Source: Daily_Mail
DES KELLY: Can't any of these losers say sorry?
I don't care who goes on holiday, or if their other half goes shopping or has her hair done.[LNB] I don't care if players wax their chests during the tournament, (yes, you Wayne Rooney), or have a glass of wine a couple of days after the team crash out.[LNB] Sorry sight: England trudged off the pitch after the Germany defeat[LNB] I don't care that they slipped away through a private exit when they landed back at the airport. I don't care if they had a meal with their wife in a fancy restaurant near home or are lazing on a sun lounger reading this column now.[LNB] More from Des Kelly... Des Kelly: Now it really IS time for England, gentlemen!26/06/10 Des Kelly: Will England hit a new Low in the last 16 against the old enemy?22/06/10 Des Kelly: Is it madness to love the marvel that is Diego Maradona?18/06/10 Des Kelly's top tips for making sure you have a World Cup to remember...11/06/10 Des Kelly at the World Cup: Gazza's tale still brings a tear to the eye 11/06/10 Des Kelly: Land of hope and glory? We won't win World Cup, so just enjoy04/06/10 Des Kelly: Let's pray a shoot-out is 'no choke' for Capello28/05/10 Des Kelly: Is wheelchair basketball for victims? These guys are the wheel deal!23/05/10 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE I don't care about any of it, or at least I wouldn't, if one of that England squad had the integrity to offer an explanation or apology for their pathetic World Cup campaign in South Africa.[LNB] In the run-up to the tournament, these players were impossible to avoid; they were advertising crisps, sportswear, pushing building society sponsors, peddling ghostwritten columns and granting friendly puff interviews at every turn, declaring that England would do this that and the other (usually, the other).[LNB] Now, when there is something serious to be said, when people actually want to hear why these players did not climb even halfway up their own mountains of publicity, they have scarpered, leaving behind a resounding and insulting silence.[LNB] Maybe they are saving up all their thoughts for another book nobody is going to buy. Maybe they think no one will notice if they sneak quietly back into a new Barclays Premier League season.[LNB] But people will remember. They will remember that England trudged off the pitch after the Germany defeat and didn't even bother to acknowledge the thousands of fans who had spent their money travelling to South Africa.[LNB] Nobody forced those supporters to go to the World Cup, of course. It was their decision. But it's a simple decency on the players' part to at least recognise their effort, as they would have automatically done playing for their clubs.[LNB] But big reputations have been seriously damaged here, in some cases irreparably so.[LNB] Rather than address any of this, the squad slunk away, pandering to every stereotype that persists about the England footballer. They have appeared aloof, indifferent and grotesquely selfish.[LNB] They look utterly contemptuous of the 99.99 per cent of the country that exists outside their privileged bubble.[LNB] In this information vacuum, the significance of brief moments of crass stupidity is magnified. The sight of Aaron Lennon puffing away on a big cigar in the departure lounge is taken as an insult.[LNB] Images of Ashley Cole laughing heartily on the way home become more than an inopportune photograph, they're seen as a two fingers to the world. Because you remember this is the same individual who posted a message on his BlackBerry before the tournament saying how much he 'hated' England 'and the f***ing people'. The laugh doesn't just look tactless after that; it smacks of a malign glee.[LNB] Out of Africa: Some big reputations have been seriously damaged[LNB] [LNB]Follow Des on Twitter http://twitter.com/Des_Kelly_DM [LNB]Tittle-tattle within the camp says John Terry's mutinous press conference was actually designed to highlight Steve Gerrard's lack of leadership. Leaks say Jamie Carragher took offence with Terry on Gerrard's behalf .[LNB] This doesn't sound like a coherent England squad. It sounds more like a dysfunctional shower arguing in the green room before The Jeremy Kyle Show.[LNB] So what is the truth of it all? At least Carragher did pop up on the radio last night to deny there was a problem with Terry, or Capello, or the tactics, or anything, for that matter. He did concede 'maybe we think we're better than we are', which was something, I suppose, but not much in the circumstances.[LNB] The only other player who broke cover was Jermain Defoe, Lord help us. And the tone was illuminating as his remarkable selfregard shone through.[LNB] 'I remain convinced that had I played in the earlier two games we would have got off to a better start than we did,' said Defoe.[LNB] 'That's why it hurts so much to hear people saying we don't care - I care.'[LNB] Yes, Defoe cares - but only about himself it seems. This is the depressing message of our times.[LNB] Major disappointment: Fabio Capello, right, Jamie Carragher, centre, and Jermain Defoe after the defeat by Germany[LNB] They are not the Golden Generation, they are the 'Me, Me, Me Generation', where egos are out of control and players are just too full of themselves to recognise their responsibilities in this sorry tale. Germany's Thomas Muller was absolutely right when he said: 'England players are simply not mentally prepared to go that extra mile for their team-mates.'