Category Archives: Features

FWA Live: Liverpool

Posted on by
Reply

Another lively FWA Live with some hard-hitting views from the panel at the Museum of Liverpool

MICHAEL OWEN: England don’t have the young players coming through which is worrying

ALAN STUBBS: Stuart Pearce told me two players preferred to go on holiday rather than play in the European Under-21 Championship

ANDY DUNN: The FA want to manage expectations – “we’re not going to win and you must get used to it”

CHRIS BASCOMBE: No one should be surprised by the standard of football we’re getting with Hodgson

PAUL JOYCE: To expect England to beat Montenegro and Poland is a big ask

JONATHAN NORTHCROFT: People are fed up with performances like the one in Ukraine

THE fourth FWA Live, sponsored by Barclays, at the Museum of Liverpool on Albert Dock, was another resounding success.

Paul McCarthy, the executive secretary of the Football Writers’ Association, was the “manager” of a star-studded team that included Michael Owen (former Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Stoke City and England striker, now a BT Sport pundit), Alan Stubbs (Everton’s Under-21 coach), Andy Dunn (FWA chairman), Chris Bascombe (Daily Telegraph), Paul Joyce (Daily Express) and Jonathan Northcroft (Sunday Times).

The panel started by discussing England’s 0-0 draw in Ukraine.

PM: Had you been playing, Michael, you’d have been pretty pleased with the result, wouldn’t you?

MO:  There were two questions. One is the result, which is all-important for the team and what they are doing, and then there is the general state of English football which we always dissect after games. Certainly from a player’s point of view, you’re coming off the pitch, shaking hands and saying “that’s a great result…we’re top of the group…we have two home games left against teams below us which we should, in theory, be winning.” It would have been a happy camp. The performance is another matter. It was OK. We’ve been saying the same things over the past few years in many ways. We’re not Spain, we’re not Brazil or any of the great nations. If we went to the World Cup tomorrow we’d be relying on Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and players like that. We don’t have the youngsters coming through who we’d hope would take the nation forward in years to come. From that point of view it’s slightly worrying.

PM: Jonathan, you were in Kiev…?

JN: Yes and it was a long way to go for such a bad game.  As a Scot, during my lifetime I’ve seen the national team go down and down. The same may be happening to England at the moment. As Michael said, the players coming through just aren’t quite good enough at the moment. Roy Hodgson was shocked at the negative reaction but speaking to fans, what he can’t get is that people are fed up with turning on the TV to watch performances like that. It might be harsh but I think the Barclays Premier League is so good and vibrant while England are suffering by comparison. In the old days getting to the World Cup might have been enough but people are looking for a bit more than that now. I don’t think the players coming through can provide a different England.

PJ: Travelling back from Kiev with fans…they were saying it wasn’t just this game, it was Poland, it was Montenegro and there is a trend developing where England haven’t played well. It’s win-draw, win-draw. We’ve only beaten San Marino and Moldova so to expect to win back-to-back games against Montenegro and Poland is a big ask from what we’ve seen so far. We’ve not seen any evidence in the group so far that we’re going to go out and play open attacking football.

PM: Do you sense there is more realism in the media about England, Andy, with less hype and hysteria?

AD: It was a deliberate Football Association policy, no doubt about it. They want to manage expectations – that is, we’re not going to win and you must get used to it. Why did they appoint Roy Hodgson over Harry Redknapp? Without a doubt it was to get a coach in who we won’t expect too much from, to the extent the new FA chairman [Greg Dyke] doesn’t expect England to win the World Cup in 2014. I disagree with Jonathan about our expectations and what we should be thinking. We are what we’ve been for the last 25 or 30 years. We generally qualify for major tournaments, we generally get out of the qualifying group and then we lose, often unluckily, in the quarters or semis. We don’t generally get hammered at major finals. The problem we have is the player group we’re choosing from is diminishing rapidly.

CB: There was a golden generation, you can’t doubt that. Michael was part of it, he won the European Footballer of the Year award. That’s why everyone is so disillusioned. An opportunity was missed. Those players at their peak, with the right manager…no one should be surprised by the standard of football we’re getting with Hodgson. [Sven-Goran] Eriksson and [Fabio] Capello were the same, they just had better players. It was two banks of four and counter-attacking football. If England played like a club side which would it be? Would it be Ferguson’s United? Wingers, a dynamic midfield, a goalscoring number 10…is that the archetypal English way? Or is it Stoke?

MO (smiling): There’s nothing wrong with Stoke…

JN: Jack Wilshere was hyped as one of the next generation…he played the number 10 role for England [in Ukraine] and made 16 passes in the entire game. That’s a position where the Brazilians and the Spanish have world-class players.

PM: In Greg Dyke’s  state of the nation speech the accusation was  that Premier League clubs are almost stunting the growth of young English players into the first-team.  You work with players of that age, Alan, how difficult is it now for English players to break through?

AS: I think it depends on which clubs you are coming from. At Everton, if they are good enough there is a pathway through to the first-team. I don’t know whether that’s the same at your Chelseas or Arsenals. Is there the same pathway there? Tottenham went out and spent £110 million on six or seven players so youngsters like Tom Carroll who were on the fringe of the first-team are probably wondering what chance they have. I think Spurs sent seven players on loan and that’s the way we’re going to have to go. Top clubs will send young players out to get experience of competitive football.

MO: When I was coming through the reserves were that…Owen, Carragher, [David] Thompson, Gerrard, Ruddock…you’d have five or six first-team players with five or six youngsters. That was a stepping-stone and the transition to the first-team wasn’t so big. These days, reserve matches are basically youth team games. It’s farcical. You progress through the academy, you get to 18 and the youth team – and then what? You’re never going to get from the youth team to Manchester City’s first team, never in a million years. Or United. Or Liverpool. Even at Everton you’d need to be sensational…

PM: …like a Ross Barkley…

MO: …even he’s been on loan [to Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United]. Eighteen year olds are doing the same thing they were three years ago, which is going stale because there is no stepping-stone.

AD: Chelsea invested millions in their academy and you think of some of their players who came through. Michael Mancienne [after five years of loan spells at QPR and Wolves he joined Hamburger SV in 2011) and Josh McEachran [on loan to Swansea last year, now on loan at Middlesbrough]. When players go back after a loan they become disillusioned.

PM: Is there almost a satisfaction of reaching a certain level with English players?

JN: Josh [who is 20] is a good example. He has a celebrity girlfriend [Brooke Vincent who plays Sophie Webster in Coronation Street] and has been earning £20,000 a week for the last three years . There is no real incentive because in his mind he’s made it already. He seems symptomatic of that made-it-before-you-have-proved-it syndrome.

