Fabio Capello - only part of the solution to England's problems?
Posted by Gringo Maclure in England | 16 December 2007
So, the national team is to be managed by an Italian. His credentials are excellent, he is lauded by his peers and he has a reputation for an unwavering commitment to winning irrespective of the celebrity or status of his players. Well, I'm not talking about McClaren, am I? But, can Capello turn around the fortunes of the English, forlornly exiled from next year's European Championship?
With respect to an answer to this question, an interesting quote from Venables caught my attention today: "While I love the Premier League and we have great players from all over the world producing entertaining matches, it is a fact the net result is that some of the England players cannot get into their club sides. That is a big problem for the England manager whoever he is because Capello cannot make them play. We had players joining up with us on the back of 20 minutes action for their clubs. That's not enough."
This argument in various forms has been circulating for some time now. The Premier League is so chock-a-block with foreign players (and managers!) that the homegrown chaps can't get a look in. The usual solution bandied about is to set caps on international players at club level, thus forcing the big clubs to develop the domestic talent. Recent murmurs in the UEFA machine suggest this won't be happening for some time, if it all.
If there is a solution to this catch 22 it might be this: send the Englishmen abroad! If quality English players can't get a full match playing for Chelsea, why don't they move to Villareal or Sampdoria or Werder Bremen or Marseille?
The idea may not be as ridiculous as it sounds. Of course, the big sticking point will be pay, but if youngsters were sent on loan abroad - and not just to lower division English teams - they could acquire great experience playing different styles of football, rubbing shoulders with quality players from other leagues, developing alternative life and football skills someplace other than the muddy pitches of ol' Blightey. Hey, they could even learn another language, perhaps Italian, and have a headstart on communicating with the new boss! My main point is that other countries do this with their players to great effect. Fabregas for Spain, Ronaldo for Portugal, Robinho for Brazil all moved at a relatively young age from their home countries and acclimatised and developed into the World Class players they are now at top clubs in foreign leagues.
It is true that playing abroad could reduce a player's profile in his home country. Hargreaves was treated in pariah-like fashion at the start of his international career by English fans suspicious of his "Canadian" background and who did not see the good work he put in at Bayern Munich week in week out. On the hand, a break from the British press could be just what an English player might need. In any case, until recently, the only England first team squad players to play abroad were Beckham and Hargreaves. Beckham's career is on the wane and now Hargreaves is back in the UK, competing directly with Michael Carrick for a place in the Manchester United starting XI. Both, for various reasons, have featured less this season than they did last and, as Venables points out, are not getting the first team run-outs required of England internationals.
This issue must be resolved in some fashion even if the England manager is a certain Mr Capello.
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