[LNB] One reader of this column, Bill from north Shropshire, was so struck by England's patent disregard for the fans and for one another, he sent me a quote from the late, title-winning Wolves manager Stan Cullis.[LNB] When he was asked to explain the secret of his team's success, Cullis said: 'We won because we had players that were not only skilled but they were men of character. They had their own individual flair but they were men of integrity.'[LNB] Can we say the same about this squad, in a camp where players betray their team-mates, or publicly declare their hatred for the country they represent?[LNB] I know there are some perfectly erudite, intelligent players in the England set-up, men who have worked hard to reach the top of their profession and are perfectly aware of a world beyond any circle of hangers-on. I just wish they had stepped forward by now.[LNB] Otherwise, Lennon, Cole and Defoe, with their cigars and their laughter, are left to do the talking for them. Otherwise, England not only look like an apology of a team, they look like an apology for human beings, too, and that's not right.[LNB] How to cure England's woes, Part 473: what the players apparently need is a 'winter break'. Yes, this will help it will help clubs fly off to Asia and the Middle East to play money-spinning friendlies in mid-season. [LNB] Capello is still absolutely Fab For England[LNB]Common sense has prevailed. Fabio Capello is to stay on as England manager after the Football Association found their backbone in a filing cabinet drawer somewhere. Rather than wait two weeks and 'gauge the public mood' by seeking the counsel of White Van Man on endless phone-ins, the FA decided to act like they were in charge of the game after all. [LNB]Keeping Capello is unquestionably the right call. Some will say it is because they did not want to pay up his £6million-ayear, two-year contract, or because Roy Hodgson was unavailable. [LNB]More likely the FA remembered why Capello was employed in the first place - because the other candidates for the job could not equal his pedigree. That situation has not changed. The only Englishman who has won a league title since the Italian was appointed is Steve McClaren, who picked up last season's Dutch championship. And I don't think we're going back there, are we? [LNB]But it has been convenient to lay the blame for all the failings in South Africa at the feet of the manager and say it was because he is foreign. According to these critics, everything would be miraculous l y better tomorrow if only an Englishman was in charge and the side played 'the English way', as if that had ever worked since 1966. [LNB]Reports claimed Hodgson only had to give the nod and the job was his. Lovely bloke, Roy, and I wish him well at Anfield, but I don't believe that for a moment - and here's why. Hodgson won 32 of his 94 games in charge of Fulham (34 per cent) before heading off to Merseyside. Despite a poor World Cup, Capello has still the best winning record of any English manager in international tournaments and qualifiers, at 71.4 per cent. [LNB]When these debates begin, Capello simply has to drop the seven league titles, four Italian cups, one European Cup and a Super Cup on to the table. He has more titles and medals than all of the English contenders for his job put together. [LNB]Luckily, there are still enough people at the FA too affected by arthritis to allow their knees to jerk as wildly as some members of the media. [LNB]Capello now has the chance to restore his reputation at the European Championship. His record warrants that show of faith.[LNB]I don't give a ref-ing stuff...Look, it's great news for his family, his friends and colleagues.[LNB] It might even make a few anoraks happy as they wait with their Tupperware sandwich box for the 10.54 to arrive at Crewe. [LNB]But the rest of us don't have to pretend to care if Howard Webb (pictured right) is chosen to referee the World Cup final, do we? [LNB]I keep hearing tosh like 'at least there could be one Englishman in the final', as if this was in some way a consolation for the team's disastrous showing in South Africa. [LNB]Taking comfort from Webb's progress is like watching Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton crash out of the British Grand Prix and being told the marshal waving the flag alongside the smouldering wreckage is an Englishman.[LNB] Terrible news. The battle to be crowned 'The World's Most Skilful Footballer' at London's O2 Arena is off. Steve Gerrard and Wayne Rooney pulled out of the event following England's World Cup debacle, denying us all the chance to see them compete against Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Cesc Fabregas and David Villa in a series of 'gladiatorial' battles. What a shame. Now we'll never know what demands more skill, shouting abuse about fans like Rooney, or simply gobbing at the lens like Ronaldo. Who wouldn't have paid up to £269 a ticket to see skills like that? Everyone. You can see why it was cancelled.[LNB] Defoe insists players are behind Capello despite England failureCapello to keep his job as England manager despite World Cup debacle [LNB] [LNB] [LNB]