AS: We give young lads who have done nothing far too much money. We are now talking about players on £10,000 a week before they have played their first game because of hype. Unfortunately agents now say if the kid doesn’t get that they’ll take them somewhere else. It’s a vicious circle, but there has to be a ceiling somewhere along the line where young lads only get so much money with the rest incentive-based. The trouble is, it is so difficult with agents.

The discussion turned to players who are eligible for the Under-21’s being promoted to the senior squad and then dropping back to the Under-21’s.

AS: It’s great for Ross Barkley that he was away training with England [against Moldova and Ukraine] but will he see going back to the Under-21’s as demotion? No, Ross won’t have a problem with this, he’s a wonderful kid and a lad who loves football. The last player we had at Everton who loved football [like that] was Wayne Rooney. Ross plays football because he loves the game. He doesn’t do it for money. I spoke to Stuart Pearce [former Under-21 manager] and he said his problem was two players preferred to go on holiday rather than play in the European Championship [this summer]. What chance do you have when young players prefer to go on holiday rather than help their country to win a European competition?

As Gareth Bale prepares to start his career with Real Madrid, Michael Owen gave his verdict on the former Spurs midfielder.

MO: He’s a top player and there will be expectations, but it can’t be too difficult when you have team-mates like Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s the top dog, one of the best two if not the best player in the world. Bale won’t take all the limelight away from him, but I’ve no doubts Gareth will do well. People can make a big thing about pressure, but if you are a top player you lap it up. When I was in the prime of my career I used to love going out and thinking “this team is relying on me to score a goal.” I thrived on thinking I was important. I don’t think Bale would fail because there’s too much pressure on him. I bet he can’t wait to get going and lap it up.

MORE FROM FWA Live next week when the panel give their verdict on Luis Suarez…and reveal the manager who has changed English football more than any other.

 

FWA Q&A – Hector Nunns

Posted on by
Reply

HECTOR NUNNS on a gun at Loftus Road…losing his bottle at Reading…and the House of a Hundred Beers.

Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
Yes. Started life as a trainee bean-counter in the City, but hated it, and then worked in hospitality, most enjoyably based at Sandown Park racecourse selling the boxes for the Esher track, Epsom Downs and Kempton Park. Survived having to work on Whitbread Gold Cup day and missing the last ever game at the Goldstone Ground. Just. Had an epiphany over breakfast one day (dodgy Shreddies), pitched and got a football column from the sports editor at the West Sussex County Times, and went to do a journalism course.

Most memorable match?
Professionally, it has to be the QPR v Sheffield United match in 2005, when it emerged that the police had arrested several men for allegedly holding a gun to the head of Rangers’ director Gianni Paladini during the match. A subsequent Crown Court case saw all those charged found not guilty on various counts, but the day and experience was a stark reminder to take nothing for granted as you head for the ground. As a fan, two. The Hereford v Brighton draw at Edgar Street that saw Steve Gritt’s side stay out of the Conference only on goals scored. Having just lost their ground, I am sure Brighton would have gone out of business had they lost. And the five-penalty farrago at Crystal Palace in 1989 (although their four, of which they missed three, were all nailed-on penalties while the Brighton one probably wasn’t). Good old Kelvin Morton.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
I’m a sucker for World Cups, love everything about them even if England aren’t involved. The 1982 version had already seen the classic Italy 3-2 win over Brazil and the West Germany 3-3 semi-final penalties win over France, before a superb final, with Marco Tardelli’s frenzied and passionate goal celebration the defining moment.

Best stadium?
St Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard  is what a football stadium should be like. Four good stands, close to the pitch, cracking atmosphere when packed, and infused with a proud history. In England, Villa Park feels like the closest equivalent.

And the worst?
The kid in me still loves going to football and knows this job is a privilege, and I can find something good and hidden charm in every ground. Even Selhurst Park, though I’m hearing a facelift is well under way.

Biggest mistakes?
Not going into sports journalism straight after university. And attempting a quick single playing cricket this summer (ruptured Achilles). People of a certain age and build should deal in boundaries only. And opening a fridge door at the Madejski this season, resulting in a bottle-smashing incident that almost wiped out Joe Lovejoy.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
When Chris Evans was doing his TFI Friday show there was a slot about people who looked like fat version of someone famous. Pals at the time reckoned I could pass for a ‘Fat Alan Shearer’, and that was years ago. He wasn’t great at interviews either.

Your personal ‘tech’ disaster?
The worst one wasn’t even new-tech, and there have been plenty of those (the word ‘dongle’ means different things to different people, but for me it was a small white thing that didn’t work at The Valley on deadline). My first ever match report for the WSCT, on which in my eyes a whole future new career rested, I took one pen and it ran out after 10 minutes. Spent the next 80 pressing hard into a pad and then for two hours painfully re-traced the imprints in the pub afterwards. An early and salutary lesson.

Most media friendly manager
Hard to think of a more courteous current manager than Gianfranco Zola at Watford.

Best ever player?
Paul Gascoigne in his pomp at Spurs is the best English player I have seen playing live. That should be how he is remembered, sadly it may not be. Also loved watching Eric Cantona, Zola and Dennis Bergkamp play in their time here.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
Barcelona team of recent years but also loved the Manchester United class of ’94: Schmeichel, Parker, Bruce, Pallister, Irwin, Kanchelskis, Ince, Keane, Giggs, Cantona, Hughes. More a devastating 4-2-4 than 4-4-2. Internationally, the swaggering Brazil of the early 1980s, the words ‘technical ability’ just don’t do it justice.

Best pre-match grub?
Usual beat is the Championship in the south-east, so the Amex is pretty good. The day Waitrose stop doing the food at Reading will also be a sad one.

Best meal had on your travels?
A proper Eisbein in the superbly named ‘House of a Hundred Beers’ just off Potsdamerplatz in Berlin.

And the worst?
Some dodgy herring in Copenhagen.

Best hotel stayed in?
As a cost-conscious freelance I have a Travelodge season ticket. But best hotel stayed in by a mile (for a travel piece) was Vila Bled on Lake Bled in Slovenia, a former residence of Tito. Beautiful.

And the worst?
Pub in Sheffield. Lock-in karaoke until 4am. Right beneath my room. It’s what Fenerbahce fans might do to a foreign team visiting Istanbul.

Favourite football writers?
James Lawton and Martin Samuel.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
On radio it was Peter Jones, so many Saturday afternoons and midweek evenings spent listening to his reassuring tones. On TV, Brian Moore. Outside football, Sid Waddell – a genius who hated blandness, and made knowledge and learning cool.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Most press officers are helpful, and it is probably better in the Championship. Would like to see a few handlers spend a week with a minority sport, where it is a fight to get it in the papers, to better appreciate their position. Failing that, an outward-bound style bonding day building rope bridges. One (overseas) press officer this season even instructed me what comparisons I could and couldn’t make on a proposed piece. That cramping of the imagination didn’t go down well.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
An England cricket tour of the West Indies.

