Despite my best intentions, I missed the first 20 minutes of the friendly on Tuesday night because of a Pilates class. After passing on a bikini wax, I found myself driving home whilst listening to the excited hyperbole surrounding Andy Carroll’s first international goal.

Mike Ingham’s commentary didn’t quite reach the “Remember the name- Wayne Rooney” proportions of nine years ago but his suggestion that the strike ushered in a new golden age for England was palpable.

For a player who is playing his first full season in the Premier League and has been little more than good for his previous employer, Newcastle, the hype around the big striker is remarkable.

Undoubtedly, the £35 million price tag around his neck is part of the problem, but in a world where a young player only need a handful of decent performances to attract speculation about a transfer fee in excess of £10 million, he needs to prove his worth.

Were Carroll only a few years older, his status as a bad boy with a taste for a few drinks may well have ruled him out of international consideration. Having been in and out of the dock over a string of misdemeanours in recent years- the parallels between the 22 year old striker and former stable mate, Joey Barton are hard to ignore.

Every time a nation fails to land a major tournament, the cries for new blood becomes deafening- even when there are no suitable replacements for the current incumbents.

As a result, you find a situation where these young players jump the queue simply because they have youthful exuberance on their side. That is not to say that the Liverpool front man is without merit, but the clamour for his selection simply would not exist if he were only a few years older.

I’ve never been a fan of speculation surrounding the England team in five or ten years time, simply because a team will evolve naturally- simply suggesting that player’s careers should be ended because they have reached 30 is short-sighted and naïve.

Could anyone have forecast that John Terry would be England captain when he was a young player struggling to make an impact at Chelsea eleven years ago? In fact, I imagine that no one outside of the Terry household believed the defender would go on to obtain even a single cap for his country when on loan at the City Ground in May 2000. As much as we may try and predict England teams of years to come- simply sticking young players the media want us to believe are good, into the mix is unrealistic.

Jurgen Klinsmann talked at length on the BBC about the way he and Joachim Low discussed planning the 2010 World Cup as far back as six years before the first vuvuzela was blown. Whilst the concept of an English equivalent might be a noble suggestion, the reality is that planning further than a single qualification cycle ahead is little more than a case of educated guess work.

Do not forget that had it not been for a poorly timed injury, 34 year old Michael Ballack would have led Germany into the World Cup. Circumstance as much as deliberate selection dictated Low’s midfield configuration through their run to the semi-finals.

You only need to look at this qualification campaign to appreciate how difficult widespread planning can be. When Jermain Defoe scored in England’s win over Switzerland in September, he was dubbed as part of Capello’s first choice strike force. Since then, seven strikers have played a role alongside Wayne Rooney and last weekend the Tottenham man found himself an unused and unconsidered substitute.

As such, when the time comes to pass judgement on England’s response to early elimination from the 2010 World Cup, a verdict may be difficult to reach.

The elevation of Jack Wilshere to the senior squad was billed as the best indication that we as a nation had the flexibility to promote our brightest and best ahead of others where the player’s ability warrants such a selection.

It has been impossible not to be impressed by Wilshere’s ability and confidence with the ball at his feet during his maiden season in the first team at Arsenal. Nevertheless his ascent to the national set up is symptomatic of the obsession with youth in this country.

Capello himself talked about and potentially selected Wilshere having barely watched him play. The proclamation that he intended to deploy the Arsenal youngster in a defensive holding role, before changing his mind once he saw him regularly at club level. It was an almost shameful display of pandering to the country’s written media who have used the youngster as a poster boy for their backlash against the once crowned ‘Golden Generation.’

But we need not kneel exclusively at the altar of youth if future international success is to be obtained. There is nothing wrong with playing your best eleven at any given point. If an up and coming player falls under this description, then they should of course be selected but success breeds success and stripping down the current England side is nonsensical.

But I guarantee now that should you attempt to select the squad to travel to Brazil in just over three years time, at least half a dozen names will not have even entered the frame yet as potential options. There is no doubt that nurturing these youngsters is important, but don’t forget that three years is a long, long time in international football.

In the spirit of the Cricket World Cup, to help me complete the slowest 50 since Geoff Boycott was in his prime, feel free to follow me on Twitter.

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