The most selfish bunch of stiffs to wear the Three Lions

It’s hard to believe that the future for England seemed golden as recently as last month. A clutch of 3-0 victories appeared to indicate that Euro 2008 could be anticipated with glee.

Now, we prepare to watch the slow, painful strangulation of Steve McClaren. Unless Israel or Macedonia can pull off a shock at the weekend, the lynch mob will begin to gather on Saturday and begin the torchlit journey to Wembley on Wednesday night. In seven days’ time, if events go as anticipated and Russia win in Tel Aviv, we will see an England manager pilloried by his nation. Expect heightened levels of invective as McClaren clings to a job that will be untenable as soon as the Russians start celebrating. How, the nation is entitled to ask, has he botched qualification in a European Championship group that appeared awkward rather than difficult? Especially with this squad. The golden generation.

Over the past few days, hope has been a frivolous luxury for anyone connected with England. The best defence the squad members could muster for their head coach has been summed up by Steven Gerrard: “The players must bear responsibility,” he said. These words feel hollow — spoken by rote. A short, perfunctory valediction over the body before the retreat is resumed. A show of just enough respect to maintain the speaker’s self respect. Say all the right things and get ready for the new man, the next qualification campaign. And surely the next man into the Soho Square office - Martin O’Neill, anyone? - will relish the opportunity to work with the golden generation.

Yet, for all McClaren’s faults - and who could say, hand on heart, that he is international manager material? - the players must take a large proportion of the blame. Like Sven-Göran Eriksson before him, McClaren was fatally undermined by the men who appeared to be his ticket to a trophy. For England’s finest players, the world-class talents whose reputations fuel the daydreams of a nation’s football fans as well as their manager, are incapable of playing together. Put simply, they are the most selfish bunch of stiffs to wear the Three Lions.

Why should England win a significant trophy? Pose that question and most people will keep their reply simple: Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney. It appears self-evident. How many international managers would kill for that quartet? But all four suffer from the same problem: they need the team building around them. When the focus of the side shifts elsewhere, their performances drop off considerably. When they’re not the main man, they retreat into a shell of anonymity. Consider...

Owen: Strikers should be selfish but the Newcastle United man takes that notion beyond parody. If he doesn’t get the right partner, then he sulks - ask the procession of forwards who tried and failed to operate alongside him at Anfield. Milan Baros, in particular, suffered at Owen’s hands. Of course, give him a willing runner who will do the donkey work, drift deep and get the hell out of Owen’s way in the danger areas, then he’ll score. Emile Heskey, for example. Except that Heskey, when he was at Anfield, did so much fetching and carrying that he forgot that he needed to score every now and then. That seemed to suit his little mate, even though it nearly ruined Heskey’s career.

Gerrard: Why does Rafael Benitez seem to have mixed feelings about his captain? It’s simple. Gerrard does not have the discipline to play in a Benitez team. So they butt heads and, in an attempt to get Gerrard to obey orders, the Liverpool manager resorts to actions like taking the midfield player off during the Merseyside derby last month, even though he looked like the team’s only attacking threat. It was the wrong decision at the wrong time but indicative of the Spaniard’s exasperation. 'Stevie-Me’, the sulky Doctor Jekyll aspect of Gerrard’s personality, is too close to the surface for comfort. If McClaren does get shown the door by the FA, he should leave a note on his emptied desk: “Well, go on Martin, you get Stevie and Frank to play together.”

Lampard: He makes Chelsea tick - and he knows it. He wants to make England tick. But then someone has to take the responsibility for covering his runs - forays forward into the same area of the pitch that Gerrard likes to inhabit. So there are bound to be comparisons between the pair and suggestions that the manager should decide which of the two to build the team around. And when a journalist does make such an assertion, plumping for the Gerrard option, what does Lampard do? He gets on the phone to said journalist and complains. Ego running wild, England’s midfield treading water. Not good.

Rooney: Less consciously self-centred that the other three but a player who needs to roam to get the best out of him. Rooney is not an out-and-out striker, nor a Continental No 10. He’s better picking the ball up in deep positions but that means his team-mates have to accommodate him. Sir Alex Ferguson has got the system up and running at Old Trafford but could even the Manchester United manager get the other three to revolve around Rooney? That would test the Scot’s management style.