Other sports covered
Snooker has ended up being a big work area ever since 11 years ago being thrown the Crucible accreditation form by departing colleague John ‘Tex’ Hennessey at the Daily Express with the words ‘Here you go, you might be needing that’. Has got me to all the great world cities: Beijing, Berlin and Sheffield.

Last book read?
Dipping into the Times History of the World at the moment. Should be up to the 14th Century any day now.

Favourite current TV programme?
My daughters love Masterchef in all forms for some reason, so that, The Newsroom, and Sunday Supplement.

Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
Think it through from every angle about how you can be most useful to the people who pay you. And then work ceaselessly going and doing it.

Hector Nunns is a regular on the Championship beat for Sunday Express, Daily Mirror and Daily Star Sunday.

SHARING A ROOM WITH TERRIBLE TONY – ‘A COMPLETE NUTTER WHOSE IDEAL NIGHT OUT INCLUDED 17 PINTS OF STRONG LAGER’

Posted on by
Reply

BY JOHN ANDERSON

COVER football and see the world at someone else’s expense. It sure beats working for a living. You visit new places and meet new people, yet sometimes things aren’t quite as the brochure indicated…well, initially at least.

John Anderson covers England for talkSPORT and in the updated version of A Great Face For Radio he recalls his horror at having to share a room with Terrible Tony at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

“AS I WAS the only representative from talkSPORT who was based with England, I had no obvious partner to share a room with at the media accommodation. By a process of elimination I was paired with another solo traveller, I learnt that he was a Eurosport website reporter I had never met called Tony Mabert who wasn’t due to join the party until a week after we arrived.

I shared a taxi to Heathrow with the Daily Mirror’s John Cross who lives close to me in north London and who had been a good mate on numerous football and athletics trips going back 10 years. During the journey he looked up from his texting and asked me who I was sharing with.

“Some bloke from Eurosport called Tony Mabert,” I replied.

Crossy let out an astonished shriek and turned towards me, his face contorted in horror.

“Oh my God,” he spluttered. “Not terrible Tony.”

After which he broke out into a cackle of fiendish laughter. “Bloody hell Ando, he’s an absolute maniac.”

He explained he’s come across Tony during Euro 2008 and regaled me with lurid tales of how his unpredictable behaviour, violent mood swings and drunken antics had shocked even the most seasoned campaigners within the England press corps. As I listened I grew increasingly alarmed at the prospect of sharing an apartment with a man who appeared to possess all the social niceties of a 1970’s Oliver Reed crossed with Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

Crossy continued tapping away on his Blackberry throughout the conversation and within minutes, I received a text from 5Live senior football reporter Ian Dennis.

“I hear you’re sharing with TT, good luck.”

As word got around I was accosted at the check-in by other travelling companions who were keen to inform me of the impending oblivion into which I would shortly be enveloped. Even the Independent On Sunday’s Steve Tongue, a former colleague at IRN and one of the gentlest souls on the trip, sidled up to offer his condolences.

“Surely this bloke can’t be that bad?” I kept insisting.

“Honestly mate, he’s a complete nutter,” came the unanimous response.

I digested the news on a slightly nervous journey to Johannesburg as I pondered what on earth I was in for during the following weeks. It appeared that Tony’s idea of a good night out consisted of necking 17 pints of strong lager, having a fight with a nightclub bouncer, ripping the door off his hotel room and dancing insanely to techno music until dawn.

Given my own past history I’m certainly not one to suffer bouts of righteous indignation when it comes to other people’s social habits, but the idea of having to wake up at seven to do a live chat with the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast to a back-drop of bacchanalian mayhem was a little disconcerting. Having said that, Alan himself would no doubt have heartily approved. At least I had a week to prepare myself.

My early starts meant this was one of the driest trips I had ever done as there was just about time to nip down to the nearby 4th Street Cafe after the last report of the day and sink a quick pint or two before collapsing into bed ahead of the next one. It was all a far cry from the heady days of the early 1990’s when any amount of sleep that could be stolen between nightclub closing and the press conference starting was considered a bonus.

The legendary Tony Lockwood once decided it was time to grab a quick kip after a big night out in Rotterdam and marched up to the hotel receptionist. “Hello, I’m Mr Lockwood, room 154. Could I have an alarm call for 7.15am please?”

“It’s 7.30 now sir.”

FROM TIME to time people would mischievously ask if Terrible Tony had arrived. Rob Beasley, my old mate from the Signal Radio days, and his room-mate Sun photographer Dickie Pelham put up an incredible display of horrified indignation during one coach journey to training.

“The problem is,” Rob explained. “He’s so unpredictable, especially when he’s had a drink. On the face of it he’s quite a nice guy, but he just has this knack of winding people up. I’ve nearly hit him a couple of times.”

I was so concerned that I approached BAC Sport’s Brian Scott [who was in charge of media travel] to voice my concerns. He explained that there was little that could be done unless an actual incident took place.

As you have probably guessed, I had been totally taken in and Tony Mabert turned out to be a hugely likeable fellow in his late 20’s who was on his first major trip with England. We got on like a house on fire from the word go and he found the whole Terrible Tony thing hilarious. The name stuck and he gained instant credibility among our companions in the village.

I had to make my hat off to Crossy who admitted he thought the whole thing up on the spur the moment during the taxi ride; it had been a brilliantly executed set-up and I actually felt privileged to have been the hapless victim.”

From: A Great Face For Radio – the adventures of a sports commentator by John Anderson (Paperback: Pitch Publishing £9.99) plus Kindle and iTunes.

EMMET MALONE – so popular in Cyprus they are naming a pub after him and he’ll have his own banner at APOEL (but his name is mud in Turkey)

Posted on by
Reply

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

EMMET MALONE is the most popular Irishman in Nicosia. The football correspondent of The Irish Times will never have to buy another drink in the Cypriot capital. There could even be a pub named after him – the ultimate honour for a football writer, many would feel.

All because Malone was the person responsible for reinstating APOEL FC to the Europa League at the expense of Fenerbahce, the least politically correct choice he could have made.

Malone has been to the island to cover games against the Republic of Ireland and enjoyed the warmth of the locals. When he returns to Cyprus he will receive a welcome usually reserved for local heroes. On the other hand, his name is mud in Turkey.

“The pub idea was nice, but the one I really liked was the football banner,” said Malone. “A banner – that’s respect in football.” He was told on Monday morning an APOEL supporter had even named his son after him.

Malone was in Monaco last week for the European draws. “Fenerbahce had lost their appeal against expulsion from the Europa League for match fixing,” said Malone. “A replacement was to be drawn from the sides that lost in the final round of qualifying for the group stages on Thursday evening.”

