Well, it’s been too long since England won the FIFA World
Cup. I wanted to write the phrase “last won” but refrained from doing so
considering the fact that the Three Lions have just one title to their name.
And that too in 1966 in their own backyard, which can’t help but exude the sad
truth that it might actually take another hosting to win the prestigious
trophy. And with 2018 and 2022 going to Russia and Qatar respectively, this
indeed is a sign of grave concern.
Let’s take a minute and analyze the problem that we have
on hand. It’s not that England lack quality players. Oh No. They have players
who can challenge even the best on any given day. They have players who play in
the supposedly the “greatest league in the world”. They have players who have
the unsung ability to go face-to-face with any challenge that is thrown their
way. They have players who shake the world. Too much “biased” praise you say? I
guess you’re right.
But talking in an earnest frame of mind the problem is
not with the players. The players actually put in their best. The fact that
they’re not challenging enough to face a fortified team like Spain, Germany,
Italy or even Uruguay for that matter is a completely different problem all
together. The problem is that the English team does not have players to match
the positions on the field. To put the predicament more subtly – England’s left
flank is completely handicapped.
We have 6 very talented players who are fighting for one
position on the field. And on the other hand there aren’t enough players to
even support the left side, let alone stabilizing it. Southampton’s Adam
Lallana has been the greatest thing to have happened to English midfield ever
since Joe Cole. But let’s get one thing straight shall we? Lallana cannot win
things on his own. He needs backup. And on that front all he has is Young and
Downing – neither of whom is in any form.
The permutations and combinations to fill that “elusive”
void on the left-hand side have been going on for ages now. But all sincere
efforts have gone in vain. There are two
things common between Kevin Keegan, Sven Goran Eriksson, Fabio Capello, Steve
McClaren and present England coach Roy Hodgson – first is the exasperating
detail that they have all poured their heart out in trying to build/develop a
player for that left flank; second that they have all terribly failed.
Now I’m no expert when it comes to team formation or
chemistry, but when coaches go to the extreme extent of playing world class
midfielders like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard on the left just for the sole
purposes of filling that void, then something is appallingly wrong with the team.
Also, call me a cynic but I draw the line between intelligent insight and
immense idiocracy when dynamic strikers like Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen are
“pushed” to the wings.
And probably the greatest impalement in England football
history occurred when Paul Scholes, who without a shadow of a doubt was the
greatest midfielder of his time, was literally pressed on towards the left
touchline to incorporate the enterprising Gerrard-Lampard combination during
UEFA Euro 2004. None the less England was knocked out of the tournament. And
quite frankly that seems to be the story every time that England plays a match.
As a football fanatic, I’m literally on the edge of my seat grasping my sweaty
palms with chewed up fingernails just hoping that the opposition does not see
the exposed left hand flank.
But unfortunately they always do. Be it a minnow team
like Chile or a prodigious team like Germany, every team always exploits the
fact that England is completely “Shite” on the left flank. Therefore, in
addition to a dedicated left winger, what’s indispensable for the Three Lions
at this point of time is to find a coach who can create a left winger out of
the existing lot, if not find a new one. On that note, a certain example of a
Joe Cole and a Jose Mourinho comes to mind.
What Mourinho will undeniably go down in history among
the England fans for, besides being a ruthless character who likes to win at
any cost by creating stupendous strategies, is that he created Joe Cole out of
nothing and made him indispensable for the England football team. Cole was the
greatest thing to be running on the left flank ever since the days of Steve
McManaman. If only Cole had not been injury-prone, he could have been an
undying star.
No one can forget the immaculate volley that Cole hit
from 35-yards against Sweden in the group stages during the 2006 FIFA World
Cup. England fans especially cannot forget that match for two reasons. One was
the desirable and prudent fact that their answers had finally been answered on
the left flank front. Finally there was a perfect blend between a player and a
position. The other was the horrifying injury that Owen suffered that would
eventually end his career.
