately be disappointed at the apparent drop in stature of their once glorious club, but they will also appreciate that, in the current situation, the stellar names of football management simply cannot be attracted.

Hodgson may not have been the name on my lips when Benitez left the club, but I wish him well during his time at the helm and hope that he can prove his doubters wrong.

The goal that never was

In the wake of the humiliating defeat by the Germans and the “goal that never was,” the one question many blundering pundits are failing to answer is: why do England always lose?

Since the spanking dished out by the old enemy, the so-called experts of British football have each cast their damning verdicts on the state of the manager, the players, the F.A and just about everybody involved with England.

The tabloids have followed their usual line of blaming the unfortunate foreigner. The Mirror ran with the dubious headline “Fabigo,” calling for the dismissal of the rueful Italian. But can the persistent failings of a nation be down to the foreigner in charge? Can the manager, who has won just about everything there is to win in the modern era, have become implausibly inept overnight? Well, my answer to that question is a resounding no!

The problems in the English game run far deeper than a few tactical mishaps from an otherwise very talented manager. The problems even run deeper than the abject failing of the so called “Golden Generation.” The real problem lies within the grassroots of English football.

The fact that, on any park, on any miserable Saturday morning, you can hear shouts of “get stuck in” and “nobody scores from row Z” just about illustrates the true reasons for our failings as a footballing nation. A country where physical endeavour is regarded as a greater asset than raw technical ability will never win the modern World Cup. Not until we start to coach our youngsters the art of possession football and the value of technical brilliance will we see a sea change in the fortunes of the national team.

If you were to walk along a Spanish or German park on a Saturday morning, the scene would be staggeringly different to that of their British counterpart. For one, the pitches would have been adequately funded by the efficient national footballing bodies of each nation, meaning that possession football is possible. The coaches would not be screaming at the kids and the parents would not even dare to abuse the referee from the sidelines. There would, however, be noise. The coaches and parents in such countries offer support to the young players. The freedom to express themselves would be granted by coaches, who would not lambast their players should a rare mistake occur. The emphasis on these football pitches would be enjoyment and skill rather than the winning at all costs mentality advocated by the English footballing “experts.”

The footballing culture in these countries is different to that of our own. We find humour in the fact that eighteen and nineteen year-olds arrive at games still nursing a hangover from the night before. The acceptable image of the Newcastle fan, top off, tats on and moobs out, would not be found in the more cultured European nations. To even attempt to reform our national football landscape, we need to change the way we view the beautiful game.

Remember that old saying: “The Beautiful Game?” Well why don’t we treat it as such? The British are always keen to portray themselves as the big-hearted gallant loser and, if that doesn’t work, we seek someone to blame. First there was Sven, then there was Fabio, but the truth is we need to look inward if we are to apportion any of the blame.

Platini in full flow

France won the World Cup of 1998 and the European Championships of 2000 after a couple of years in the international wilderness. After the Michel Platini and John Tigana era of the 1970’s and 1980’s France took stock. They assessed their shortcomings and planned for the future. A national academy for coaches and players was established at Clairefontaine. The Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has longed preached to the English media the value of having player and coach development based in one efficient and mercurial compound. The willingness of the French later reaped full reward as numerous members of the World Cup winning side found their footballing feet at the national centre. Until the English government and the F.A invest into making the proposed plans for a national football centre at Burton a reality, the English game and the national side will not progress on the international stage.

Soul, if not team, mates

Frank Lampard is flattered that he might be wanted on the continent but content to stay with his new manager, Carlos Ancelotti, and do it all over again.  Joe Cole is happy he was given the chance to show he’s back from a horrific injury spell and will wait, until after the World Cup, to choose his next club.  Unfortunately, John Terry seems to think winning gives him license to undermine Steven Gerrard, the new captain of  England, and  Nicolas Anelka believes it gives him the right to return to being La Sulk. So, succumbing to their spoiled inner children, these two have lit bonfires of dissent within their respective camps on the eve of crucial matches for their national sides.

Not for a moment am I accusing either of merely attempting to garner attention.  I believe, in my heart of hearts, that both of them spoke out because they desperately want to win and things are not going their way.  Even though the Chelsea duo were thinking of the greater good, they acted selfishly, thoughtlessly and without consent from their teammates.  They assumed and you know what that makes them.

