By Alan Shearer (former England Captain)
The Sun
29 June 2010
NO ONE likes kicking a man when he is down but I have to admit that Fabio Capello has left me feeling utterly dejected.
This is the worst thing you can say about any football manager, yet it needs saying: It looked to me as if the England players did not want to play for him.
There was something fundamentally wrong inside that camp and only those who were there know the real problems and can tell the truth about what went on.
From the outside, though, it looked as if the squad were locked away in a boot camp and let out only on match days.
Once they were released, they looked ill-at-ease, under-prepared and totally confused.
John Terry let the cat out of the bag when he made his comments after the Algeria game.
Whether he was right to air his critical views in public is still open to debate. But at least he had the balls to come out and say things were not up to par.
The rest of the squad did not back him in the end and that was their right. I could see the need to close ranks and present a united front before the Slovenia game.
But, overall, there was no hiding from the fact England were a team in name only. We have been found wanting tactically and, once we were rumbled on that score, the team spirit, which can normally be relied upon to drag us out of a hole, was nowhere to be found either.
I cannot be accused of being anti-foreigner just because Capello has failed to take us beyond the last 16.
I have said since the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson that the England team needs an Englishman in charge.
We have brought in overseas coaches with lots of the right qualifications and a long list of achievements at club level. But they have brought little to our national team.
I still maintain we have enough players of quality to produce far, far more than we have done at these World Cup finals. So why did they fall short?
I know the players have to accept their share of the blame but I am not going along with the argument that they are overpaid and do not care enough because they live with their heads in the clouds and are too protected and pampered.
I do not care if a footballer is paid £1,000 or £100,000 a week. He wants to win, wants success on the field and needs to look back on his career with a cupboard full of medals to display.
What he also needs is the right atmosphere and preparation to perform to his maximum and, for me, the current England team had neither of those.
It is no good pointing to our qualification record. OK, we did great to come through our group with a good set of results but, remember, those were against teams not good enough to get to the finals.
Once we got to South Africa we were not good enough, even against teams we should have beaten comfortably. Apart from a half-decent display against Slovenia, there were flaws to be found in every other performance.
I said it at the start and I will keep saying it until I am blue in the face. I am afraid 4-4-2 does not work against the top teams - or even against the so-called lesser teams.
Then we come to selection. Before the finals, if you had asked most fans which England players were the most likely match-winners, a good percentage would have said Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.
So what do we do? We play them both in positions they do not favour.
Rooney wants to play up on his own and Gerrard revels in the role just behind the striker. They were being played out of position and it was clear to me they did not like it.
It was like Brazil asking Kaka to play at right-back or Argentina requiring Lionel Messi to turn out for them in central midfield.
I reached the depths of despair against Germany when Emile Heskey came on in the second half.
I am not knocking Emile. He has certain qualities but he is not a prolific goalscorer and was certainly not the player to send on when we needed three goals just to get back into the game.
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If I was Peter Crouch, who HAS scored goals at international level, I would be asking just what I had done wrong to be overlooked.
So if we accept the tactics and choice of players were not right, why were we not able to rely on our renowned team spirit?
It was not there and, again, the finger has to be pointed at Capello.
He obviously is not on the same wavelength as English players and does not understand their mentality.
There has to be that right balance between getting the tactics and the motivation right.
The best England team I played in was the one under Terry Venables before Euro 96.
Terry's knowledge and tactical know-how were spot-on and he knew how to get the best out of us too.
We responded to him, believed in him and played some outstanding football in that tournament.
The fact he was English was no coincidence.
Glenn Hoddle had the same impact to a lesser extent.
They both knew how to create a positive attitude and the right tactical framework.
I have been looking at Argentina's performances and comparing them to ours.
Unlike England, they struggled to qualify. But since arriving at the finals they have looked impressive.
They have Diego Maradona in charge and, by all accounts, he is not exactly a tactical mastermind.
What he does have, though, is a rapport with his players.
They respect him and he looks as if he is one of them, enjoying and celebrating their victories with great passion.
I do not think we have ever seen that with Capello and his players.
Those players have gone home now and that leaves me feeling very flat.
I know there are some outstanding games coming up but with no England team there is nothing to fire our enthusiasm.
Then again, maybe the World Cup finals are better off without us if that was the best we can offer.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/worldcup2010/3033617/Alan-Shearer-gives-his-damning-verdict-on-Englands-World-Cup-flops.html#ixzz0sRQbz8Vl
The Sun
29 June 2010
NO ONE likes kicking a man when he is down but I have to admit that Fabio Capello has left me feeling utterly dejected.