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino explained that European football’s ruling body wanted a journalist to make the draw. Mehmet Demircan, the editor of Turkish sports magazine Fanatik, volunteered, but UEFA explained a representative from a neutral country without a club in the draw, therefore unaffected by the controversy, was needed.

David Farrelly, UEFA’s head of communications, asked fellow Irishman Malone if he would make the draw. “I thought he was joking,” said Malone.

He wasn’t. UEFA laid on transport to the Méridien Beach Plaza hotel where Malone stepped on to the podium and put a hand in a bowl full of identical containers. After the obligatory shuffling of the balls Malone picked one out.

“It didn’t really matter to me who replaced Fenerbahce,” said Malone. “I wasn’t overly concerned. It was an interesting experience, deciding which way to spin the balls…just doing something we’d all seen so many times. The implications for the club involved didn’t occur to me.”

They soon did. Malone opened the container, unfolded the piece of paper and read out the name of the lucky club: APOEL FC. Malone had chosen a team based in Nicosia to replace a Turkish club. Nice one, Emmett.

Malone had no idea what was to come once Planet Twitter reacted to the news. One of the first tweets was from APOEL’s Irish striker Cillian Sheridan: “S**t way to qualify but don’t care.” APOEL had lost their two-leg tie 3-2 to Zulte Waregem; thanks to Malone they were given a lifeline.

Another early tweet warned: “@emmetmalone expect a tweet deluge. Your twitter account was in the main news of Cyprus brocasting [sic] today.”

It wasn’t so much a deluge as a twitter typhoon. Malone’s 15 minutes of fame were up and running as APOEL fans showed their gratitude.

*Sir you have no idea how many would like to shake your hand, buy you a beer or if you like send you home made halloumi cheese.

*If you are the guy who drew #Apoel out in draw to replace Fenerbace [sic], you are now a bona fide hero in #cyprus.

*Today I’m opening an Irish Pub called “Malone’s”, to honour the great @emmetmalone. #apoel.

*Mr @emmetmalone, I LOVE YOU!!! God bless YOU and everyone you love.

* Thank you @emmetmalone! When are you coming to Cyprus? We’d love to take you out! 🙂 #APOEL @apoelfcofficial.

*Dear Emmet [sic] Malone! I don’t know you but I would like to thank you! You made more than 20.000 people today happy! Only APOEL!

Malone had no time to think of the financial benefits to whoever was drawn. The qualification to the group stage will be worth around £3 million from UEFA, TV rights, the marketing pool and ticket sales. On top of that, a win earns £165,000 and a draw £83,000.

No wonder a grateful APOEL president offered Malone and his wife a complimentary trip to one of the group ties.

Demircan, meanwhile, wished Malone all the best with his new-found popularity in Cyprus, cautioned him against holidaying anytime soon in Turkey. “There, he told me, my name is mud,” said Malone. He was joking – Mehmet and Emmet laughed about the irony – but some Besiktas fans, delighted with the dark humour of Malone’s draw, also offered him a holiday.

Malone will consider all offers when the dust settles. More immediately, Ireland versus Sweden on Friday is top of his agenda.

SPURS WILL STRUGGLE TO REPLACE BALE’S GOALS AGAINST INJURY-HIT ARSENAL

Posted on by
Reply

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

The first Barclays Premier League blockbuster of the season turned out to be the dampest of damp squibs as Manchester United and Chelsea played out a soul-less, goal-less and virtually entertainment-free stalemate at Old Trafford. A tactical masterclass it may have been, but there was little to raise the pulse. A misplaced pen has often been a talking point in big matches, on this occasion it was Jose Mourinho’s lost pen that provided some welcome light relief.

On Sunday, Arsenal meet Tottenham and the previous seven league games between the North London rivals have produced 34 goals, the last two at the Emirates ending 5-2 to the home team. “And Spurs went ahead in both of those games,” said self-confessed Arsenal supporter Matt Scott who covered his share of derbies for the Guardian.

The closure of the transfer window the following day will inevitably dominate much of the build-up to the game, with the Gareth Bale saga finally coming to a cliffhanger conclusion (a Spanish newspaper this week claimed the Balegate had been rumbling on for 87 days – and rising) while Gooners are hoping for a happier ending than in 2011 when, with the clock ticking, Arsenal signed Park Chu-Young and Andre Santos along with Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta.

Meetings between the clubs hardly need any extra spice, but the temperature was raised – and some – for the first derby of 2001/02 after Arsenal had signed Spurs captain Sol Campbell on a free transfer. “There has been an added edge to all the matches since then,” said Scott who writes a regular column for Inside World Football (www.insideworldfootball.com). “The first meeting post-Campbell [at White Hart Lane] had a Welcome To Hell Galatasaray-style atmosphere.

“This time I expect some Arsenal fans will wind up Spurs supporters about how Arsenal are likely to be the ones to fund the Bale transfer if players such as Mesut Ozil, Angel di Maria or even Karim Benzema move [from Real Madrid] to the Emirates. Who would have paid the £80 million then?”

Tongue out of cheek, Scott believes Spurs will find it difficult going on impossible to replace “their superstar, iconic, talismanic flyer who was pretty well at the heart of everything they did last season.”

Spurs have certainly been more prolific than Arsenal in the summer – like just about every club – with Paulinho (Corinthians £17m), Nacer Chadli (FC Twente £7m), Roberto Soldado (Valencia £26m), Etienne Capoue (Toulouse £9m) and Erik Lamela (Roma £25m) arriving at White Hart Lane. Ajax playmaker Christian Eriksen and Steaua Bucharest defender Vlad Chiriches are on the verge of making it what Spurs hope will be a magnificent seven to join the club this summer.

“Whether Spurs will be prolific in front of goal, I doubt,” said Scott, though Lamela, who scored 15 goals in 33 Serie A games last season, comes with a promising cv. “There is a real challenge for clubs that lose players like Bale who are capable of producing something out of nothing.  Arsenal have lived through this. When they lost Thierry Henry [to Barcelona in 2007] they turned to Emmanuel Adebayor [who scored 30 goals in 2007/08 and 16 the following season]. He had played with Henry and Arsene Wenger had someone capable of taking over that mantle, so they were able to absorb the loss of Henry from within.

“When Adebayor left for Manchester City, starting the exodus of Arsenal players to the north-west,  Robin van Persie stepped up [with 69 goals between 2009 and 2012]. I think it’s difficult for any team like Spurs, who have struggled with strikers for the past two seasons. You aren’t going to get 30 goals out of Jermain Defoe whose chance-conversion ratio is poor. Adebeyor has been off the boil in English football since he left Arsenal and with the possible exception of Lamela who has yet to prove himself in English football, and Soldado, Spurs don’t have it within their squad to replace Bale’s goals.