Each must now lie in a bed of their own making and both are likely wondering how, in trying to be the hero, they have, again, been branded villains.  It’s not hard to imagine that the pair are harboring ill thoughts towards their managers and, in Terry’s case, teammates for letting them down.

The only advice I can offer these bitter twins originally came from some old geezers known as the Glitter Twins.

For Anelka any advice may be too late.  He’s been shown the door by the FFF and has flown from South Africa to London, rather than Paris.  A wise choice considering the furor in France over the side’s poor performance.  Rumors in the London tabloids have him in danger of losing his place at Stamford Bridge, as well as his standing in Les Bleus.

To me, that seems a bit much.  By the time August rolls around, so many other things will have happened at the World Cup, including the crowning of a champion, and after, as well, with the usual rash of transfers resulting from stellar auditions during the competition.  Anelka’s tantrum will be merely a footnote.  Carlos Ancelotti will take his striker aside and politely make it understood that he is not Raymond Domenech.  Then, he and the Chelsea brass will downplay the matter publicly as being between Nicolas and the FFF.

Definitely not a WAG

Anelka’s former French teammates may have a few things to say to him, as well, despite giving him their support after his tirade.  Patrice Evra, the captain, was stripped of his captaincy before today’s loss to South Africa. He had words, himself, with the manager, in support of the banished forward.  Frustrated that his effort had proved to be so much chasing of windmills, he let it all out in a feisty  row with a physio.

The whole side was then dressed down personally by French Minister of Sport, Roselyne Bachelot, earlier criticized by players, courtesy of her deputy, for condemning their posh training quarters in light of the current economic difficulties.  Apparently, she delivered an ultimatum, ordering the team to pack before the match.  If they lost, there would be a bus waiting to carry them to the airport for an immediate commercial flight home, coach class no less.

Bachelot may have been grandstanding for the French press, doing her leftist version of Sarah Palin,with a funny accent, but its hard to argue that it’s treatment undeserved.  When I read about this whole French mess (and the English one, too) the players’ actions reminded me of  the loud obnoxious children frequently encountered in what are supposed to be romantic restaurants, ruining moment and meal for everyone.  So, three cheers for Roselyne.  Go get ‘em, I say.

Still, anyone who reminds me of Sarah Palin has to take some stick.

Beyond what I already have done, I don’t know what I can say in John Terry’s defense.

As for what drove him to go public, I think there were several factors.  To start, he’s competitive and wants to win.  Also, he’s a control freak.  He’s use to being in charge and suddenly, thanks to his antics with Veronica Perroncel, he’s no longer the alpha male in the Three Lion pride.  He believes in and places himself before anyone else.  Those last two qualities combined are often a recipe for disaster.

Then there’s the fact that Nicolas Anelka is a teammate back in West London and they have doubtless talked over the last few days.

Could it be that after their chat, JT thought to himself, “You know, I’m in the same sort of situation over here.  Our gaffer doesn’t always relate well to the players and he seems to think my opinion about who should be playing <read Joe Cole> and who not <read Emile Heskey>  isn’t important at all.  The lads aren’t playing well and Stevie G isn’t stepping up to have a go at Fabio.  I need to step in.  It’s not too good an idea to get in a row with il Signore, however.  Look what happened to old Nico.  Maybe I should just drop some hints in a press conference.”

Of course, if that’s how it happened, it needn’t be said that our boy didn’t stop to think things through but that’s not really his style.  If he had, he might have realized that Fabio Capello is not Raymond Domenech.  He has a head on his shoulders.  He’s playing Heskey because:

1. He works better with Rooney than anyone else,
2. He set up the goal beautifully in the US match and
3. Against Algeria, he was the only interested player on the pitch, literally running his kiester off

He’s not playing Cole because it’s either Cole or Gerrard on the left side and he prefers Gerrard with his added dimension of leadership.  I will admit, in Terry’s defense that it’s beyond me why he doesn’t bring Cole in as a sub, rather than Shaun Wright-Phillips.  That’s no excuse for attempting insurrection, though.

