It's our great pleasure now to welcome back an old friend to Some People Are On The Pitch that we haven't heard from for some time. Kedge has been watching Euro 2008 with great enthusiasm over the last few weeks, but now the action's all but over he wonders whether England fans can afford to be optimistic about what's to come...
Now that the Euro 2008 football festival is over and the long wait for domestic football starts again (unless you are in Russia), it's time to mull over what the future holds for England on the international scene.
Some people have said that Euro 2008 was a particular success because England were not there. Certainly that's difficult to argue with when, because everyone was so friendly and peaceful, the organisers could dispense with crowd segregation for the Final.
However, as qualification for the 2010 World Cup is about to start, I have one question (well two actually) that's begging to be asked.
Now that Spain have laid to rest the title of 'Perennial Underachievers', who will take on that role? Should it be England? After all, we seem to get to quarter finals on a regular basis, usually to lose in a penalty shoot-out. And Spain had lost their previous five penalty competitions until they defeated Italy.
And if we do take over that mantle, can we, like Spain, win another trophy 44 years after our last?
After all, 1966 + 44 = 2010...?
Is that a good omen or just wishful thinking?
Will the next World Cup arrive too soon for an England team being rebuilt rebuild under Fabio Capello or can the wily Italian have the 'Aragones effect' on the Three Lions? Tell us what you think by leaving us a comment. We look forward to hearing from you!
Showing posts with label Fabio Capello. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fabio Capello. Show all posts
Monday, 30 June 2008
Thursday, 27 March 2008
We're on a road to nowhere
Oh it was woeful. It was inept. Poor, weak, lacking in value. That's my summary of last night's England performance against the French.
I got the distinct impression that the England players suddenly realised that the team they were playing against would be going to Euro 2008 and they wouldn't. What else could justify a ninety-minutes containing such pitiful amounts of enthusiasm, skill and drive.
On the basis of what I saw last night, England got what it deserved by not qualifying for Austria and Switzerland. The very thought of Fabio Capello's side taking one of those valuable sixteen places at the expense of some worthier country is one that makes me slightly sick, so it's rather gratifying that England's current poor standards were confirmed in last night's match.
Whereas Capello's team played in an unexciting fashion to earn a win in his first match, this time they played in an unexciting fashion with not even a goal to show for it. Perhaps we've quickly reached the level without too much need for prolonged ambiguity.
And yes I know England were playing the world-class French side and perhaps you wouldn't expect too much against them, but this was just a complete non-committal to playing in such a fashion that would earn respect from anyone.
All of which leads me to wonder what Capello must now be thinking. Have you ever seen one of those TV shows where a member of the public hands over a family heirloom to an antiques expert and waits to be told all about it? Well I can imagine Capello taking part in something like that. Think of the conversation that would ensue…
Expert: So what have you brought us today?
Mr. Capello: It's a set of sixteen England football players.
Expert: Ah, interesting. And have you had them long?
Mr. Capello: Just a couple of months.
Expert: I see. They must give you a lot of pleasure?
Mr. Capello: Not really. I was told they'd be a good investment but they seem a bit faulty to me.
Expert: Really? Well I can see that some of them are a bit rough round the edges, but they should be OK fundamentally. Did you get them from a reputable outlet?
Mr. Capello: Not exactly. They were a bunch of men claiming to be Premier League managers. Tell me, are they worth much?
Expert: On the open market, they should easily fetch upwards of £200 million, but you'll find this England packaging will lower their value quite considerably. Probably more like £10 million for the lot.
Mr Capello: I see. Is it worth me hanging on to them?
Expert: I'd advise against it. Try to find a new owner for them that is willing to invest in a lost cause and suggest to them that they may one day be a valuable asset.
Mr Capello: Fine, OK. Thank you for your advice.
Expert: No problem… oh, and better luck with your next acquisition.
I got the distinct impression that the England players suddenly realised that the team they were playing against would be going to Euro 2008 and they wouldn't. What else could justify a ninety-minutes containing such pitiful amounts of enthusiasm, skill and drive.
On the basis of what I saw last night, England got what it deserved by not qualifying for Austria and Switzerland. The very thought of Fabio Capello's side taking one of those valuable sixteen places at the expense of some worthier country is one that makes me slightly sick, so it's rather gratifying that England's current poor standards were confirmed in last night's match.
Whereas Capello's team played in an unexciting fashion to earn a win in his first match, this time they played in an unexciting fashion with not even a goal to show for it. Perhaps we've quickly reached the level without too much need for prolonged ambiguity.
And yes I know England were playing the world-class French side and perhaps you wouldn't expect too much against them, but this was just a complete non-committal to playing in such a fashion that would earn respect from anyone.
All of which leads me to wonder what Capello must now be thinking. Have you ever seen one of those TV shows where a member of the public hands over a family heirloom to an antiques expert and waits to be told all about it? Well I can imagine Capello taking part in something like that. Think of the conversation that would ensue…
Expert: So what have you brought us today?
