Put The Crack Pipe Of False Dawns Down And Plan For Tomorrow

In the maelstrom of ink and hyperbole it is often easy for journalists as well as readers to lose track of the essence of any story.  The key word in that sentence is ‘story’ because this is what we are being fed when we open the broadsheet or red top, or click the link: a narrative.  In England’s last display the story of Jordan Henderson’s call up and subsequent anonymous performance typifies the way the sports media operate.  On the face of it Henderson had a debut that was typical for many young payers stepping up onto a higher platform.  Indeed, anyone who has started a new job or gained a promotion knows that first you learn what is expected, and then given time you hopefully excel.  Where before the game he was being touted to sign for United or City, after the final whistle the disappointment was palpable and the hacks who had lavished praise on him turned on him and his England counterparts.  We were weak.  Talentless.  Our youth not displaying the confidence and verve of the French.  It is hard to disagree with all these sentiments but it is wrong to think that we can offer nothing.  Less technically proficient teams have done well in major tournaments; we need to learn to play to our strengths rather than lament our weaknesses.

Another fallacy is that Henderson was played somehow out of position.  As if a young and malleable player, pushed a few yards back in the pitch should suddenly be completely lost.  As if the only formation suitable for his style of play is the one employed by Steve Bruce at Sunderland.  He played beside Garth Barry and in such surely he was the box to box midfielder in that pair.  England have never employed a double defensive shield in midfield.  Henderson played in the middle of the park where his running and ability to pick a pass could be best assumed to have maximum impact.  His performance was spectral due to a lack of self belief; this will grow with age, and if he is ever to be a dominant and exciting presence in international football then this game will make him stronger.  The media constantly want things yesterday: patience doesn’t sell print.  It is up to the fans to back the young players, looking towards the next World Cup rather than the European Championships in two years

Before kick off Fabio Capello attempted to diffuse the excitement surrounding the fixture by explaining openly that this integration of young talent would not be without its growing pains.  Capello cannot be criticised for fielding Gibbs, Henderson and Carroll against France; the only valid criticism is that it has taken him so long to turn his attentions to the green upshoots of the English game, rather than continue to hawk the wilting petals of England’s Golden Generation^TM at the Chelsea Flower show… this analogy is withering – much like hope of winning a World Cup this side of my great-grand daughter’s birth.

It cannot be denied that England lack technical ability, that not everything can be achieved by merely ‘upping the tempo’.  There is reason to pause before curtailing this first foray into younger talent pools.  Support is the key here, in every possible use of the word.  Media and FA need to pull together and fans need to give things time.  Moping over X amount of years of hurt and booing young men will not get us to the summit of world football.

In the run up to the 2018 World Cup bid result we will be discussing how we can get a team ready to really compete.


~ Ed