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What Fabio Capello is looking for in the next 12 months

Matt Hughes

With the exception of the deal-makers, most people in football are looking forward to spending the next few weeks on a beach before returning for pre-season training at the start of July. But not Fabio Capello.

The England manager will travel to Sweden at the weekend for the Under-21 European Championship before moving on to South Africa to watch the Confederation’s Cup, where he will also spend time looking at training bases for next summer’s World Cup, which begins exactly a year from today.

Capello’s plans for the tournament have come together remarkably quickly in under 18 months, but the Italian still has much work to do if England are to begin the tournament as serious contenders for the trophy.

England’s first XI pretty much picks itself following their wonderful start to the World Cup qualifying campaign, but as a result of Capello’s reluctance to experiment, little is known about those players waiting in reserve.

It is extremely unlikely that England will start the competition, let alone finish it, without any major injuries so the composition of the second string will be vital. As Capello finalises his squad over the coming months certain positions will give him more problems than others:

Carlo Ancelotti should be wary of trigger-happy Roman Abramovich

 

Matt Hughes

Carlo Ancelotti’s wonderfully detailed descriptions of his clandestine meetings with Roman Abramovich have opened the door to another world, but as he romanticises the Chelsea owner’s spy-style antics the AC Milan manager appears to have overlooked one crucial factor. Much like James Bond films any story involving Abramovich tends to contain one hell of a body count.

Ancelotti will not be punished for his indiscretion – despite revealing far more than any other Abramovich’s employees have ever dared in the six years since he bought the club – but whether his reputation survives intact after working for him at close quarters remains to be seen. Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari have all been discarded by Abramovich in the last five years, with only Guus Hiddink leaving the club on a high.

Emirates exit would be a mistake for Arsenal's stars

Matt Hughes

Having cast his eyes around Europe - offers from Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, covetous glances from Juventus - Arsene Wenger has decided that there is no better place for him to work for the next couple of years than Arsenal. The good news for the club's fans – not that many of them deserve it given their treatment of the manager – is that the same is true for most of their top players.

Arsenal suits Wenger for several reasons. Other than some financial restrictions he is given unfettered control of all aspects of the football club, from the transfer market to travel arrangements, a luxury he would not be afforded elsewhere. Wenger's previous achievements and continued commitment to attacking football also ensures that he does not operate under the same pressure as his rivals, and is insulated from the associated pressures.

As Jose Mourinho mischievously claimed on a regular basis, Wenger has the best job in the world because he is not expected to win anything, an ungracious accusation that nevertheless contains some truth. Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea four months after winning a trophy, whereas Wenger's position has not been seriously questioned at Arsenal in the four years since they last lifted the same silverware, the FA Cup.

Aping Chelsea's spoiling tactics is England's best hope for 2010

Matt Hughes

As he prepared to embark on an easyjet flight back from Barcelona yesterday morning - "do the FA splash out for 'Speedy Boarding' I hear you cry?” - Fabio Capello expressed his exasperation at the hypocrisy and vested interests inherent in modern punditry.

The basis of the England manager's complaint was the disconnect between the praise lavished on Chelsea's resolute rearguard against Barcelona the previous evening, and the condemnation he felt would inevitably follow if an Italian side had come away from the Nou Camp with a similar result. The black art of catenaccio, Capello feels, is beyond the pale.

Capello made no attempt to disguise his admiration for Guus Hiddink’s brilliantly-executed game-plan, though despite his misgivings at what he perceives as lingering anti-Italian sentiment within the European game he should welcome the fact that such an essentially defensive performance from the visitors was so well received in England.

As he plots next summer’s World Cup campaign in South Africa, Capello is likely to conclude that similar stifling tactics are the only way to go if England are to compete with the Latin countries.

Rafa Benitez should have gone for broke earlier

 

Matt Hughes

Rafael Benitez could be forgiven for feeling despondent this morning as the reality that a season which promised so much is likely to end without a single trophy slowly sets in, but he must resist the temptation to wallow in self pity. There is a real danger that such understandable dejection could give birth to far greater problems.

Liverpool have been re-born as the great entertainers in the last week, sharing two thrilling 4-4 draws in the space of eight days that effectively ended their interest in the Champions League and the Premier League, but it does not follow that their failure was due to the inherent flaws in their new expansive style. On the contrary, it is possible to mount a reasonably convincing case that Liverpool’s change of style was a case of too little, too late.

Frank Lampard deserves a shot at PFA award

Matt Hughes 

Given its constituency and the premature date of the ballot the destination of the PFA Player of the Year award is always something of a lottery – David Ginola anyone? – but looking down this season’s runners and riders there is one omission so scandalous that it should be a matter of national outrage. Despite enjoying possibly his most consistent season ever, and in an inconsistent side at that, the name of Frank Lampard is nowhere to be seen.

Lampard has never been as widely appreciated as he should be so a storming of the PFA’s Manchester offices will not be on the cards in the likely event that he continues to be ignored, but his absence from even the fringes of the debate is nothing short of a scandal.

However, If nothing else, such an oversight represents an opportunity to make some money, which is surely how Harry Redknapp would look at it. At the frankly ludicrous odds of 50-1, Redknapp’s nephew is the ninth-favourite to pick up a trophy first awarded to Norman Hunter in 1974 later this month.

David Beckham the supersub is no joke

 

Matt Hughes

David Beckham raised a round of hearty guffaws last week when he ventured the opinion that he could still be playing for England at the age of 45, though after the laughs had subsided the thought occurred that the former captain may not have been joking after all. Judging by Beckham’s history anything is possible.