Mr. Capello: It's a set of sixteen England football players.
Expert: Ah, interesting. And have you had them long?
Mr. Capello: Just a couple of months.
Expert: I see. They must give you a lot of pleasure?
Mr. Capello: Not really. I was told they'd be a good investment but they seem a bit faulty to me.
Expert: Really? Well I can see that some of them are a bit rough round the edges, but they should be OK fundamentally. Did you get them from a reputable outlet?
Mr. Capello: Not exactly. They were a bunch of men claiming to be Premier League managers. Tell me, are they worth much?
Expert: On the open market, they should easily fetch upwards of £200 million, but you'll find this England packaging will lower their value quite considerably. Probably more like £10 million for the lot.
Mr Capello: I see. Is it worth me hanging on to them?
Expert: I'd advise against it. Try to find a new owner for them that is willing to invest in a lost cause and suggest to them that they may one day be a valuable asset.
Mr Capello: Fine, OK. Thank you for your advice.
Expert: No problem… oh, and better luck with your next acquisition.
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Blatter - Man of the Fifties...
It's something no decent person should have to face first thing in the morning: a picture of Sepp Blatter staring out at you from your newspaper. Talk about a bad start to your day...
And why was he taking up valuable column inches on this particular occasion? Because the English FA (shock horror) have dared to appoint a head coach for its national team that isn't English. You've got to hand it to him - he's as sharp as a tack when it comes to this sort of thing.
Did no-one tell him about Sven? Oh well, never mind. Anyway, Von Blatter of Switzerland has hauled out his trusty old soapbox once again and proclaimed to anyone that'll listen that it's "a little surprising that the motherland of football has ignored a sacrosanct law or belief that the national team manager should be from the same country as the players."
And fair enough to. Next time I see Owen Hargreaves, I'll ask him if there are any decent managers in Canada that might be interested in being a future head of the England team.
He went on to say: "In fact, most of the best teams have a coach from their own country." As I didn't believe him for a moment, I thought I'd check this out to see if he was right. To my amazement, he was. Out of FIFA's top 20 highest-ranked teams, only four have a foreign manager, one of which is Fabio Capello of England, the others being Portugal's Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil), Greece's Otto Rehhagel (Germany) and Nigeria's Berti Vogts (Germany).
But that's about all Sepp Blatter is right about. It may have been the case once upon a time that a national team should have a manager from the same country, but that's no longer the case. What remains the same is the desire by a great many international football associations (and their fans) to see their team do well, play better and perhaps even win something.
We're not living in the 1950's anymore. If there's a coach out there that can bring a change in fortunes to a team and bring a smile back to the faces of the supporters, who the hell cares? We're not so precious when it comes to buying our cars. If we were, we British would still be driving around in Austin Allegros and Morris Marinas.
So let's just run this past you one more time, Sepp old son. It's an open market out there. A country can choose who it likes to be its head coach, and that's been the case for a long time now, so can you please remember that you're supposed to be taking the game forward into a modern era and shut up now?
And why was he taking up valuable column inches on this particular occasion? Because the English FA (shock horror) have dared to appoint a head coach for its national team that isn't English. You've got to hand it to him - he's as sharp as a tack when it comes to this sort of thing.
Did no-one tell him about Sven? Oh well, never mind. Anyway, Von Blatter of Switzerland has hauled out his trusty old soapbox once again and proclaimed to anyone that'll listen that it's "a little surprising that the motherland of football has ignored a sacrosanct law or belief that the national team manager should be from the same country as the players."
And fair enough to. Next time I see Owen Hargreaves, I'll ask him if there are any decent managers in Canada that might be interested in being a future head of the England team.
He went on to say: "In fact, most of the best teams have a coach from their own country." As I didn't believe him for a moment, I thought I'd check this out to see if he was right. To my amazement, he was. Out of FIFA's top 20 highest-ranked teams, only four have a foreign manager, one of which is Fabio Capello of England, the others being Portugal's Luiz Felipe Scolari (Brazil), Greece's Otto Rehhagel (Germany) and Nigeria's Berti Vogts (Germany).
But that's about all Sepp Blatter is right about. It may have been the case once upon a time that a national team should have a manager from the same country, but that's no longer the case. What remains the same is the desire by a great many international football associations (and their fans) to see their team do well, play better and perhaps even win something.
We're not living in the 1950's anymore. If there's a coach out there that can bring a change in fortunes to a team and bring a smile back to the faces of the supporters, who the hell cares? We're not so precious when it comes to buying our cars. If we were, we British would still be driving around in Austin Allegros and Morris Marinas.
So let's just run this past you one more time, Sepp old son. It's an open market out there. A country can choose who it likes to be its head coach, and that's been the case for a long time now, so can you please remember that you're supposed to be taking the game forward into a modern era and shut up now?
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