At least McClaren can count himself lucky. Eriksson had this four plus Golden Balls himself, David Beckham. At his peak, Beckham did two things better than anyone else in the world: swing in early crosses and take deadly set-pieces. Then, during Eriksson’s reign, he got away from this. Suddenly, he wanted to play in the middle, a role for which he is manifestly unsuited. At the same time, he neglected his two strengths.

But Eriksson had to get him in the team. How could he leave Beckham out? Or Gerrard, Lampard, Owen and Rooney, when fit? How indeed? At least Sven is now enjoying life at Eastlands, rehabilitating his reputation and making the best of players who twinkle with less lustre than his former charges. The best McClaren can hope for is a similar future, when the world wakes up one Premier League weekend and says, “you know, old Steve isn’t such a bad manager, after all”. And then McClaren will be able to smile, ruefully.

Because, like Eriksson, he will know what it is like to be seduced by Fool’s Gold.

Do you agree? Whatever your views, please feel free to post a comment below.

Comments

[Manny]

At the end of the day, I still think those 4 players you have mentioned are very good players,not yet world stars though Rooney has the most potential, in their respective club teams they have players there who support them, they don’t have it at the national level,hence they are caught short.
If Gerrard and Lampard cant play together after all these years,they are not going to start now, bench one of them if it improves th eteams chances. That’s what coaches are paid all those millions to do.We saw Scolari put Rui Costa and Figo on the bench for the good of the team, and lets admit they were truely world class players.Will we see that happening here, no chance…….Rafa got crucified when he took Gerrard off in the Merseyside derby because he needed someone who would not play with too much passion but a cool head(this isnt the first time he’s made that comment about Gerrard).He was proven right in the end.
It will be nice to see some of the so-called greats go abroad and test themselves in the Spanish and Italian leagues, but they do prefer th ecomfort zone, hats off to Becks and Owen who at least gave it a good absh in Madrid.
It’ll also help the youngsters to play in leagues that allow them to express themselves like the Dutch and Belgium leagues.A year or two in Holland for the likes of Theo Walcott wont go amiss, I was pleasantly surprised to read that Man City’s young midfielder Michael Johnson had had a stint in the Feyernood academy..it shows!
England are crying for a recognised world star, the closest we came to one was Gazza, maybe we should be like Greece and forget about the stars and build a team that will actually win a major trophy and be known as a great team instead.

[Tyrone]

The England manager's job is thankless-he is expected to scale the heights of footballing glory with players who are simply not good enough; part messiah, part alchemist.

The process of demystification has finally begun. The FA, the Premier League and Sky Sports-players, pundits, managers and chairman alike-justify the exorbitant prices we pay to engage with the game (pay their salaries) on the basis that we are watching the very best. This myth is exposed each time we fail at tournaments or fail to qualify.

Only Michael Owen can claim to be world class as he is the only one who produces when it matters. He is the consumnate egoist however, and like all predators of his ilk; Linekar, Shearer, Muller, Romario, needs someone alongside him to sacrifice so he can race up the goalscoring charts.

As for the rest, to be honest they just irritate and inflame.

Rooney's arrogance and immaturity causes him to implode when he doesn't get his own way, Lampard is overrated and Gerrard spits his dummy out unless his manager allows him to do exactly what he likes without having to take account of team strategy.

As English supporters, we have emotional attachments to our own at both club and international level and it pains us to admit that we are a second tier footballing nation. However, we must admit to ourselves that just because someone is paid the best it doesn't actually mean that he is the best-look at that geezer from Merryl Lynch.

[scott oliver]

Absolutely, unequivocally, a case of the nail being hit squarely on the head. It’s now a somewhat dog-eared truism, but the fact is that the ego of these obscenely paid fat cats, which swells and swells along with the implicit threats that they wield towards the clubs and the contempt that they show for the fans, has become de-coupled from any concept of responsibility. And yet… And yet, these new aristocrats need not fear a Jacobinism emerging to puncture their pre-eminence, for, despite the frequent bursts of resentment, which are often little more than pantomime tribalism, the masses are in awe of their powers, of their lifestyle, and need them (perhaps too much) as objects for the investment their desire. In love or hate.

