England’s New Crop (and how we can undermine their potential)

Following a disastrous World Cup campaign England began to show signs of resurgence early on in their Euro 2012 qualification campaign. However, Adrian Chiles couldn't help but tempt fate in the build up to England’s home 0-0 thriller with a Vucinic-less Montenegro by stating that we may be looking to continue our recent tradition of breezing through qualifying and collapsing in the finals. This worry was soon dispelled as we huffed-and-puffed and failed to break down the Montenegrin door. The only shining lights of the night were a lively and full of confidence Adam Johnson and the resurgent Steven Gerrard. Each of which would have been allowed to make more of an impact in the 4-3-3 which has been serving Capello well. Unfortunately the 4-4-2’s flatness was again on show as Capello reverted to his old setup. It was testament to how little Capello has learnt that Shaun Wright-Phillips even made it into the squad let alone onto the pitch against Montenegro. The better choice could have been the biggest shining light in England’s latest generation, Jack Wilshere. The 18 year old is a great point of debate at the moment as we try and discover how to get the best out of the slight, talented play-maker.

The main task ahead for England is to usher in our new generation of talent through by providing them with regular club football and possible call ups to the national side. Utilising Wilshere will be important, as he could be the future of the English centre of midfield. Players of Wilshere’s ability and more importantly for some, size, are often treated as luxury items in this country and are subsequently shunned out onto the left hand side, where their ability to unlock stubborn defences is stifled. Two examples of this are Joe Cole and, most tragically, Paul Scholes. Possibly the greatest passer of a football this country or even the world has produced (the great Zinedene Zidane described him as “the greatest midfielder of his generation”) was wasted out on the left hand side of the English midfield for most of his 66 caps. We must hope that Capello doesn’t succumb to the temptation to waste Wilshere’s talents in this way.

In the longer term there are many more extremely talented young English players waiting in the wings. Micah Richards is starting to fulfil his potential at right-back this season and could easily provide a replacement for the increasingly unpredictable Glen Johnson. Other future defenders could have to wait a tad longer for their opportunity due to the primacy of Terry, Ferdinand and Ashley Cole. However, the promise of the likes of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Kieran Gibbs paint a strangely familiar picture for the future England backline. Jones is a no nonsense centre back very much in the John Terry mould. Smalling, gifted with pace and the composure to bring the ball out of defence, could also be seen as a young Ferdinand. Kieran Gibbs is yet another small pacey left back off the Arsenal conveyor belt which has produced Cole, Clichy, Traore and now Gibbs. And let’s not forget Everton’s Jack Rodwell who could well be the perfect partner for Wilshere in the centre of the English midfield in coming years provided he continues his development.

In more forward areas Marc Albrighton has burst on to the scene at Aston Villa and is getting a consistent run in the first team so far this season. Andy Carroll is another young Englishman showing promise early this season, with the burly front man scoring four goals in three appearances so far. Daniel Sturridge is the most problematic of this current batch of players. With the right coaching and a decent run in the Chelsea first team he has the potential to be a world class front man for England with his explosive acceleration, skill on the ball and composure in front of goal. However his cocky attitude may cause issues in the future and hamper his career.

This talent on show in our youngsters is exemplified in their qualification for a third consecutive European championship with a 2-1 aggregate win over Romania last week. However, England need to pay close attention to the German model of development for our youngsters. Players such as Ozil, Muller and Neuer have been given greater responsibility in the German first team alongside a core of more experienced performers. A core of Terry, Ferdinand, Gerrard, Lampard and Rooney supplemented with the talent of the likes of Wilshere, Adam Johnson, James Milner and Joe Hart, to name just a few, would allow for us to develop as a unit in a more effective way and pave the way for a potentially brighter future for England. The only remaining problem is that, perhaps, the stubborn Capello isn’t the man to do this.