“It doesn’t surprise me that they have not scored from open play in the Barclays Premier League yet, winning both games 1-0 with Soldado penalties. They have had problems scoring, which they never did with Bale because they knew he would create a goal in every other game, at least, from nothing.

“I’d be very surprised if there were seven or even five goals in Sunday’s match. I think it will be a cagey game, mainly because Arsenal are lacking so many players through injury and have offloaded Marouane Chamakh, Gervinho and Andrei Arshavin.  Aaron Ramsey and Lukas Podolski  won’t play, there’s a doubt about Jack Wilshere. Arteta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are out for a while. In defence Thomas Vermaelen is injured and Laurent Koscielny is suspended. They will have a patched up team and if the squad wasn’t thin already, it certainly is now.

“Arsenal’s best form of defence has been attack and I suspect they will hold the ball, playing possession football,  happy to pass it around 20 yards from goal and will only really push on when they see a clear opportunity, which won’t happen very often.

“They have exposed themselves too much by over-committing and even with Gordon Banks in goal plus Franz Beckenbauer and Bobby Moore as central defenders, if you don’t get players back you’ll concede goals. Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and whoever else is around them will pass the ball across the field all day long with no true penetration.

“In the same way that United and Chelsea were happy to play the game out as they did, I can see this being low scoring, too. If Spurs score early it would take the shackles off Arsenal, but if the score is 0-0 at half-time it will probably stay that way.”

CHELSEA HOPE WILLIAN FITS THE BILL

Posted on by
Reply

Christopher Davies looks at work permit red tape and why moving to England helps Brazil internationals

WILLIAN HAS HIS WORK VISA HEARING ON WEDNESDAY…HE’LL OBVIOUSLY GET IT, WON’T HE?
In order to work in the UK, most citizens from outside Switzerland and the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are required to meet a certain number of criteria. Footballers are no different from anyone else in this respect. To play in a league in the UK, ie the Barclays Premier League, the player must have participated in at least 75 per cent of his national team’s senior competitive internationals during the last two years. His national team must be in the top 70 of the FIFA rankings, which obviously Brazil are. The problem is Willian has won only two senior caps. Failure to meet these criteria results in automatic rejection…

SO WILLIAN WON’T BE GRANTED A WORK PERMIT, THEN?
There appears to be a UK Borders Agency rule that, like in the Army, covers the rules that aren’t in the rules. When Philippe Coutinho, also a Brazilian, signed for Liverpool last January from Inter-Milan, he was granted a work permit despite his lack of international experience. A sort of special case rule. Worst case scenario, if the work permit is refused it goes to appeal and it will be ratified by a panel comprising representatives of English footballers stakeholders and three independent representatives. Football writers David Lacey and Brian Glanville have been on these panels.

DO OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE THIS RED TAPE?
No, like driving on the wrong side of the road or, as Arsène Wenger would say, having milk in tea, it is essentially British. This makes it easier for other countries to sign promising young players, particularly from South America. FC Porto have made it almost an art form.

HAS ENGLISH FOOTBALL LOST ANYONE IN PARTICULAR BECAUSE OF ALL THIS?
Hugo Sánchez, Mexico’s greatest ever goalscorer, joined Atlético Madrid, Ronaldo signed for for PSV, Gabriel Batistuta went to Fiorentina and Javier Zanetti chose Inter Milan. So yes.

CHELSEA HAVE A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH BERTRAND TRAORE, DON’T THEY?
Yes, Traore is a Burkina Faso international and is on trial with Chelsea. He is in the UK on a student visa – the midfielder turns 18 on the September 6. If he is granted a work permit the Blues will offer Traore professional forms. The good news is that Burkina Faso are in the top 50 of FIFA’s average ranking over the past two years. The bad news is that Traore has not been a regular international since 2011 – hardly surprising given his age. Traore will almost certainly not be given a work permit so it will be up to an appeals panel to decide whether he is a special case…that he can “enhance” English football. If he doesn’t, it is the safest of safe bets a club in a country with less rigid regulations will snap him up.

BACK TO WILLIAN, WHY DOES HE HAVE ONLY TWO BRAZIL CAPS? HE HAS ALWAYS IMPRESSED FOR SHAKHTAR DONETSK IN EUROPE.
His two caps in 2011 were when Mano Menezes was coach. Big Phil Scolari has overlooked the winger. There seems to be a almost a policy for the Seleção not to choose players playing in Eastern Europe, with the exception of Hulk. And his form with Zenit St Petersburg means he is struggling to maintain his place in the squad. Domestic football in Ukraine and Russia receives little coverage or publicity in Brazil, so it’s almost a question of out of sight, out of mind. It will be interesting to see what happens to Bernard, a rising star of Brazilian football and a supersub in the Confederations Cup, who recently left Atlético Mineiro for Shakhtar.

WHAT ABOUT FERNANDINHO WHO HAS JOINED MANCHESTER CITY?
Like Willian, Fernandinho – they were team-mates at Shakhtar – made his first international appearance in 2011 and has five caps, but has not played for the Selecão this year.

SO WILLIAN HOPES PLAYING IN THE BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE WILL RAISE HIS PROFILE BACK HOME?
Yes. But in fairness Willian, Shakhtar were very successful during the four years he was with them. In his time in Ukraine, Shakhtar won three league titles, two Ukranian Cups, two Super Cups and the 2009 UEFA Cup.

WHILE THIS MAY NOT BE A VINTAGE BRAZIL SIDE, BIG PHIL IS NOT EXACTLY HARD UP FOR FORWARDS, IS HE?
No. He has called up 72 players in the past year and seems to favour those playing in Brazil. Nine of his 23-man squad for the Confederations Cup came from the Brazilian top flight — a remarkably high figure given how many Brazilians play in the top leagues in Europe. The extremely consistent Ramires of Chelsea was one who didn’t make the Confederations Cup squad.

But Scolari does have Neymar, Fred, who averages a goal every other game, Luís Fabiano, Leandro Damião, Sandro, Luis Gustavo, Diego Costa plus Hulk with Ronaldinho, Pato and Kaká waiting in the wings for a recall. Both Willian and Fernandinho face a battle to be part of the host’s squad for the 2014 World Cup.

TONY MILLARD – THE VOICE OF BRIGHTON

Posted on by
1

Tony Millard, regarded by many as the Voice of Brighton & Hove Albion, was found dead at his home today. He was 74.

Few Seagulls fans can remember Brighton without the distinctive voice of Millard either commentating or bringing them highlights of Albion. Millard was the doyen of Sussex sports reporting, also covering speedway for Sky Sports, doing the in-stadium commentaries for the Eastbourne Eagles speedway team at Arlington while he was also co-founder of the Sussex Cricket League.