The admixture of hopeless romanticism and ludicrous optimism (doubtless borne of an atavistic Imperial arrogance) of English fans is itself fuelled by the media’s passive-aggressive search for/invention of so-called world-class talent, a circular relationship that utterly skews football analysis (with a few notable exceptions) in this country – from press commentators and TV opinion-machines to lay pundits on phone-ins, everyone is too quick to look at the individual player in isolation, be that to demonize or deify. All wealth is collectively produced; all sports are collective efforts (even golf and tennis).

Now, within this type of perspective, it is conceivable that the players you mention can be deemed “world class” on the basis of being able to sparkle at the breakneck pace of the Premiership; however, at the slow-quick-slow tempo of the sophisticated ‘continental’ or international game, they are frequently left floundering, not least by their boneheaded attempts to play the schoolyard Roy Race (none more so than the ridiculously inflated Gerrard), a tendency that increases exponentially with its diminishing effectiveness. Be a cog, Stevie. And be happy being a cog.

Moreover, their individual attributes, such as they are, drummed in through the English System, combined with the disorienting effects of Sudden Wealth Syndrome on working-class lads, all too often means that they simply cannot – not just ‘will not’ – adapt to the collective patterning of play (and if they do want to learn, it will be excised by the unapologetic stupidity of the dressing room culture). They just skim from game to game, mercurial talents that secrete no lessons from their experiences. By ‘patterning’ I do not mean the obsessive concern with ‘organization’, with players following a pre-established ‘structure’, as exemplified by the philosophies of Mourinho and Benitez; rather, I’m alluding to the intuitive grasp of a few principles of ‘shape’ and intelligent movement, rhythm and tactics (not strategy), principles that lead to the kind of cohesive collective play transcending the sum of individual parts that is characteristic of all the great sides: from the current Arsenal team to the over-achieving East Europeans of the 80s and 90s and beyond. It is the difference, if you will, between following the score in classical music and inventing the game in jazz; or, in the words of the greatest coach, Rinus Michels: “The players make the game on the field”. Amen to that.

[peter]

The players are simply not good enough (except for Rooney) and are far too easy to believe the 'world class' hype generated by a sadly deluded national media.

[Mark]

These players aren't being selfish, they have world class abilities and if they aren't able to show them off to their full then they are bound to get frustrated - and so they should. Steve McClaren has never been good enough to be an English manager (I hope he doesnt get blamed if we fail to qualfy because it is all the FA's fault). His lack of ability has meant that fans and the media have looked to individual players for inspiration and have vilified them when things go bad.
What England need is a huge personality, with great credentials, who will outshine the few England "stars" and get them playing like a team of equals - but of course the FA haven't the balls to do this and will probably go for Avram Grant.

[tadsy]

Hate to say it Martin, but Englands problems extend to far more than a couple of egos of the main players and foreigners in the premiership (which is now apparently the latest reason for englands problems).

Both Sven and Mclaren have indulged the big names far too much, thats not the players fault, thats a management problem for starters. Honestly....ask yourself this, would jose mourinho have let a 1 nil lead slide against a ten man brazil in WC2002??? would Gus Hiddink have indulged beckham, lampard and gerrard and cole to keep them all happy?

Look, englands national side has all sorts of problems, from indulging your "best" players, over-hyping of the team from the media, poor management, a lack of quality young players comming through to put pressure on these guys, and hate to say it...a little bit of bad luck at major tournaments!

there is no easy fix...the culture of the side needs to change drastically starting with management, a hard lined manager like Hiddink, Mourinho etc etc and then the creation of a system that gets the best out if your younger players...look at spain (still underachieving as far as the national side goes) but...they are churning out quality players and sending them to different leagues, learning different styles and being succesfull...england need to stop thinking the whole world revolves around the prem, only then will they start to succeed internationally!

[ADO]