It’s heartening, if you’re an England fan, that none of the team broke ranks to stand with Terry.  That shows they still have respect for their manager, as they should.

Capello , quoted in the Guardian, is spot on in his diagnosis of England’s struggles.

“I don’t know why or how the players have arrived at this point. The training is good, so I can’t understand why they don’t transfer that form on to the pitch. It is simply the fear that stops the legs, that stops the mind, that stops everything. I’m not criticising them for that. I know the problem, it happens sometimes in important matches, this pressure. This is a big challenge, and a big pressure for me and the team.”

Terry is lucky Capello hasn't already shown him the door

Hopefully, he can find a solution in time for tomorrow’s match.

In any case, John Terry, more than Nicolas Anelka, should be concerned with future consequences from his actions.  His international could be over after this tournament, especially, if Capello stays on.  The Italian, when he has more time and options, is not likely to rely further upon someone he can’t trust.

When the tournament does end for the Brits, fingers crossed that it’s not too soon, Terry, unlike Anelka, won’t be flying to a foreign country where he’ll be able to avoid the local media.  Instead, he’ll be landing in a hornet’s nest.  Every pundit who panned him after the Bridge fiasco now has the right to say that he should have been dropped from the national side.

Essentially by going behind Gerrard’s back in this press conference and co-opting leadership of the team, he burned another Bridge.  This time it was on the pitch, though, not off.  He has lost all credibility as a leader and that was his hole card coming into this competition.  He sees nothing wrong, however, because in his mind, it’s all  about him.  Frank Lampard and Carlos Ancelotti should be concerned as their defense of the double begins.

Still, I can’t deny that he’s an effective defender.  Despite his shortcomings, he deserves some form of tribute for his many deeds and accomplishments.  Perhaps a dedication.  Why not?  I’m sure Roselyne enjoyed hers.  This is for you John, with love.

The last verse is so appropo.

‘Well, you’re where you should be all the time and when you’re not

you’re with some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend,

wife of a close friend”

Priceless.

Anyway, in preparing for tomorrow’s match, one hopes that Capello is thinking, “How much would I really lose by starting Dawson and Upson in the middle?”

Pull the trigger, Fabio.

The Champions League win in 2005 seems a long way away now

After six seasons in charge of Liverpool, Rafa Benitez paid the price for this season’s failures with the loss of his job yesterday. Opinion, amongst Reds fans, has been divided on the Spaniard for some time now. Scenes yesterday outside Anfield confirmed both the existence of Rafa’s supporters and also the anger at the situation that has gone on for too long at the club.

As a fan of both Liverpool and Benitez, it was with mixed feelings that I read the news of his departure yesterday. I still believe that he is amongst the world’s elite but, clearly, something had to give. The fighting that has been ongoing between Benitez and the board has done so much damage that changes had to be made.

At the end of last season, it looked like Liverpool were getting closer to that elusive 19^th league title.  All the signs were good for another competitive season. What has occurred over the last twelve months has been remarkable. Injuries have undoubtedly not helped Benitez’s cause, but there have been many more issues.

Benitez has been heavily criticised for not having a suitable back up plan for Torres. Given the Spanish striker’s well-documented injury problems over the past two years, it is certainly a justified criticism. There were rumours, however, that Benitez was duped last summer by the American owners. Staunch Benitez fans declare that Rafa was promised a transfer kitty, only for the Americans to change their mind once Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani had completed their deals. It is a popularly held consensus that Benitez intended to buy cover for Torres, only to be denied the funds when it came to the crunch.

There have been so many rumours, so many snippets of information, during the American reign that is difficult to know, for sure, what the situation really was. As a result, it is not easy to tell whether the blame lies with the Spaniard or the Americans. I believe that the Americans have to take their fair share of the blame but Benitez has also made many mistakes during his time in charge.

There are currently too many players in the Liverpool red who are not up to the task and this was, after all, Benitez’s squad. There are also some very, very good players who will not wait forever for success. Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres are all up there with the best. The problem is that the players that are there to support them are nowhere near the same league.

I had a pretty open conversation with my brother on the subject just yesterday. We looked to compare the make up of squads between Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool fans love to boast about how they have so many “world class” players, with Reina, Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres the four that feature in so many peoples’ lists.