Millard covered Brighton’s last game at the Amex against Derby County and was due to attend tomorrow’s match against Burnley.

He was involved in just about everything Brighton-wise. In the days before the internet when fans would telephone football hotlines for information, Brighton supporters could hear Millard saying: “You’ve called the Seagull Line on Brighton 8049, that’s the number for Albion information every day…24 hours a day…”

As Brighton prepared to move to the Amex, in one commentary Millard said: “So, last season at Withdean, next season increasing the size of Falmer by the size of Withdean.”

Like many football reporters Millard was occasionally caught out by failing to press the mute button or being unaware he was, in fact, live. He would tell the story when, during one game, at the Goldstone Ground, he was the PA announcer and Andy Ritchie was slow to track back an opponent.

Unaware his comment was about to be heard by all in the stadium, Millard said: “F****** hell Andy…pull you finger out will you.”

Here is the commentary from 1983 by Tony Millard and Stephen Rooke for Radio Brighton to the video already on YouTube. Radio Brighton’s commentary was later released on a cassette called ‘Seagulls Soar Over Anfield’.

INSIDE THE SECRET WORLD OF DAVID MOYES

Posted on by
1

By MICHAEL CALVIN

David Moyes is not a man to cross on a moment’s whim. He has a finely developed sense of respect. His trust, once earned, is of immeasurable importance. His work ethic is prodigious and his wrath is best avoided.

Had he walked into Finch Farm training complex that bleak Wednesday morning he would have been distinctly unimpressed. It was bad enough that a stranger should saunter through the heavy door marked ‘with permission only’, which led to a sequence of four offices which symbolised the continuity of Everton’s decade under the Scot’s control. To allow someone of my calling into the nerve centre of a club which continually overachieves in the face of financial restraint was positively heretical.

Moyes was on a scouting mission in Europe. Thankfully, given my vulnerability, Duncan Ferguson, who has previous in dealing with unwanted intruders, was unaware of my presence. He was flicking yellow-flighted darts into a royal blue board in the players’ dining room around the corner.

My guide, James Smith, Everton’s head of technical scouting who had worked for Moyes since 2003, was free to reveal the science behind the School of Science. Smith operates from the recruitment room. Its contents are highly classified and Moyes’ entire transfer strategy is mapped out on a succession of whiteboards which cover all four walls.

“We can’t afford to get it wrong,” said Smith. “If Manchester City waste £20 million, which they’ve actually done at times, it doesn’t really matter in the big scheme of things. So 20 on Jo, 20 on Roque Santa Cruz. No problem. But if Everton waste £20 million, we’ll wait a long time to get anything like that again. David Moyes spends the money like it’s his own.

“The first thing, of course, is that they’ve got to be good enough to play for a team that wants to be in the top half of the Barclays Premier League. So straight away you’ve ruled out most of the world’s footballers. We know that if they are potentially going to Manchester United, City, Arsenal or Chelsea then they’re not for us. We won’t worry about a David Silva and we dropped out of Gary Cahill quiet early because he was obviously going on to somewhere bigger.”

The secret room – I was sworn to secrecy as to any names – is a mine of information, a tantalising glimpse of what might be, expressed in marker pens of different hues. The first board features the most promising new foreign players, highlighted by the system. They are the pick of the 1,000 or so players under review and are deemed realistic recruits.

The next whiteboard contains live targets who are monitored constantly. Their ages are written in red, on a yellow square. Those names in blue are potential free transfers; those in red carry a price and those in green are potential loanees.

The next whiteboard is a statement of faith to those closest to him. It features favoured Barclays Premier League players, personal choices who are not on any other list. They must be 26 or under, playing for a club outside the top six and considered realistic potential recruits. They have been voted for by Moyes and his senior staff.

The next whiteboard is, in essence, a Moyes mind map and is why the secret room is off limits to players. The whiteboard contains a list of all first team squad players with their ages, contract details and appearance record. There is also Moyes’ idea of his best starting XI and what it will be up to 2014. This offers an insight into which regulars he suspects will fade away and who he hopes will emerge from the supporting cast.  It is an imprecise science because of the unpredictability of fate, but the gaps, when they appear, are ominous. This is a visual tool for the black art of management, moving a player on when his use has been exhausted, but his resale potential is still significant.

The next whiteboard is smaller and contains no players over 23. The most promising Championship, League One and Two players are highlighted in blue red and green respectively. The last major whiteboard , the transfer window list, is, in many ways, the most important and contains the names that Everton are actively seeking to sign.

Agents are regarded as most useful in South America where the web of third-party ownership can ensnare the unwise or the unwary. Work permits are a recurring problem and the case of James Rodriguez highlights the dangers, frustrations and potential rewards. A young winger regarded as the most naturally gifted Colombian players to emerge since Carlos Valderrama, he was on Everton’s radar, but dismissed because of the impossibility of securing a work permit due to his lack of international experience.

FC Porto, who operate in a more relaxed administrative environment, paid £4.25 million for a 70 per cent ownership package in July 2010 for Rodriguez who began his career with Banfield in Argentina. Rodriguez signed a four-year contract with a £25 million release clause and Porto quickly sold on 10 per cent of his economic rights.

In November of that year Porto sold another 35 per cent to a Luxembourg-registered company, Gol Football Luxembourg SARL for £2 million. When Rodriguez scored a hat-trick in the 2012 Portuguese Cup final, Porto bought the original 30 per cent of the player they did not own from Convergence Capital Partners B.V. for £1.90 million. That meant they now controlled more than half his economic rights. He signed a new five year contract with a release clause of £37.5 million. Nice work if you can get it.

The scorpion dance was completed in January 2013 when Gol Football Luxembourg SARL sold their 35 per cent back to Porto for £7.1 million, a profit of £5.1 million. In May 2013 AS Monaco paid £37.5 million for Rodriguez, no doubt giving him the “new challenge” he was looking for in the tax-free haven, if not with “another big club.”

*Adapted from The Nowhere Men – the unknown story of football’s true talent spotters – by Michael Calvin (Century, £14.99)

FWA Interview: Patrick Collins

Posted on by
Reply

Patrick Collins thinks the game is better than ever but…

SUMMER OF TRANSFER SAGAS LEAVES PEOPLE DISILLUSIONED

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

In Patrick Collins’ ideal summer his beloved Charlton Athletic would have signed Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta, perhaps Bastien Schweinsteiger, Andrea Pirlo and Robert Lewandowski. With that front six Chris Powell’s defence could stay intact.

