If the reign of Fabio Capello has taught us anything, it surely must be that hiring an expensive foreign ‘master tactician’ is no silver bullet for success.
Not that Capello has proved himself the ‘Professor of Football’ that many proclaimed him to be. During the World Cup qualifying campaign he proved himself a sensible manager, ready and willing to make rational decisions and follow through with them. Players were picked on form and fitness, a system was picked and, when successful, stuck with.
Come the eve of the World Cup proper however, the ‘sensible’ Capello went out the window and in its place England were rewarded with a desperate manager whose judgement had left him. Odd calls to Scholes and Carragher sent a message to squad members that the Italian had no faith in them, and the Capello index farce seemed entirely out of character. In places his squad selection beggared belief.
Worse still, he showed displayed no tactical acumen once the competition actually started. Who can explain him needlessly playing Lampard and Gerrard out of position throughout the tournament, ANY of his substitutions or why Wright-Phillips was twice given run-outs ahead of Joe Cole? Can any England fan pinpoint a time when Capello managed to successfully change the shape or style of an England performance during any of the four matches, or when he even tried to? For me, the like-for-like substitution of Defoe for Heskey towards the end of the Germany match was Capello’s lack of imagination and bravery as a World Cup manager in microcosm.
And then there was the Terry scandal. For all those for whom Terry is evil personified, Capello made no mistake. But for everyone else, the Italian’s hanging of the former captain out to dry only intensified any potential splits in the squad and emphasised his dictatorial grip on the team. In the modern age, fewer and fewer coaches manage in Capello’s distanced fashion, and a more hands-on, inclusive approach is normally the way forward.
Players, of course, should take their share of the blame too. But the nub of my argument is this: that managers you think are geniuses are often fallible, and a foreign coach in glasses that comes with a hefty price tag doesn’t necessarily present a better option than others closer to home.
And this is where, for me, the FA have got it all wrong. They assume that the team is good, and therefore hiring the best manager will help it progress. I’m a big believer in the finest managers being able to work wonders (look at Hiddink and Mourinho for recent Chelsea examples of just this), but those managers are few and far between. But generally playing big money – around £6m a year - for an international manager where the requirements are different from club level is a poor investment when you look a the wider problems with English football.
Yes, it’s just my thinking and not based on research or experience, but the better option is surely this. Find a competent English manager who will do the simple things that are needed at international level (ie. play players in their positions and make them feel good about themselves) and not cost the earth – say £2m a year.
That’s £4m extra in the FA coffers. Imagine using that £4m to scour the country and the world for the finest youth coaches there are available, and paying them £40k a year to develop English youngsters up and through the ranks. That’s 100 new coaches funded through just one alternative hire.
Finding new ways to get the best coaches working with young players is the closest thing there is to a silver bullet, and actually it’s where England are most lacking. An article in the Guardian this morning suggested just how far England have fallen behind: while the country has produced a measly 2,769 coaches holding UEFA’s top coaching qualifications, Germany (after much soul searching after failures of the national team in 1998 and 2000) has produced over 12 times as many – 34,970. For the record, France has 17,588, Spain has 23,995 and Italy has 29,420.
In that context, 160 new coaches isn’t that many, but it would still represent a considerable uplift for England. A better idea though, would be to use the £4m to take existing coaches throughout the country and give them grants to get coaching certificates. Paying for each course up to the top UEFA qualification would cost around £5k (you wouldn’t need to go that far, but just for example) – so the money saved would buy you an absolute minimum of 800 top-trained coaches (and that’s if you were funding each course 100%). In this context, having to pay Capello £12m just to leave the post – because of another classic example of a monumental FA bungle - could be costing England as many as 2,400 newly-qualified coaches.
But I’m sure the FA have thought all this through. And dismissed it beacuse of footballing arguments. Or considerations relating to financial efficiency. Or because there's a better way to start catching up with our continental competitors. Of course they have. Probably…
Good article, but a small question-you mention a german failure in 2002. Was this not the year they reached the final of the world cup?
Posted by: Alex McCafferty | 28 June 2010 at 17:49
A good point Alex...typing too quickly. I meant 1998 and 2000. Changed!
Cheers
Posted by: bridgeviews.co.uk | 28 June 2010 at 18:38
The performances in all the games in the World Cup were pretty clueless, yes even the Slovenia game which could have quite easily gone pear shaped, it was only a matter of time before England played a half decent team and got punished.
Let’s just forget Lampard’s ‘goal’ because by that stage England could have easily been 3 or 4 down. Is it Capello? I’m not sure if it‘s his fault, but he picks the squad and the team & tactics so I guess he will probably walk (with a nice pay cheque) but just look at some of the players, How many truly World Class players do England have? maybe it’s time for a reality check, Capello had so little faith in the squad he brings back Jamie Carragher, please! he would have brought Scholes back too, but he obviously saw what was coming and didn’t want any part of it.
The goalkeeping situation is a mess, and the vein continues through the lackadaisical defence, the disorganised midfield and the misfiring forwards.
I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know it’s a right mess! however I know one man who could sort it out, but he’s just taken over at Real Madrid.
Posted by: Football Gifts | 29 June 2010 at 07:53
I don't think Mourhino is the answer to England, but I do know who can take England to world cup glory in future and thats Guus Hiddink. I am not surehough ifhe will be available for next 4 years as he is already 70. Throughout the tournament England looked terrible. For all these Capello is to be blamed. He is the manager and he is the one who takes responsibility. Hesky and SWP were bad bad inclusions in the worldcup. I do not understand as to why the youngsters were not given a chance. Just look at germany and all you can see are youngsters who are playing some amazing football at this point of time. If they had Ballack I am sure they would be the favorites at this point of time. Also since Rooney likes the lone striker role whay wasn't he allowed to do that in atleast one of the matches and see how it went? I mean these are the same bunch of guys who hit over 50 goals combined this season. All in all Capello was a very bad mistake by england
Posted by: sandman | 29 June 2010 at 08:22
I'm starting to feel like I know very little about football...Capello doing so poorly, despite winning so much already. Maradonna doing so well... I'm starting to think maybe the answer is Gascoigne for manager...
Seriously though we do actually have a good generation coming through, we just won the U-17. Think about this for a midfield, Rodwell, McEachren and Wilshere. Though I do think we are realistically 8 years from having another good shot. Capello lost it for me by having to slow central defenders and playing them high up. It seemed like a schoolboy error tactically. I lost count of the ammount of times the Germans got behind our defence. The need for a winter break argument is starting to hold more sway with me though. It does seem like something that you would not be prepared for if you didn't see it first hand.
Either way I am most sorry for Terry and Lampard as it is probably their last World Cup and they really deserved better than this. Even if the media and other supporters don't think so, we know they gave it their all for the England Shirt.
Posted by: J Spencer | 29 June 2010 at 18:28