Where did it go wrong for England?

After England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008, a significant change was made by the FA to deal with the situation. A foreign coach was hired in the form of Italian Fabio Capello, a move that was criticised by many, including FIFA President Sepp Blatter. Two years on and things do not look any better. England’s dismal exit at the hands of Germany in the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been their poorest showing in the competition since 1998 when they were dumped out by Argentina in the same round.

The problems for England started a long time before the World Cup had even started. In January of this year, tragedy struck the England camp when news broke of an affair captain John Terry had with second choice left-back Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend. As a result, Bridge refused to play for the team at the World Cup. 

But the trouble didn’t end there. A week later, Capello succumbed to media pressure and subsequently stripped Terry of the captaincy. This was another blow to England’s World Cup hopes as it caused a rift in the England squad and Terry certainly lost respect in the camp. The captaincy was then passed onto Rio Ferdinand.

A few months before the start of the tournament, England lost David Beckham as he injured his Achilles while playing for AC Milan. This was followed by another blow, as England’s best player of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Owen Hargreaves, was ruled out of contention because of fitness concerns. Both these players were considered important for England’s World Cup bid.

Then there was the ‘Capello Index’. This was a new venture that Capello was intending to use where he would rate the English players within hours of the end of each game. This was widely criticized in the English media since it meant that the team would be evaluated very publicly. Many saw this as nothing but a means for Capello to boost his earnings.

Further tragedy was to strike the English team upon their arrival in South Africa. In just their first training session, captain Rio Ferdinand was injured in a challenge with Emile Heskey and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament. Ferdinand’s name is probably the first on the teamsheet so to lose him was a big blow. He was the leader of the team and a colossal at the heart of the England defence.

With the English team struggling with injuries, Capello’s choices have been baffling. Ledley King was chosen in the squad even though he has much publicised chronic knee problems. In the striker department, faith was put in Emile Heskey; a striker who prior to the World Cup had scored just 7 times for England in a staggering 59 appearances.

To cover for these problems, Capello turned to defender Jamie Carragher and midfield Paul Scholes for help. Scholes retired from the international game back in 2004, and Carragher more recently in 2007, so for Capello to ask them to rethink their decisions seemed like a desperate act. It did little to instil confidence in the rest of the squad when Capello was going for players that had given up playing for England.

 Another issue that the English faced was that of goalkeeping. England has always struggled in that department and this World Cup was no exception. The issue surfaced as early as the first game when Robert Green’s howler allowed the US to earn a point against The Three Lions. But the problem didn’t really lie within the individuals. It was Capello’s decision to keep his keepers in the dark as to who would be first-choice that caused more problems. It didn’t give any of the keepers some much needed confidence and never allowed them to be mentally prepared for the games.

England’s next game against Algeria was even worse. They failed to score in that game and were poor for most parts of the game. It was another blow to their World Cup credentials and caused further confusion in the camp.

Thereafter, John Terry had a public outburst in a press conference just before their final game against Slovenia. Terry pledged to confront Capello and talk about why England had been so poor in their first two games. This resulted in talks of rifts within the England camp and Capello called this to be a ‘big mistake’.

But somehow, England put aside their problems and overcame Slovenia in their last game. Because of their poor results earlier, they finished runners-up in the group. As a result, they faced European powerhouse Germany in the Round of 16 game.

England were overwhelmed by the occasion and a couple of defensive lapses allowed Germany to take a two goal lead. After England pegged one back, Frank Lampard’s ‘goal that never was’ did little to help England’s cause. Eventually, England were defeated 4-1 and exited the World Cup. Had Lampard’s goal been allowed to stand, we probably would not be here talking about this. One good that came out of this incident is the fact that FIFA have agreed to again explore the possibility of using goal-line technology in future games.

Throughout the tournament, England scored just 3 goals. It is a dismal return of goals and the blame definitely lies with the strikers. Wayne Rooney, who scored an incredible 34 goals for Manchester United last season, was poor at best. He has suffered for a loss of form ever since he injured himself against Bayern Munich in a Champions League game. Had he replicated his United form on the international stage, things might have been different for England.

When Capello became England manager, many thought that things would be different. However, he used the same systems that were used by his predecessors. The decision to play Steven Gerrard on the left wing is a failed one, being tried and tested in the past. Gerrard likes to operate just behind the striker, just as he does at Liverpool so to use him on the left side of midfield is just a waste. England’s 4-4-2 formation with that midfield quartet is pretty ineffective and never once did Capello try anything new.

Some people blame Capello for England’s failure; others blame the players. I think that in all fairness, both parties have to take responsibility. I think that wholesome changes are needed if improvement is really what the FA wants. Capello should be sacked and be replaced by someone who at least has some international management experience and is English. The whole structure of the team should be changed if The Three Lions really want to roar at Euro 2012, though otherwise what we will see would hardly hurt us; we are already immune to failure.