Sadly for the Mail On Sunday’s award-winning sports columnist, other non-transfer activity has made tedious inroads into a glorious summer of British sport, which started with Justin Rose winning the US Open, the British and Irish Lions’ success in Australia, Andy Murray’s historic Wimbledon triumph, retaining the Ashes and more recently Mo Farah and Christine Ohuruogu at the World Championships. Our Paralympians also gave us a reminder of London 2012.

Cesc Fabregas to  – or rather, not to – Manchester United has been put to bed, but the Mousetrap-proportion sagas involving Luis Suarez, Wayne Rooney and Gareth Bale show little sign of slowing down. For many, September 2 cannot come soon – or, as the tabloids would say, Roon – enough.

“The game is better now than it has ever been,” said Collins. “I’ve never seen it played as well as this in more than 40 years. Not with such pace and technique. And yet I think people have never been so disillusioned. If there is a gap between players and the media, the gap between players and the public is even larger.

“Newspapers over-estimate the public’s appetite for such transfer stories. I could not even begin to guess how many Rooney stories I’ve seen, yet he’s either going to go or he isn’t. It’s like the Kennedy assassination, everyone has a theory. It’s been a fantastic summer of sport, but instead of being quietly ignored until it all starts again football’s given us these will-he, won’t-he sagas.”

Of course, it could be that Suarez, Rooney and Bale will remain with Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham. “If that happens it makes even more of a nonsense what’s been going on. I think it’s had an alienating factor. It’s partly the media’s fault, clearly.”

If a newspaper is fed a story about a big name it is hardly likely to not use it on grounds of boredom. “Agents engineer stories to the extent they are controlling the media which is not healthy,” said Collins.

The Barclays Premier League kicks-off this weekend, but Collins has not been counting the days, largely because the beautiful game is so over-hyped. He said: “I don’t start looking forward to the season until it starts. Everything is overblown. Sky Sports’ coverage is wonderful, but the trumpeting of games means there is absolutely no sense of proportion. Everything is better, bigger and louder. That’s how the game is now. It’s divorced from any kind of reality.”

Collins is one of the minority of FWA members who reported on United pre-Alex (as he was then) Ferguson. For the first time since November 1986, the Champions have a new manager in David Moyes and while many football writers have been the recipient of the famous hairdryer, Ferguson gave us some of the finest sides of all-time to watch and report.

“For what he did, he was a genius, an extraordinarily talented man. I loved watching his teams. There would be a tight game, United would score a late goal and you’d see him on the touchline waving them forward. United always went for it.

“People have drawn comparisons between Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, but Mourinho would always opt for a ‘protect what you have’ with little sense of duty to entertain. Ferguson wanted his team to go forward, not in a naive manner, but he felt the best way to defend a 1-0 lead was to score a second goal.”

The self-styled Special One is back at Chelsea, a move which has not seen Collins putting out the bunting. He said: “Am I glad he’s returned? Not at all. He’s a major part of the over-hyping and personalising of the game. Towards the end of last season when it looked like he was coming back, someone on Sky Sports said he couldn’t wait for next season to see Mourinho versus someone or other on the touchline.

“Nobody I know pays money to see managers on the touchline. It seems bizarre he can dominate the attention in this way. There were a couple of times at Real Madrid when he left the team-talk at half-time to sit in the dug-out. It was like ‘look at me.’”

While club rivalries will be renewed in the Barclays Premier League, a cloud remains over the national team with England’s qualification for Brazil 2014 in the balance. If England win their remaining four ties they will qualify. Beating Moldova at home should present few problems, but Ukraine in Kyiv and the visits of Montenegro and Poland to Wembley for a team who have only beaten San Marino and Moldova to date seems to guarantee a photo-finish for England.

Collins said: “For obvious reason I’d love to see England qualify, as much as anything for Roy Hodgson who is a decent man and a talented man. While media-friendly, he is not self-promoting in the way that Mourinho is and I don’t think he’s given the credit he deserves. I can see us being in the playoffs and then, of course, it depends who you play.”

Fabio Capello’s Russia would be the most newsworthy clash, though there is a Sod’s Law feeling about such a draw. Other playoff opponents could be France or even World Champions Spain – “you wouldn’t want that” – Croatia, Austria or Sweden, Greece, a rejuvenated Hungary or Romania, Bulgaria or the Czech Republic. The best hope would be the runners-up from Group E, probably Albania, Iceland or Norway, but then we thought Algeria would be a pushover in South Africa.

“The reaction if England didn’t qualify would be interesting. There is a complete dominance of the clubs in English football and they admit no responsibility or obligation to the national team. Given the quality of the Premier League we ought to be qualifying, but then the quality is due to the number of foreign players.”

Domestically, it will be the usual suspects battling it out for the title – “a consequence of how the Premier League is structured,” said Collins. “The only way to break into this exclusive club is to find an owner like Manchester City did in the Middle East. Otherwise it is almost impossible to join the elite.”

When Blackburn, bankrolled by Jack Warner, won the Premier League they were not up against the riches of City or Chelsea while the days of Derby, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich or Queens Park Rangers making a significant impact in the top league have all but gone.

“I used to love looking at the old First Division pre-season and thinking to myself if this team continue their progress or that side sign so-and-so they have a chance. When you think of what [Brian] Clough did, or Bobby [Robson] at Ipswich or Dave Sexton’s very good QPR…that’s not possible any longer, which is a pity. There is a danger of people becoming disaffected by the same-old, same-old.

“I’d love someone to break into that magic circle and the fact there are four, maybe five clubs who can be champions is not good for the wider health of the game. It’s still a marvellous sport though it doesn’t always show itself in the best light.”

As 2013/14 gets up and running Collins hopes young players who the press have been praising for the past couple of years reach the next level. When John Barnes retired we were still writing about his potential and Collins said: “The likes of Jack Wilshere, Tom Cleverley and Phil Jones…I hope they become the players we’ve been hoping they do.

“We hear what Wilshere is capable of and I’d really like to see him deliver. We’ve been patient with a lot of them so let’s hope this is the season.”

ENGLAND TRAIL BEHIND THE WORLD’S BEST AT ALL LEVELS

Posted on by
Reply

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

AS ENGLAND prepare to begin their season with a friendly against Scotland, footballwriters.co.uk can reveal they are trailing behind the world’s elite at the highest levels of international football, winning only a third of their games at finals this millennium.

Since 2000, at senior, Under-21, Under-20 and Under-19 levels England have won 29 of 84 games at world and European finals – 34 per cent.

This is less than half of Argentina (74%) and Spain (69%) while also trailing behind Brazil (65%), Germany (61%) and the Netherlands (57%). The only two current superpowers whose win-record comes close to England’s are Uruguay (53%) and Italy (47%).