When we discussed Arsenal, we decided that only Fabregas was world class, in our terms. However, the rest of the squad is made up of very good players and, when one is out through injury or suspension, there are usually two or three equally good replacements for each position. We decided that Aston Villa didn’t have a single world class player, but a squad made up of players with very good mentalities and well drilled by the manager.

Chelsea have several world class players with Cech, Cole, Terry, Essien, Lampard and Drogba all making the list. Backing them up there are a plethora of very good players and, even when they are missing five or six players, they can still field a side that is stronger than most.

Manchester City, for all the millions that have been spent, have only one world class player in my mind and that is Carlos Tevez. They have a lot of very good players and I am sure that in the future they will only strengthen further.  For right now, at least, they still have a lot of work to do in building a squad to mount an assault on the Premier League title.

Manchester United have a whole host of players who I would say were world class, once upon a time. Giggs, Scholes, Ferdinand and Neville all fall into this boat. You cannot deny the quality that these four players have displayed throughout their careers but their age has them all on the decline. They are all still very good players but, for me, they no longer belong in the world class bracket . In fact, there are only two players at United who I would include, those being  Rooney and Vidic.

Lastly, we have Tottenham Hotspur. I am undecided on whether any of their players fit the bill. The one player that gives me the most trouble is Luka Modric. I think he has all the makings of a world class player but  it may be a little premature to put him in that bracket. Around him, there are many solid players.  The depth and level of ability of the squad is at a very good standard.

So, it seems to me that Benitez has gone after the “jewels in the crown” during his time as Liverpool manager.  While we all know fans love to see these types of players coming in, Rafa’s over-reliance on certain players  has received well justified criticism. When any of these players is out for a length of time, Liverpool suffer. Mascherano, Gerrard and Torres are all very difficult to replace at such times, but the gulf in class between them and players like Lucas and Ngog is too great.

There are too many positions on the field where the level of ability is far below what is expected of a team challenging for the title. Skrtel looks a shadow of his former self, Agger cannot stay fit, Insua is out of his depth, Lucas will never be better than average, Babel appears to have forgotten how to play football, Riera is average, Ngog is not ready and may never be and Kuyt, for all the hard work he does, cannot change a game in the way you would want a right winger to.

Furthermore, Benitez has seemed unable to inspire his men in the same way he did on the road to Istanbul. Gerrard has looked frustrated and unhappy all season long and it would be no surprise if he left in the summer. He has remained loyal to the club for many years, in the belief that success was just around the corner. With the arrival of Benitez and the early progress made, you could be forgiven for expecting the same. What has ensued, however, has not been success.

If Liverpool are to challenge for league titles in the future, these inadequacies must be addressed. There is a lot of speculation that Gerrard and Torres may be on their way out for a combined fee of up to £100m. This could represent either the death of Liverpool football club as it is known or the saving grace. If the money was swallowed up to cover the debts, the Anfield outfit would be little more than a mid table side.

If the windfall were reinvested with additional funds to supplement, an overhaul could begin with the new manager, whomever that might be. The future is as uncertain as it has ever been for the Reds.  This summer could well be one of the most important ones in the history of the club. There are big decisions to be made and if the wrong choices are made, it could spell the beginning of the end.

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.

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.

David Beckham. An England great who has reached over 100 caps. There were many cynical voices raised when Beckham was edging towards this milestone through a number of token cameo appearances. Beckham, though, has never lost his enthusiasm for playing for England. Overcoming a particularly hateful time after his 1998 World Cup sending off,  Beckham’s strength of character and on-pitch efforts won over the fans and by 2002 he was England’s most important player. He refused to do the easy thing and turn his back on the England team. Even after resigning from the captaincy after another World Cup penalty defeat in 2006, he remained available for selection, and were it not for injury, would perhaps be flying out for a 4^th World Cup this summer as a player. Whilst the atmosphere at Wembley Stadium has not always been pleasant during the qualification stages, Beckham’s introduction always received a unanimous cheer from the crowd, more out of respect for his England career and his desire to play for his country than his potential impact on the game.

Whilst Beckham is not in England’s 2010 World Cup playing squad, Jamie Carragher is, and Manager Capello tried to include Paul Scholes, two players retired from international duty.