HI,

ENGLISH PLAYERS ARE VERY SELFISH & TEY ARE FAKE STAR MADE BY FUNS AND MEDIA AS SOON AS THEY MADE A MOVE,SCORE THEY THINK HIGH ABOUT THEMSELVES WHEN IT COMES TO REPRESENT THE 3 LIONS THEY FALL FALT ..NO NEED TO GET EXAMPLE : OWEN...A FAILURE SINCE WHEN HE MOVED TO SPAIN AND FAILURE WITH NEWCASTLE WITH A VERY LARGE CHEQUE...HE HAS TO WAIT FOR HESKEY TO HELP HIM SCORE...WHAT A SHAME....FRANK LAMPARD ANOTHER CASE HEARTHLESS WITH THE 3 LIONS...S. GERRARD HAS TO WEAR LIVERPOOL JERSEY TO PERFORM WELL WITH THE 3 LIONS..
AND THE LATTER STILL COMPLAIN ABOUT THE FOREIGN PLAYERS IN EPL TEAMS...AFRICAIN ONES PLAY WITH THEIR HEARTS...WHAT A SHAME TO DEPEND ON ISRAEL TO REACH EURO 2008..MONEY, FUNS AND MEDIA HAVE SPOILT ENGLISH FOOTBALL..I WATCH ARSENAL AND MANCHESTER BECAUSE THERE ARE FEW ENGLISH PLAYERS ON THE PITCH...LET'S CONFESS...AND BEG
ARSENE HOW TO TEACH ENGLIGH COACHES HOW TO MANAGE A ENGLIGH CLUB...MEDIA LAST YEAR LAUGHED AT ARSENAL FRAIL PLAYERS BUT THIS YEAR THEY WATCH HIS GAMES TO LEARN ABOUT GLOBAL SOCCER...BUT I RECOMMEND THEM TO GO BACK TO HOLLAND WITH CRYUFF ..REPP..KROLL TO LEARN ABOUT THIS STYLE OF FOOTBALL,, ==

[Kevin]

Prima Donnas most of them we'd all have been better watching the U-17s
world cup this year Passion,Ability and most of all Sportsmanship.

[bhenzi]

u nailed it mate; this bunch are overrated, when the euro championship commence, we shall see teams from lesser leagues, play competetive football,
without the so called superstars this lot are. its all about desire, application and ambition.

the england squad is full of overachieved egomaniacs who cant be bothered to bust a gut for anyone else(the nation), but their pitiful selves, thats why they do everything to get astronomical wages. as for the national team, they are automatically selected by their earning power, whether you achive or not, you shall be picked.

managers loose their jobs for this lot, the players loose their dignity, but ultimately, not their salaries nor their place in the squad.

until these managers learn that earning load of dosh is not such a motivation, to archieve, they shall watch the lesser known and payed, compete in the championship.

remember cupholders greece, from any inferior league, with lots of desire.
now thats football; when you conquer on the pitch, not by bank statement, or a good press conference

for those that achieve; there is no excuse other than "we aint good enough"

[Tom]

Are they really world-class? Owen has had his day, methinks. Gerrard of the Hollywood/Row Z pass should be stuck out on the right again and if he doesn't like it, dropped. Lampard - if he can't take being dropped he's not mature enough for the team. Rooney - a tricky player to fit into any team but worth trying because he's really good. He doesn't need servants but he does need really technically good players around him to get the best out of him. What English players need is technical ability. If they had that, there could be a solid basis for sensible self confidence rather than the current fragile sense of self-worth that falls to pieces at the first stern test.

[Colin Blues]

Very harsh Martin. While the arguement about Lampard and gerrard may well carry on beyond either player's shelf life and Owen does eprform better alongside a partner whole will put Owen's needs above his own. You surely cannto expect anyone to agree with your comments about Rooney.

The most selfish amongst them all are the two so called best centre backs in the world.

John Terry warrior for Chelsea battles for every ball and drives his side on when they need it. For England defineds ok, but when was the last time you saw the England captain give Owen, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney, etc an ear bashing for England?

Ferdinand, quality defender for Man U, but seems to spend his time day dreaming for England.

And these are not the only 2, truth is that SAF and Jose (while at Chelsea), did not accept second best are / were not afraid to tell players truths or drop when required.

Can anyone imagine Steve McClaren in dressing room telling Rooney he has 45 mins and if he does not deliver he is off, or telling Terry you are captain let them know or I will replace you, or Gerrard you play where I tell you?

None of these have will ever happen from a guy who is more imterested in PR than anything.

Sack him now and get a manager in who cares less about who you are but more about who you play.

PS Martn hate to say it but a manager who tells you lot in the press box, "If you could manage you would be where I am, so write what you like, I am going to do my job'"

[Johnny]

Agree. England does not lack world class players. What three lions lack is the ability to play as a team, together and binding. Think about Greece Euro 2004. Greek won with no world class players in the team but they did it with the plain old team work. Germans (and probably French too) did it before. Pity England fans don't understand this fact.