A couple of years ago, as the ink on his contract with the LA Galaxy was in the process of drying, the idea of Beckham appearing at the 2010 World Cup appeared inconceivable, though now it would be a major surprise if he failed to make Fabio Capello’s squad for South Africa. Indeed, given Beckham’s determination to go on and on the prospect of him surviving as an England international until the 2012 European Championship is not as ludicrous as it sounds.

Beckham will not retire from international football, as he has made clear on several occasions, so will continue to win caps for as long as he is deemed to serve a useful purpose. That could be longer than many anticipate, particularly whilst Capello remains in charge.

Beckham’s role has changed from the all-action midfield player and inspirational captain who was deemed so crucial to England’s 2002 World Cup hopes that the entire nation was invited to lay their hands on his broken foot in the hope of healing it, but he remains important nevertheless. Capello has recast him in the role of super-sub, who can be brought on to close out or alter the state of a game as he sees fit, a function that is unlikely to change.

Beckham may never add to his tally of 99 starts for England, but given the importance of his role as a substitute the number of caps he has won overall will continue to rise. The 16 appearances he requires to pass Peter Shilton as the most-capped Englishman of all time after reaching 110 following his 53rd-minute introduction against Ukraine last night should not be a problem, and by the time he has finished he could leave the goalkeeping legend trailing in his wake.

Beckham’s qualities as a substitute suit almost all situations. The 33-year-old’s passing and distribution is so assured that he is the perfect man if England need to slow the pace and close out a match they are leading, particularly as more often than not he will be called on to replace an erratic young flyer such as Theo Walcott or Aaron Lennon, while his outstanding delivery of a dead ball also makes him a useful option if Capello’s side are seeking to apply pressure through set-pieces in the search of a late goal. His pin-point free-kick for John Terry’s winner against Ukraine was a case in point.

Beckham has clearly been rejuvenated by the move to AC Milan, where his body-fat has been cut from 13.8 per cent to 8.5 per cent in a matter of months. The Italian club are world leaders when it comes to preserving the careers of their older players – Paulo Maldini is still playing at the age of 40 – and their scientific methods allied to Beckham’s professionalism and desire could ensure his retirement is delayed indefinitely. Other than trauma injuries such as the most famous metatarsal in footballing history Beckham has enjoyed a relatively clean bill of health throughout his career, which shows no sign of changing. Beckham is well placed to have the last laugh on his detractors after all.

Making an impression

The England players appeared to be revelling in James Corden’s Comic Relief pep-talk, which was shown at half-time on the big screen at Wembley yesterday and was more entertaining than much of what followed, for one simple reason. With his combination of head-banging, back-slapping and screaming Corden’s motivational set-piece seemed to be model on John Terry’s usual mode of delivery. 

Fabregas’s days are numbered at Arsenal

Matt Hughes

It is only a matter of time before Cesc Fàbregas leaves Arsenal. As with Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry before him, the one remaining issue being when. The moment could be coming sooner than even Fàbregas realises and will be determined by Arsène Wenger.

Other than Mathieu Flamini, no player has left Arsenal against Wenger’s wishes. The departures of Ashley Cole and Alexander Hleb were offset by the arrivals of William Gallas, Samir Nasri and, ultimately, Andrey Arshavin.

There are signs that Arsenal can cope without their talisman, not least the fact that they have not been beaten in the Barclays Premier League since the Spain midfield player was injured in December.

The Premier League is killing the Champions League

Matt Hughes

Sepp Blatter was in Manchester yesterday afternoon attempting to persuade English journalists of the merits of his “six-plus-five” proposals, a tough task somewhat akin to asking turkeys to vote for Christmas. The Fifa president sounded like a broken record as he stressed the importance of getting Premier League clubs to accept that six members of their starting line-up should be home-grown, claiming that the English league lacks identity and that the national team will inevitably suffer as a result, but a more compelling argument was provided by the match he watched at Old Trafford afterwards. The Premier League is killing the Champions League.

Given the primacy of club football in this country, the Premier League are unlikely to move by arguments relating to the national side, but fans could be persuaded if they lose the one thing that makes sport so compelling – the spectacle of genuine competition. The top of the Premier League has been a closed shop for several years, with Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal sure to finish in the top four even after modest seasons, and now the latter stages of the Champions League are looking similarly predictable. The competition’s stirring theme music remains the same, but on the field it is losing its sheen.

Benitez's weaknesses will cost Liverpool dearly

Matt Hughes

As Rafael Benitez seethed on the team coach on Liverpool's return journey from Middlesbrough on Saturday night, he could have been forgiven for thinking he is in the wrong job. Knowing the Liverpool manager, he was probably plotting how to increase his influence at Anfield and thereby solve all their ills — applying for the vacant chief executive position, perhaps, or even buying the club outright — but a growing body of evidence suggests he would be better getting out altogether. And leaving club football entirely, for that matter.

As a strategist and tactician, Benítez has no equal, which he demonstrated again last week with Liverpool’s perfectly executed win over Real Madrid, but these qualities are more important at the highest level of knockout competitions rather than the daily grind of winning a league title. In other words, Benítez was born to be an international manager.

Benítez’s club credentials cannot be dismissed because he did win two championships with Valencia, but many of his biggest weaknesses are those that are most critical to sustained success in a title battle. The Spaniard’s record of buying players is, at best, patchy, shown by the revolving door transfer policy at Liverpool, while he often compromises the performance of the team by insisting on rotating his players in a similar manner. As his dysfunctional relationships with the various powers-that-be at Anfield indicate, Benítez’s dominant personality is also unsuited to working closely with others on a regular basis.