A nervous nation awakes to ugly news.
The England players want Joe Cole in and no more 4-4-2.
It’s 1990 all over again. Just ask Chris Waddle.
Trouble is, as I said the other day, we had far better footballers in 1990. We had players with skill and bottle and flair, players who were still living on the same planet as the rest of us. Italia 90 was 20 years ago and two years before English football sold its soul to Rupert Murdoch.
Fabio Capello’s unflinching man-management style has alienated the players, we are now told.
But the iron man is sounding as dictatorial as ever when he says, “No-one is untouchable. Not in my mind. For the Slovenia game I can do different things.”
Yes, England can lose to Slovenia.
Their captain Robert Koren was asked which England players he fears. His reply was, “No-one.What has Rooney done so far? Nothing.”
Stevie G’s 4th minute goal against the USA might be the only goal we score at this World Cup. I first realised that three days ago.
Personally, I backed Capello from Day 1.
Welcomed his arrival, while always knowing that national team management is nothing like club management, almost a different sport. We qualified with two games to spare and supporters did not have to go through the agonised nail-biting of previous campaigns.
More recently, it was time to remember that tournament football is NOTHING like qualifying football. Qualifying is more like the Champions League. You play teams twice, home and away, but not a week later or two weeks later.
My reservations about the Italian were always (1) that Fabio Capello is the Alfred Hitchcock of football and (2) we can’t do retiro.
Alfred Hitchcock said, “Actors are cattle.” He wasn’t joking.
Retiro is an Italian concept. A player leaves his wife/ kids/ girlfriend, and bonds with his team, which becomes his alternative family and they all focus on winning the next game.
Long spells in training camps work well in Italian culture, where spending tons of time with people you love is an entirely natural thing to do.
England have done World Cup camps before, and struggled with boredom before, but we’ve never done retiro with an iron man foreign manager before.
Today’s headlines include:
News of the World : ROOVOLT England stars fury at Capello. ‘Wayne ego out of control’
Sunday Mirror : TAXI FOR CAPELLO He’ll quit if England flop against Slovenia
Sunday Express : ENGLAND IN MELTDOWN No.2 Baldini at war with FA as axe looms for Capello.
Experienced reporters, who have covered many World Cups, say they have never known such squad disharmony before.
So where am with all this? Where am I three days before England’s must-win game at 3pm on Wednesday?
Well, I watched the video of the Algeria second half, the part of the match that I missed because I found it unbearable. I finally watched minutes 52 to 93 of my recording. Knowing that England were not going to score, I was more distanced, more objective. Incredible as this may sound, I actually enjoyed watching 52 to 93. I wanted to see and I wanted to know.
Wright-Phillips came on and was much better than Lennon. He won several free-kicks, which no other player had done. Defoe added something. Crouch skipped beyond two startled Algerians on the right touchline, right at the end of injury time. Rooney did better on the left side after the switches. He just needs a goal.
Gareth Barry, a solid journeyman, did OK for a guy who has not played at all since his injury.
Bottom line, we didn’t lose. This was Algeria’s World Cup Final and they worked hard and controlled the ball better than England. Our players often looked scared to run out of their zones, scared to support the ball, scared to make a mistake. I figure they’re more intimidated by Capello than by the World Cup.
When Rooney and Lampard get the ball at their clubs, it’s played into their stride. But England players often stand still and pass to a player who is also standing still. That has to change.
Capello is very conservative, a guy who sticks to what’s worked for him in the past. I reckon Fabio now realises he has to give Joe Cole the free role behind Rooney.
My guess: England will work on that for the next three days, after tonight’s team meeting.