World Cup, Beer and Pretzels

The World Cup is once again on the horizon, which means I shall be getting very little sleep which means I shall be walking around in a daze for a month; people that know me wont notice much difference. One thing that will notice the difference is my wallet; extra beer and goodies need to be brought in to keep me going through the cool winter nights. I ask myself, to what purpose?

Well if I am honest, I'll answer it's because of my need to see England do well in the game they created. Like many other games that have their roots in England, the English have mastered very few of them and as such find themselves languishing in mediocrity in all (if you remove the South Africans from the England cricket team you are left with mediocrity), with the possible exception of tiddlywinks. I am not going to even try to guess at the reasons for this. But what of this campaign? We have enlisted a master strategist in Fabio Capello to organise the players into something that resembles a football team, that is no mean feat considering he took over the reigns from the "Wally With the Brolly". The thing is I think he has actually managed to convince the players they have a chance in South Africa as opposed to them believing the manager has faith in them as was the case with the 2002 team of Sven Goran Eriksson.

The squad, yet to be finalised, holds promise although I am not sure exactly what it promises. Expectations are high as usual. Many England fans expect a quarter-final berth at least, a number of the English media have our name inscribed on the cup already and will be the first to throw Capello to the wolves if we fail to bring it home again. But in reality what can we expect to achieve in South Africa? Obviously the players and coach will provide the answer.

Fabio Capello, as a player, was a talented footballer without reaching "superstar" status. He won the scudetto four time (3 with the great Juventus team of the 70's and one with AC Milan) and represented his country on two occasions (one against England in which he scored the winning goal which according to Capello was the highlight of his playing career.) It is as a manager that Capello's star has shone. Winning Series A seven times with three different teams (AC Milan, Roma and Juventus) and La Liga twice with Real Madrid. He also guided AC Milan to a EUFA Champions League title. Capello's pedigree is faultless as, it would seem, are his man management skills. Capello is possibly the most qualified coach that has been at the helm of the England team in it's long and not quite so illustrious history.

The players that make up the squad have been called the "golden generation", a name that doesn't sit well with me. The media are responsible for this of course as they are responsible for a number of misconceptions concerning English football. They were looking at a mountain of pyrite and went about the task of fooling us that it was gold. But having said that, there are some talented footballers in the squad. Whether they all go to South Africa is yet to be seen, we shall know next Tuesday (1st June.) There are a few that will definitely be on the plane to SA, maybe not all of those will deserve to be there. I seems to recall Capello saying that he would only select players that were fit and in form, we shall see if he is true to his word.

Of the thirty that are currently in the squad a few select themselves but only a few. Wayne Rooney has to be selected on form (although his fitness is uncertain at this stage.) He has been in brilliant form for Manchester United throughout the year. Another that selects himself is Frank Lampard, he has been the most consistent player in England for the past five or six years. His role in the England team is different to that at Chelsea. Lampard, in order to play alongside Gerrard is the one that has had to compromise, a mistake all England managers have made with him. John Terry, as much as I would prefer to leave him out of the team altogether, will be going. Rio Ferdinand is another that will be going but he has had a number of injuries of late and it is difficult to tell what form he is in. I think the lack of quality English defenders in the PL, as is proven with the recall of Jamie Carragher, is what makes Ferdinand a definite selection. Ashley Cole has his ticket booked. Cole is one of the best left backs in the world and picks himself. The goalkeeping department is settled with David James,Rob Green and Joe Hart already selected in the squad. That's about it as far as the self selectors go, the remaining fifteen places are something of a lottery.

As far as I am concerned there are three more seats available for strikers and four players up for selection. Bent has done enough throughout the season to warrant a place and Crouch's England record should be enough to see him on the plane too. The last seat will be fought over by Heskey and Defoe. Capello has favoured Heskey in the past but I would suggest Defoe is a better option. He is a proven goal scorer for both England and Tottenham.

The midfield is possibly the area giving Capello the most headaches. In his provisional 30 the midfield is where most experimentation is going on and where most of the paring is going to occur. On form, Gerrard should not be selected although I am sure he will be on the plane. He has not played well this season for club or country. Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott would seem to be the best options on the right with Lennon getting the starting role. The left of midfield is not so clear cut. Milner's form for Aston Villa this year has been excellent but he did himself no favours against Mexico. Joe Cole has had a number of injuries this past season and hasn't impressed since returning to fitness. Adam Johnson has played well for Manchester City this year and he did enough against Mexico when he came on as a substitute to suggest he is a serious contender for final 23 selection. Michael Carrick was most unimpressive against Mexico and his club form has been far from good. Gareth Barry's fitness is a concern for Capello and England fans alike. If he was fully fit he would have been an automatic selection and if he can prove his fitness by the deadline he will be on the plane. Tom Huddlestone and Scott Parker have both left it late to force themselves into contention, although both have enough club form to place themselves ahead of Gerrard for selection. However their selection in the thirty was to cover the holding midfield role and to this end there is every possibility that both could make the final twenty three, although it is doubtful both will. Sean Wright-Phillips has shown he can perform on the international stage but he is going to struggle to replace either Lennon or Walcott on the plane.

The starting defence is likely to be Glen Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry and Cole. Cover for these positions is a problem. Simply because Capello coaxed Carragher out of retirement his selection would seem assured. It would seem he has been selected as cover for Johnson. Anyone that can remember Carragher at right back for England in Eriksson's eleven will be hoping nothing happens to Johnson. Cover for left back is between Leighton Baines and Stephen Warnock. Baines' game against Mexico was woeful. Even allowing for the lack of cover he received from Gerrard it was bad enough to discount his selection. Having said that, the other contender, Warnock, is a 29 year old who has had just eight minutes international experience. Ledley King, Matthew Upson and Michael Dawson will contest the last two seats. Upson will take one of them while King, although he didn't have a great game against Mexico, will most likely get the last one. I can only hope there are no injuries to the first teamers because there is no obvious option available to provide adequate cover.

Looking at the squad realistically and comparing them with the top half dozen national teams in the world, there is nothing to suggest that we can go past the quarter final stage again this time around. If we do go further it will take a monumental effort from the players and a fair bit of miracle working from Capello. There should be no blame on the manager if England fail once more to deliver what the fans and the media expect but you can be certain that if England go home before the semi finals it will be Capello that bears the brunt of their wrath.

My twenty three man squad:

Goalkeepers:
Green, James, Hart

Defenders
Cole, Ferdinand, Terry, Johnson, Baines/Warnock, King, Upson, Carragher (no other option)

Midfield
Barry (if fit) otherwise Huddlestone, Lampard, Lennon, Walcott, Johnson, Cole/Milner, Parker, Gerrard (no other realistic option)

Forwards
Rooney, Crouch, Defoe, Bent.

Players who miss out:
Dawson, Baines/Warnock
Wright-Phillips, Milner/Cole, Carrick, Huddlestone (unless Barry is unfit)
Heskey

The choice between Cole/Milner, and Baines/Warnock will be made after the Japan friendly on Sunday 30 May 2010.