Scholes has to be respected for sticking to his decision. He has enjoyed another good season at club level and is enjoying the years that a long international career may have shortened. Unlike Beckham, whose replacements such as Bentley and Wright-Phillips were never able to grab the right midfield spot from him, Scholes’ competition would have included Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, so whether or not Scholes would have featured in recent tournaments is another question.

Jamie Carragher's England Dream Team?

Jamie Carragher’s U-turn on retirement is a slightly different scenario. Carragher “retired” in 2007, possibly at the peak of his Liverpool performances. It is widely reported that his frustration at being not only overlooked for the centre of England’s defence, but also at right-back led to his decision. This is understandable. While Ferdinand and Terry became England’s centre-back pairing of choice, Carragher’s position as a back-up to Wes Brown is still difficult to justify. Nevertheless, Carragher’s selection for 2010 has left other candidates facing a summer at home. The Liverpool defender has been far from his best this season, and is difficult to see where his game time in the World Cup will come from, but is the real crime that Fabio Capello asked him? With the centre of defence being one of England’s greatest strengths, is offering a second chance to a 32-year old more beneficial than perhaps offering the opportunity to a younger defender?

In reality, there is little surprise that Carragher has changed his mind. Although there seemed to be a certain amount of frustration and anger in his initial decision, many players have been unable to resist the lure of another international tournament. Zinedine Zidane retired with several other France stalwarts in 2004, but was asked to come back for the 2006 World Cup campaign and was immediately re-instated as captain. It was clear, particularly from the performance against Brazil, that Zidane still “had it.” It was almost tragic that his full retirement ended on that Materazzi headbutt, but it did give us a famous World Cup image for the ages, up there with Baggio’s penalty and Maradona’s hand.

2006 gave 2 of the greats a chance to retire properly. Materazzi had other plans.

While Zidane’s former co-Galactico, Luis Figo also came out of international retirement for the 2006 World Cup, it certainly seems that the decision to retire is often regretted. However, players like Zidane and Figo, perhaps their countries’ best of the past 25 years, should be considered differently. Recalling a legend is a great way for a manager to regain the support of the fans, as well as giving a boost to his playing squad. Jamie Carragher however, is not about to be given one last hurrah at the world’s biggest tournament. Only an injury to Glen Johnson could give him first-team action in South Africa. So the question is, why retire?

Some do it to genuinely prolong their club careers. Dimitar Berbatov and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, again the biggest stars of their respective countries,  have recently expressed interest in retiring from international duty. Each has suggested that a longer club career is at the core of their decision. Yes, it may be cynical, both are undoubtedly aware that their presence will be missed and that they will probably have their fans clamouring for a return. This did not happen for Carragher. Sure, there was a recognition that he was overlooked by England managers for many years, but I rarely heard an England fan say “If only Carragher was still playing” during the disaster that was Euro 2008 qualification. Maybe his recall to the squad is what he wanted from the beginning, an England manager who shared his own opinion of his worth.

There are many players who make themselves unavailable for more trivial reasons. Dwight Yorke for example, retired from Trinidad and Tobago in 2001 after a fall out with the coaching staff, came back for the 2006 World Cup campaign, retired in 2007, came back for a cameo against England in 2008, and then returned full time for the 2010 qualifiers. Again Yorke was aware of this importance to the team, so knew that a comeback was always a possibility. In that sense, does the star of the team have the power/ego to remove himself from selection just to make a point?

Players such as Zidane, Figo and Yorke were national heroes who could command a place in the team at any time. Ibrahimovic and Berbatov fall into the same category. This does not explain why players such as these choose “retirement.” Maybe at the time, they genuinely believe that their international careers are, or should be over and are simply lured back by coaches who still see some value.

It is worrying that the World Cup squads will feature so many unretired players. Certainly in England, the idea of Carragher and Scholes featuring this summer was very real until recently, the obvious question is why are we still considering these players? Firstly, they have chosen not to play for England, perhaps at a time when they were needed more, and secondly, there must be fresh young talent available for selection.

