In England we have seen the dramatic transformation of Fabio Capello from failure to saviour, on the basis of England’s last few games. This is the general attitude of the football Press, who not long ago were after his blood and resentful of the massive £6 million a year which he is paid. Yet for me, the evidence is not convincing.
After the recent almost frenzied activity in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers all over the globe, we can take time out of war in the ensuing hiatus to see how things stand; or fall. Fall they certainly did when Senegal, heroes of the 2002 World Cup when they conquered France, were held at home by humble Guinea to a 1-1 draw and thus, to the rage of their violent fans who attacked them at the end, fell out of the competition.
In South America, both the titans, Brazil and Argentina, have been strangely inconsistent. Last time out, indeed, Brazil were held to a draw at home by Colombia, just as they had been so astonishingly by Bolivia. A 0-0 draw against a team which is known for struggling once it comes away from the dizzying and breathless heights of La Paz. The Brazilians were whistled and jeered after their hapless efforts against Colombia and their star attacker Robinho said that he did not blame the fans at all.
As for mighty Argentina, with their panoply of supposed stars, they succumbed in Santiago to Chile, which saw the end of their veteran manager Alfio Basile who, in charge of the team for the second time, promptly resigned. His Brazilian equivalent Dunga, once a well respected skipper of the international team, has been for months a target of bitter criticism and clearly hung by a thread.
In England we have seen the dramatic transformation of Fabio Capello from failure to saviour, on the basis of England’s last few games. This is the general attitude of the football Press, who not long ago were after his blood and resentful of the massive £6 million a year which he is paid.
Yet for me, the evidence is not convincing. One superb triumph, in Zagreb where Croatia were thrashed 4-1. But even there I felt Fabio was over praised for his supposed “courage” in deploying Theo Walcott; hero, with a hat-trick, of the game. Surely it had been perfectly plain late last season when in the European Cup he had two superb games, as a sub, against Milan which he followed with his astonishing 80-yard run, producing a goal, at Anfield versus Liverpool. Even in the 5-1 win at home against modest Kazakhstan, the opposition gave England some embarrassing moments before tiring in the second half.
Nor has the dualism between Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard been solved. Gerrard couldn’t play in Zagreb which gave Lampard the chance to give a dominating performance. But in Minsk, Capello surely dodged the column, picking them both but giving Gerrard, stationed on the left, where he is never at home, a free role, with permission to roam. To come when he wished off the wing and play in the centre where he is, as he says, really at home.
You might say it worked, to the extent that Gerrard, moving into the middle as he would so often do, struck a splendid early goal to put England ahead. But subsequently, his constant movement off his flank left a potentially dangerous gap, which could well have been exploited by a more adventurous opposing right back. The nettle hasn’t really been grasped. Other opponents might be less forgiving.
Fortunately, Wayne Rooney was in dynamic form, back at last to something like his outstanding best, both maker and scorer of goals, now permitted to play as an out and out attacker rather than shoved out to that same left flank with a big, rejuvenated Emile Heskey helping him materially, as he had once helped Michael Owen in Munich, to a shattering 5-1 World Cup qualifying win.
But then there’s the defence, which often in the first half at Wembley even against Kazakhstan, before they tired, looked uneasy and vulnerable. In Minsk, only Rio Ferdinand of the back four was remotely satisfactory, and it was just as well he should be in form. The other three were frankly parlous. That Matthew Upson, after a truly wretched display at Wembley against Kazakhstan, should have held his place in Minsk beggared belief, yet there he was again and just as suspect. True, John Terry was out injured, but surely even the sometimes erratic ex-Wolves centre back, now with Everton, Lescott, would have been a better bet, since Capello seems reluctant to gamble, as he seems to see it, on Spurs’ Jonathan Woodgate, who cannot regularly train. But in the absence of Ashley Cole, a disaster against Kazakhstan at left back, he was entitled to expect more from a struggling Wayne Bridge at left back. While the Manchester United right back, Wayne Brown, has surely shown time and again what a risky proposition he is. Both full backs blundered on the occasion of the Belarus goal.
Then, mysteriously and inexplicably, there is the Beckham Question. For reasons best known to himself but unclear to anybody else but the Italian’s most blinkered admirers, the now faded Beckham is brought on as a very late substitute in game after game thus, absurdly, receiving a full international cap which puts him up there with the celebrated likes of Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore. Words fail me on this. And after spending his few minutes on the field in Minsk, what does he do at the end but march on to the centre of midfield to milk the applause of the deluded England fans.
And what of Wales? For my sins, I attended both their ghastly qualifying games in Cardiff when they achieved scrappy victories against Azerbaijan and Liechenstein. In each case, without the wonderfully precocious 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey in central midfield. Instead, he has been absurdly confined to the Wales Under-21 team, for which, in Birmingham, the day before the Liechenstein game, he played superbly, striking a memorable goal from 30 yards and setting up another. There’s no logical explanation of why John Toshack, the Welsh manager, has kept him out of his senior squad, when he has picked three other members of the Under-21 side.
Had Ramsey, rather than the three various plodders used in central midfield, only been on parade in Russia and Germany, especially with Craig Bellamy back, so quick, incisive and dedicated, a narrow 2-1 and 1-0 defeat might well have been at least avoided.
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