When England departed these shores for South Africa a few weeks ago, there was much hope that at long last, they could bring the trophy home. Yet, that dream was destroyed in no uncertain terms by the old enemy Germany in Bloemfontein as England crashed out of the finals losing 4-1. How may such an experienced team who qualified so easily fail to perform? Not surprisingly, the English media has put together no dearth of scape goats and reasons for what was England’s heaviest defeat at a World Cup. There has been plenty of talk about the Italian manager, formations and more but the issues are far deeper.
Since its formation in 1992, the EPL has achieved tremendous success as a global brand. The cost of this success has been felt by English football. Improved TV money has forced wages higher and higher. In turn this has meant there has been an evergrowing gulf among club and country. Clubs pay their players a great deal of money and are more and more hesitant to let their footballers turn out for their national teams.
In turn, players get greatly rewarded by Premiership clubs to the extent that success is recognised by securing excellent contracts and not anything they do on the field. Mediocre footballers who rarely turn out for their teams are still millionaires and as these footballers put money ahead of playing matches at club level, there is certainly little doubt they don’t have the mental strength or hunger to play international football.
In the past, there was always a regional reserve league which allowed young players from lower league clubs could possibly be guaranteed to play versus decent reserve teams from larger teams like Arsenal, Spurs and Man Utd. Nonetheless, in recent years, the Premiership has changed thus they will only play versus other Premiership reserve clubs. This means that Championship reserve clubs no longer get to play versus Premiership sides. For teams like Ipswich Town, it means their reserve team now plays versus Stevenage as an alternative to Spurs and this drop in standard in opposition without a doubt has a negative effect on the footballing education of young footballers.
With such a lot of wealth on the line, everything is geared to Premier League survival. Teams spend fortunes attracting apparently top-quality foreign managers and footballers in a bid to retain their EPL status. The ambition of promoted teams to the Premiership extends no further than finished 4th bottom. The EPL cash bonanza means that Premiership clubs can present £1-2m for young footballers at lower league clubs. The footballers are happy to move and secure their financial futures but it could well also signal the end of their careers. The young Crystal Palace star joined Spurs but rarely made an appearance and was last seen on loan at Brentford, a league lower than when he was at Palace. From a football point of view, Bostock would have been best served staying at Palace and learning the game. How many more young footballers careers are cut down like this pursuing the money instead of playing the game? Its difficult to blame the young players for taking the money.
Addititionally there is the widespread accusation that clubs play too many games in England and more and more managers want a winter break. Nonetheless, players don’t appear to be tired once asked to fly off to the Usa or Far East on pre-season excursions. Or how about England’s friendly fixture next June away in Thailand?
There are so numerous ready made excuses for failure that footballers are ready to accept. They live a life well away from real life with their mansions, sports cars and trophy wives. Basically, there is not enough hunger or desire.
The match in Thailand also highlights another issue. In addition to the Premiership being a global brand, so are the England team. People want to witness the big Premiership stars play for England and in friendlies like this, those stars will be expected, if not contracted, to turn out. Even so, it is not the case that the recommended 11 players make the recommended team. Too a good number of footballers are in the team based on track record rather than performances. Young players should be promoted into the senior squad sooner.
For the impending Euro 2012 campaign, England should do away with the services of all players aged 30 or over. None of them have played well in South Africa hence why should Capello persevere with them. It would be much better to promote younger players who may still be hungry for success. Of course, while the worshiping of the EPL persists, things are not likely to improve anytime rapidly.
Tags: euro 2012, euro 2012 poland, uefa euro 2012, Ukraine euro 2012