The Oranje have moved on from Van Nistelrooy

The saddest aspect though, is the one recently echoed by Ruud van Nistelrooy, “ In hindsight, I should never have made the decision to retire from international football after Euro 2008. However, I didn’t know I would regret my decision this much.”

Van Nistelrooy’s decision to retire was born out of frustration towards then manager Marco Van Basten. Now, under a new coach, the Netherlands go to the World Cup off an unbeaten qualification campaign, with a team full of exciting young prospects. There is no longer a place for Van Nistelrooy, who perhaps over-estimated his own significance to the side, and retired, despite deep down, still having the desire to play for his country.

Sure, it is down to the coach whether or not to consider those players who have retired themselves, Scholes is definitely in the minority as a player who refuses to come out of retirement. Gary Neville claimed Capello’s attempt to recall Scholes was desperation, and it is hard to argue. I also doubt that the likes of James Milner and Scott Parker found it particularly confidence-boosting.

Sympathy for today’s professional footballers is often in short supply. But Emmanuel Adebayor’s international retirement from Togo following the horrors of the most recent African Cup of Nations is a tragic story. He simply could not face to go back and, hopefully, he will represent Togo again one day. History is also littered with prematurely injured players, their opportunity to go out at the highest level cruelly taken away from them. Players such as Carragher and Van Nistelrooy who seem to have taken their international careers for granted, will not be given the same consideration.

It seems that the decision to retire from international football is in most cases difficult to explain, rarely taken for good reason, and often a mistake, as Jamie Carragher would surely testify.

David Harrison

With his student days recently over, David Harrison, 22,  entered the real world and currently works as a customer adviser in a high street bank in Norfolk, England. His greatest football experience was going to Wembley Stadium to see Chelsea win the FA Cup Final in 2009 and his football hero is Andriy Shevchenko.

“Disappointment of the Season:”
Runner-up: Liverpool FC. Picked by many to take the Premiership title but an early Champions League exit and a 7th place finish has left the futures of Benitez, Torres and Gerrard in the balance. At times it has been amusing, but it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for the Anfield faithful.

Winner: Thierry Henry.  Remembered on these shores for a combination of technical mastery and his love of playing good football. Not only has he become overlooked by Barcelona’s younger generation at club level, but THAT deliberate control with his hand to tee up William Gallas and deny the Republic of Ireland a World Cup place is one of the defining images of the season, and has left an ugly mark against one of the Premier League’s most favourite players.

                 

Opportunist? Cheat?

“TV moment of the Season”
Runner-up: John Terry/Wayne Bridge. Rarely is the pre-match handshake given so much attention. Close-ups and slow motion replays were shown for days after and Manchester City’s 4-2 win was almost as exciting.

Winner: Arsene Wenger vs the officials. Another defining image of the season. Wenger’s frustration at a late disallowed equalizer for his team against Manchester United was taken out on an unfortunate water bottle. The officials embarrassingly tried to send Wenger to the stands. The Arsenal manager stood amongst the Manchester United fans with his arms outstretched, striking an almost biblical pose. It was the perfect response to the the ridiculousness of the referee’s decision and made everyone watching love the Arsenal boss, if only for a second.

The “that makes a nice change” award
Runner-up: “The Big 4?” Liverpool’s implosion from last season left the door to the Champions League wide open. Aston Villa and Man City made valiant attempts, but it was Tottenham who managed to reach 4th place. With the young squads at these 3 teams and the money Spurs will enjoy if they make it to the group stage, there is no reason why they won’t challenge for the top 4 places again.

Winner: Champions League Exits. At the start of the season, the English contingent was well backed again to contest the latter stages of the Champions League. 3 out of the 4 semi finalists of the last 2 years were from the Premier league. Liverpool’s group stage exit however, was quickly followed by Chelsea in the 1st Knockout Round, and by both Arsenal and Manchester United in the ¼ finals. It has contributed to the greater focus on the title race, but there is no doubt that it was a welcome sight to have 4 teams for 4 different countries in this year’s semi-finals. Plus, getting to watch the match winning performances of Messi, Milito and Robben against the English sides was a joy.

Two of Europe’s finest eliminate the English sides from this  season’s Champions League at the quarter final stage.