Despite their relatively low game-winning percentage (given a false impression by the number of significant shootout victories which go into the record books as draws), Italy won the World Cup in 2006, UEFA Under-21 titles in 2000 and 2004 plus being losing finalists twice; they were also losing finalists at Euro 2000 and Euro 2012 while their youngsters lifted the Under-19 crown in 2003. The Italians may not win as many matches as others, but they know how to succeed at major finals. And take penalties.

Uruguay have won little more than half their matches at various finals, but they are the reigning champions of South America though, like England, their presence at Brazil 2014 is in the balance. The South Americans also reached the final of the 2013 FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

Spain are the undoubted kings of world football, winning six of the last 11 Under-19 titles, the last two at Under-21 level while the seniors are reigning European and World Champions. The Spaniards’ 11 titles are followed by Brazil (5), Italy (4), Argentina (3), Germany (2), the Netherlands (2) and Uruguay (1) – with England a sad zero. Beaten finalists once apiece at Under-21 and  Under-20 is the limit of their international achievements this millennium.

It has been a dismal summer for England whose Under-21s, Under-20s and Under-19s managed one win between them in nine games in international competitions. England’s Under-20’s have not registered a victory in 13 games at three finals; the Under-21’s have won five out of 18 ties at the last six finals, meaning the two sides have a combined five wins in 31 ties. The Under-21’s did reach the final in 2009 when they were hammered 4-0 by Germany, but what the players from that game went on to to achieve is contrasting and significant.

Of the finalists in Malmö four years ago, Germany’s starting XI, which included Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Sami Khedira and MesutÖzil, have won a combined 229 full international caps. However, from the England side only James Milner (38 caps) and Theo Walcott (33) have made an impact in the senior team. Scott Loach, Martin Cranie, Nedum Onuoha, Fabrice Muamba, Lee Cattermole and Mark Noble, who started against Germany, never won full international honours.

The seniors have fared better at the World Cup and European Championship, though too often it is the usual story of shootout failures – Euro 2004 (Portugal), Germany 2006 (Portugal) and Euro 2012 (Italy). The last time England made any significant impression at a finals was Euro 96 when penalties (surprise surprise) against Germany (ditto) cost Terry Venables’ side a place in the final. In fact, shootout defeats have accounted for England’s exit at three World Cups and two European Championships since 1990 – five of the 10 tournament finals they have reached. The shootout defeat by Italy at Euro 2012 meant of teams who have competed in at least three shootouts at major tournaments England had the worst record in the world. Their only success came at Euro 96 against Spain, but England were eliminated by Germany after a shootout in the next round.

One reason for England’s ongoing underachieving in international football is said to be the influx of foreign players in the Barclays Premier League, which worries Greg Dyke, the new chairman of the Football Association. Yet 20 years ago, when the England manager had double the number of English players in the elite league to choose from, the national team failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. England also failed to qualify for the World Cups in 1974 (West Germany) and 1978 (Argentina) when the old First Division was exclusively British and Irish and top-heavy with English players.

The 1974/75 Leeds side that lost the European Cup final to Bayern Munich had four English players; the 1976/77 Liverpool team that beat Borussia Mönchengladbach had nine Englishmen; the 1977/78 Liverpool side that defeated Club Brugge had eight England-qualified players; the 1978/79 Nottingham Forest team that beat Malmö had eight Englishmen. Club success built on English foundations did not carry over to the international stage.

It is quality not quantity that matters – club managers select players by skill level, not passports, though Paul Hayward of the Daily Telegraph made the point: “It is a 40-year failure to produce enough technically and tactically literate international-class players.”

The England shirt seems to weigh heavily on even the best domestic performers – is there REALLY more pressure playing for your country than performing week-in, week-out for one of the Barclays Premier League’s heavyweights? Twelve England internationals have played in winning Champions League teams since 2000 – Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea). Sol Campbell (Arsenal), Jermaine Pennant, Peter Crouch (Liverpool), John Terry and Joe Cole (Chelsea) have been on the losing side.

Most of these players have been the backbone of their clubs’ successes at the highest level of European club football, yet a succession of England managers have failed to get the best out of too many of them and others, notably midfielders and attackers.

England returned from this summer’s Under-21 and Under-20 finals without a single victory, in the case of the former without even a point. In the Under-20’s finals Uzbekistan and Iraq reached the quarter-finals; war-torn Iraq can hardly claim to have an outstanding academy system in place, yet their kids fared better than England’s.

The underage competitions tend to be treated as second-class citizens by our clubs – even by the England manager – yet a glance at the winners of these tournaments tells you that success at a younger level can breed success at the highest level. The countries who have won the Under-21, Under-20 and Under-19 titles have also dominated the World Cup, European Championship and Copa America – a coincidence? While the world’s leading nations see junior tournaments as a significant stepping-stone to senior achievements, England and English clubs have too often treated them with contempt.

Roy Hodgson took Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Phil Jones and Jack Rodwell to Brazil for a friendly this summer instead of allowing them to be available for the European Under-21 finals, while had Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck been fit they, too, would almost certainly have been in Rio rather than Israel. Hodgson believed the experience of playing the 2014 World Cup hosts in the Maracanã would serve the young players better than testing themselves against Europe’s junior elite in Israel.

Whether the experience of Rio will be put to competitive use next summer remains to be seen.

World Cup

2002 – Brazil (r/up Germany)

2006 – Italy (France)

2010 – Spain (Netherlands)

Copa America

2001 – Colombia (Mexico)

2004 – Brazil (Argentina)

2007 – Brazil (Argentina)

2011 – Uruguay (Paraguay)

European Championship 

2000 – France (Italy)

2004 – Greece (Portugal)

2008 – Spain (Germany)

2012 – Spain (Italy)

UEFA U-21 Championship

2000 – Italy (Czech Rep)

2002 – Czech Rep (France)

2004 – Italy (Serbia & Mont’gro)

2006 – Netherlands (Ukraine)

2007 – Netherlands (Serbia)

2009 – Germany (England)

2011 – Spain (Switzerland)

2013 – Spain (Italy)

FIFA U-20 World Cup 

2001 – Argentina (Ghana)

2003 – Brazil (Spain)

2005 – Argentina (Nigeria)

2007 – Argentina (Czech R)

2009 – Ghana (Brazil)

2011 – Brazil (Portugal)

2013 – France (Uruguay)

UEFA U-19 Championship

2000 (as U-18) – France (Ukraine)

2001 (U-18) – Poland (Czech Rep)

2002 – Spain (Germany)

2003 – Italy (Portugal)

2004 – Spain (Turkey)

2005 – France (England)

2006 – Spain (Scotland)

2007 – Spain (Greece)

2008 – Germany (Italy)

2009 – Ukraine (England)

2010 – France (Spain)

2011 – Spain (Czech Rep)

2012 – Spain (Greece)

2013 – Serbia (France)