The South African dust has just about finally settled on my anger at spending more than I could really afford to go and watch England.
Now my rage and disappointment has subsided, I feel a wave of sober reflection and objectivity flowing over me.
I’m not going to point out the p*ss poor performances by our National sides players, nor will I give my two penneth’s worth about the catalogue of tactical errors the overpaid Italian made.
No, I’m going to try and see things from a somewhat rational perspective- I emphasise the word somewhat as these things are never easy.
Good players don’t become rubbish overnight and despite what Roy Keane said the England side was not full of players who’ve had a bad season- well not entirely.
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Two of the three best players in the Premier League this season started every game for England- Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney in case you were wondering- and between them managed one ‘goal’ in four matches.
At first it was easy sitting in Free State Stadium, to believe that the England players were lazy, uncaring, overpaid playboys who had no pride in wearing three lions on their shirts, Jules Rimet still gleaming, thirty years of….sorry.
But anyone who’s ever seen Wayne Rooney even train will know that the idea of him not bothering is quite frankly absurd. He tries in every game he plays and while on occasion his zeal outweighs his judgement more often than not he’s the best player on the pitch.
Similar comments can be made about Steven Gerrard, after all would a player like him really not be *rsed to skipper the national team to World Cup glory?
Of course these players want to win, it’s ridiculous to claim that any one of them would not want to win the greatest prize football has to offer- particularly when for a lot it’s there last chance.
The problem isn’t that they don’t have the desire- it’s that they don’t have the energy.
The Premier League is the best league in the world- for me there can be little doubt of that. It’s the most entertaining the most dramatic and played at a pace other league’s can’t get close to.
While this season our country’s clubs may have failed in Europe there should be little doubt that it was an anomaly.
Since 2005 every Champion’s League Final has had an English participant- with 2008 having two. That’s not to mention the amount of times English clubs have more often than not at least made the latter stages.
Even the failings this season were somewhat softened by the fact Fulham managed to make the Europa final and restore a little bit of national pride. Almost.
No the problem isn’t that we don’t have the quality in the Premier League, that’s obvious. Of course there are those that will argue “bloody foreigners” are the reason English teams have succeeded in Europe. While there’s no doubt some truth to that point, all the successful English teams have a core of homegrown players- except maybe Arsenal.
Take the 2008 final for example, of the 22 players that started for Manchester United and Chelsea, Wes Brown, Owen Hargreaves, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole were all – in fact they still are- English.
Yet that summer when the rest of Europe was battling it out in the European Championships we were sat at home twiddling our thumbs or looking in our family tree for a Russian or Spanish ancestor.
Now I’m not saying that fatigue was the reason for England’s absence from that particular tournament but this time round Fabio Capello may have a point.
People have cited Carlos Tevez’s outstanding performances as a reason why the ‘Premier League’s players being tired’ argument doesn’t carry any weight.
Yet let’s put this particular point in perspective- for starters Tevez was not involved in a Champion’s League campaign, a title race, a relegation dogfight or a long cup run as were Lampard, Rooney, Terry, Upson, Green and James. Tevez didn’t single-handedly carry his team to the brink of the title as did Rooney. Tevez is twenty-six years old. He’s at arguably the best age for a gruelling season. Lampard, Gerrard, Terry, Carragher, Upson Heskey and James are all the wrong side of 30- anyone past that age will tell you it makes a difference.
I am fully aware that Capello made tactical mistakes but the there should have still been enough quality in the side to at least score more than two goals in four games.
The shocking thing is that the standard of opposition was at least in two of the games barely Championship level.
When it comes to fatigue you could argue that Kevin-Prince Boateng is doing a fine job for Ghana, yet he played only 22 games last season which is hardly a task for a 23 year-old.
One of the biggest shocks for people here in South Africa is the underperformance of Steven Pienaar, he failed to make any sort of impact in Bafana Bafana’s tournament.
Yet this season for Everton he’s been outstanding, being awarded the Toffee’s player of the season.
Pienaar, like Rooney and several other players looked tired from the very first game. The season looked to have taken its toll on him.
I’m not totally defending Capello- I honestly cannot believe some of the decisions he made and bringing on Heskey against Germany when we were chasing a three goal deficit was unforgivable.
However I believe he may make a valid point when it comes to his players being tired.
If England are to ever progress in a major tournament it may be time for the FA and the Premier League to sit down and work out a solution, rather than simply burying their heads in the sand as usual.
Maybe starting and finishing the season a week earlier may be the answer, that extra seven days could make all the difference. Either way blaming referees, managers and even FIFA is getting us nowhere.
Read more of Justin Mottershead’s work on his blog “Name on the Trophy”
Click on image below to see the PORTUGUESE babes at the World Cup