The “wish you were still here” award
Runner-up: Xabi Alonso. The Liverpool team is not very different from the one that pushed Manchester United to the final few weeks of last season. However, the sale of Alonso to Madrid has shown how good a player the Spaniard is and how significant he was to Liverpool. Not only a key ally of Benitez, but a huge presence in Liverpool’s midfield. Aquilani has shown glimpses that he can be a more than adequate replacement, but at times, Gerrard has looked lost without Alonso.

Winner: Owen Coyle. Burnley looked set to stay in the division. Coyle represented the tenacity of his Burnley side that had won promotion and posted a victory against champions Man Utd in the early stages of the season. Coyle’s departure to local rivals Bolton Wanderers was felt very bitterly by the fans who once idolised him. Resurgence at Bolton staved of any threat of relegation for themselves, whereas Coyle’s replacement at Burnley, Brian Laws, never looked like being the man to keep Burnley up. Under Coyle, a much brighter future was on the cards.

“Cup Run of the Season”:
Joint Winners: Portsmouth, Fulham. It’s been a disastrous year for Porstmouth and nobody knows when they’ll compete in the top tier again. A Premier League team going into administration simply should not be happening. However, the players, united under Avram Grant have used the cup run to give something for their fans to cheer. A final against Grant’s former club Chelsea awaits them at Wembley, and it could be the one great twist left in the season if they beat the new champions.
Fulham’s Europa League journey began in July and has carried them to the final. With famous wins over Shakhtar, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg along the way, Roy Hodgson has guided his team to a final against Atletico Madrid. It would be perhaps the greatest achievement by a Premier League team this season if Fulham lift the trophy on Wednesday night.

The “He’s still got it” award:
Runner-up: Roy Hodgson. One of the great British managers brought his wealth of experience and knowledge back to England when he arrived at an under-performing Fulham side. Now, he’s in the Europa League final and a safe position in the Premiership. Individually his best work can be seen, with players such as Damien Duff, Danny Murphy and Bobby Zamora rejuvenated.

Winner: Sol Campbell. A quite unbelievable return to the top level. Lost in the wilderness after a pretty humiliating time Notts County, Campbell not only shocked everyone with a return to Arsenal, but after a shaky start, played like the defender he once was. While talk of a World Cup place may be slightly over the top, Campbell has done enough to warrant a contract extension at Arsenal.

The “Made for TV” Game of the Season
Runner-up: Wigan 3 – 2 Arsenal (April 18th 2010)
Paul Merson was the guest in the Sky Sports studio and he spent the entire pre-match chat explaining how Wigan cannot play football well enough to compete in the Premier League. When Arsenal went 2-0 up it seemed he was right. But 3 goals in the final 10 minutes, including a top-drawer winner from Charles N’Zogbia made for a great finish to the game. With Wigan’s survival in the League pretty much confirmed, and another error from goalkeeper Lukas Fabianski, there was also plenty to talk about afterwards.

Winner: Manchester United 4 – 3 Manchester City (September 21st 2009)
The game of the season. This was the sort of game that shows the magic of live football and why broadcasters will pay so much to get it. We were heading for a dramatic and pulsating 3-3 draw. Bellamy’s late goal for City seemed to have salvaged a draw. Carlos Tevez’ return to Old Trafford and a Ben Foster mistake all made for a great story. But it was far from over. 6 controversial minutes of injury time were added and would you believe it, Michael Owen did what he does best and scores the winner. A real rollercoaster of a game. Many games are given plenty of hype and never quite reach expectations, but when they do it is very special, and this was one of them.

The Manchester Derby September 2009

(If you missed it first time round, or simply want to remind    yourself of the drama, here’s a video re-cap of the goals)

It’s been an exiciting, surprising and memorable season for England’s Premier League. Fans of every team have experienced highs and lows this year and we hope it’s the same next time. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Now, onto the summer and the unbearable hype and expectation for England’s latest attempt on the World Cup.

Your personal favourite moments of the season?

David Harrison

With his student days now over, David Harrison, 22, recently entered the real world and currently works as a customer adviser in a high street bank in Norfolk, England. His greatest football experience was going to Wembley Stadium to see Chelsea win the FA Cup Final in 2009 and his football hero is Andriy Shevchenko.