This is the worst thing you can say about any football manager, yet it needs saying: It looked to me as if the England players did not want to play for him.
There was something fundamentally wrong inside that camp and only those who were there know the real problems and can tell the truth about what went on.
From the outside, though, it looked as if the squad were locked away in a boot camp and let out only on match days.
Once they were released, they looked ill-at-ease, under-prepared and totally confused.
John Terry let the cat out of the bag when he made his comments after the Algeria game.
Whether he was right to air his critical views in public is still open to debate. But at least he had the balls to come out and say things were not up to par.
The rest of the squad did not back him in the end and that was their right. I could see the need to close ranks and present a united front before the Slovenia game.
But, overall, there was no hiding from the fact England were a team in name only. We have been found wanting tactically and, once we were rumbled on that score, the team spirit, which can normally be relied upon to drag us out of a hole, was nowhere to be found either.
I cannot be accused of being anti-foreigner just because Capello has failed to take us beyond the last 16.
I have said since the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson that the England team needs an Englishman in charge.
We have brought in overseas coaches with lots of the right qualifications and a long list of achievements at club level. But they have brought little to our national team.
I still maintain we have enough players of quality to produce far, far more than we have done at these World Cup finals. So why did they fall short?
I know the players have to accept their share of the blame but I am not going along with the argument that they are overpaid and do not care enough because they live with their heads in the clouds and are too protected and pampered.
I do not care if a footballer is paid £1,000 or £100,000 a week. He wants to win, wants success on the field and needs to look back on his career with a cupboard full of medals to display.
What he also needs is the right atmosphere and preparation to perform to his maximum and, for me, the current England team had neither of those.
It is no good pointing to our qualification record. OK, we did great to come through our group with a good set of results but, remember, those were against teams not good enough to get to the finals.
Once we got to South Africa we were not good enough, even against teams we should have beaten comfortably. Apart from a half-decent display against Slovenia, there were flaws to be found in every other performance.
I said it at the start and I will keep saying it until I am blue in the face. I am afraid 4-4-2 does not work against the top teams - or even against the so-called lesser teams.
Then we come to selection. Before the finals, if you had asked most fans which England players were the most likely match-winners, a good percentage would have said Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.
So what do we do? We play them both in positions they do not favour.
Rooney wants to play up on his own and Gerrard revels in the role just behind the striker. They were being played out of position and it was clear to me they did not like it.
It was like Brazil asking Kaka to play at right-back or Argentina requiring Lionel Messi to turn out for them in central midfield.
I reached the depths of despair against Germany when Emile Heskey came on in the second half.
I am not knocking Emile. He has certain qualities but he is not a prolific goalscorer and was certainly not the player to send on when we needed three goals just to get back into the game.
Advertisement
If I was Peter Crouch, who HAS scored goals at international level, I would be asking just what I had done wrong to be overlooked.
So if we accept the tactics and choice of players were not right, why were we not able to rely on our renowned team spirit?
It was not there and, again, the finger has to be pointed at Capello.
He obviously is not on the same wavelength as English players and does not understand their mentality.
There has to be that right balance between getting the tactics and the motivation right.
The best England team I played in was the one under Terry Venables before Euro 96.
Terry's knowledge and tactical know-how were spot-on and he knew how to get the best out of us too.
We responded to him, believed in him and played some outstanding football in that tournament.
The fact he was English was no coincidence.
Glenn Hoddle had the same impact to a lesser extent.
They both knew how to create a positive attitude and the right tactical framework.
I have been looking at Argentina's performances and comparing them to ours.
Unlike England, they struggled to qualify. But since arriving at the finals they have looked impressive.
They have Diego Maradona in charge and, by all accounts, he is not exactly a tactical mastermind.
What he does have, though, is a rapport with his players.
They respect him and he looks as if he is one of them, enjoying and celebrating their victories with great passion.
I do not think we have ever seen that with Capello and his players.
Those players have gone home now and that leaves me feeling very flat.
I know there are some outstanding games coming up but with no England team there is nothing to fire our enthusiasm.
Then again, maybe the World Cup finals are better off without us if that was the best we can offer.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/worldcup2010/3033617/Alan-Shearer-gives-his-damning-verdict-on-Englands-World-Cup-flops.html#ixzz0sRQbz8Vl
