When one of the greatest coaches of a generation claims your team has no specific playstyle and that you are suffering from better foreign imports in your league it might be time to do some self-reflection. This is exactly what has happened to the England national team who have been accused of being without identity by current Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque.
The Spaniard is undoubtedly one of the most talented and celebrated coaches in the World today gaining successes in the Champions League twice with Real Madrid and winning the World Cup and European Championships in 2010 and 2012 respectively thus highlighting his credentials with one of the best club and national teams ever.Therefore del Bosque's claims should not be ignored. He is quoted in The Guardian as saying: "There is no 'English football' any more, I don't think: no authentic English style'.What can England do to reclaim a national football identity which has been missing for so many years? So many managers have tried to make their mark on English football in the last decade and a half from Sven-Göran Eriksson and Steve McClaren to Fabio Capello, all have failed. Humiliation in the group stages of tournaments, being humbled by a far superior team in the knockout stages and even failure to qualify have blighted England's copy book for so many years making the class of '66 seem like longer than half a century ago.
Roy Hodgson has now had two major tournaments and has not yet progressed to the Semi-finals being eliminated by Italy on penalties in the Quarter finals in Euro 2012, before exiting the 2014 World Cup in the group stage, bottom of the group and winless. England managers of the past would have already been counting their redundancy pay by now but the FA seems intent on sticking with Hodgson until at the very least next summer’s European Championships.
So what can Hodgson do with his team to grow an identity again? Surely the best way to do this is by finally promoting youth? And not bringing on a younger player for the last three minutes when the game is already won against a lesser team or in a game where the outcome cannot be saved.
The only way these younger players will truly grow in the national setup is if they receive sufficient game time. The young players generally only receive starts in dead rubber games such as in England's final European Championship Qualifying game in Lithuania. The three Lions ran out comfortable 3-0 winners against the minnows with the youth of Jack Butland, Kyle Walker, Phil Jones, Jonjo Shelvey Ross Barkley and Harry Kane all starting while Danny Ings, Dele Alli and Andros Townsend were all used as second half subs.
None of the previous nine players are older than 25 and while this was good experience on the international stage, it was still in a game that had nothing riding on it. England could have lost the game 10-0 and they still would have qualified top of their group and gone into pot 1 for the tournament.
The young players will never learn how to truly cope with the pressures of an international game which is vitally important until they are 25 or over and by then it is already too late. If they are thrown into a must win game against Germany or Spain, then two things will be evident. The first is that there will be a plethora of young German players below 25 with as much experience as the English players that are over 25. The second is that there will be a number of players of around 21 that will make an appearance for Germany and Spain even in such a pressure game. This is because they trust their players.
England on the other hand would leave their young players on the bench claiming that this is experience enough for them. The simple truth is that the management does not trust their young players enough.
Of course, it cannot be claimed that all the younger players that sit on the English bench are ready or even good enough to play in these games. This is a stark comparison to the Germans especially, who have a superb conveyor belt of a youth system churning out potential world beater after potential world beater. This lack of support and trust shown for the younger players then breeds problems at their clubs.
Wearing the three Lions is devalued. Players are shown respect at their clubs and play football regularly. This is not to say that the England national team does not respect their players because of course they do. However, the fact they are paid huge sums of money for their services is in conjunction with players possibly preferring to play alongside their club teammates who they play with week in and week out. This is in contrast to their England teammates who they most likely see a handful of times a year.
Of course England cannot instantly promote youth. They have spent many years cultivating the current crop of players and some of them have become truly World class. Captain Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart have matured into top quality players while the likes of Raheem Sterling, John Stones, Luke Shaw and Ross Barkley are fast becoming some of the brightest English talent. The four latter mentioned players are still very young, all under 25 in fact, and they are a superb example of the potential of England’s future. If they can all keep their starting places in the team then it will be an unprecedented and much needed win for the England youth system.
However the lingering of players that are too old remains. Hodgson seems intent on keeping the likes of Michael Carrick in the squad and at 34, Carrick, who is indeed a talented player, is just too old. When it comes to his time to retire it will once again leave a hole in midfield which will be filled by a player that will take years to properly bed into the team because of a lack of experience. This was conveyed against Spain in England’s 2-0 friendly loss. Fabian Delph, a player hampered by injuries at the beginning of the season and bereft of game time was immediately brought into the England starting team after making a short appearance for Manchester City against Aston Villa. The fact he could break into the team so quickly is worrying for England. It shows the lack of World class midfield depth in the team. It also shows that Hodgson seems afraid of the prospect of playing young players in midfield. The Tottenham pairing of Erik Dier and Deli Alli eventually made an appearance in the game but it was too little too late.
It is of course a dangerous game for any England manager to play in trusting inexperience. The England job is a one-time thing and would be nigh on impossible to have a second spell at. Perhaps this is why managers are so unwilling to trust youth. It seems incredibly paradoxical to say, but who can blame them? For most English managers the pinnacle of their career would be their time with England. The moment they take hold of the poisoned chalice they know that it will not last forever. One major tournament, two if they are particularly lucky. If there is no silverware or real progression then that will be it. So why would they use their tenure as manager to grow, nurture and create the team that will be bestowed on the next England manager?
This incredibly selfish way of perceiving the problem is just the World of sport. No matter how many times a manager says he is growing a team, if the public and critics begin to become impatient at a lack of wins or silverware then they will not last long.
49 years is a long time for a footballing nation with the supposed pedigree that England have to be without a trophy. For both fan and player it feels like an eternity since those famous pictures of Bobby Moore lifting the most coveted of footballing trophies. Every two years there is the same swell of excitement surrounding the Euros and World Cup. Even if the expectation has subsided for many, there is still so much disappointment when England are eliminated early in the competition.
Therefore maybe it's time for the selfishness of both the manager and the fans to be put aside. If the time for a team to be nurtured is given then it could finally yield a team capable of challenging the top 10 in the World.
Joachim Löw was given time and he was able to become a World champion after building on a solid 2010 World Cup. Maybe if England gave their managers enough time who knows where it could lead? It may bring with it a generation of disappointment with no real talent. However, it could bring a team of talent and promise able to finally fulfil the dream that every England fan hopes they will witness in their lifetime, England being crowned World Champions.
Source: DSG
