Footballers coming home

F.A.U.K. Part 1

The Guardian managed a few crackers recently (6th May). Firstly, congratulations to David Lacey for writing the following about Sven-Goran Eriksson’s selection dramas:

“On the brighter side, Darius Vassell, once Eriksson’s answer to everything, is due a hernia operation and Emile Heskey, the answer to nothing, has been relegated [with Birmingham].”

Barney Ronay also managed to slip in with “How many toes do you need anyway? Over the last week Wayne Rooney has started to resemble the knight from the Monty Python film who refuses to lie down and die no matter how many limbs are hacked off.” On might also ask, how many spines do you need to make a football association???

When England ultimately go out of the World Cup, blame should turn not turn to the absence of Rooney, to the inevitable disallowed goal for fouling the keeper or to a poor Steven Gerrard backpass. Instread, attention should turn to the FA itself and its absence of spine.

The FA have continued to ruin the prospects and honour of English football. Not only did they fail to make a man’s decision about the fate of Liverpool and Everton in last years 5th place Chumpions League fiasco, but they failed to deal with Mr Sven-Goran Eriksson and his taciturn, passionless and mercenary attitudes. At least in the latter case, this characteristic was probably familiar to the FA Board of Directors.

Is it possible to separate Sven from the FA, or is that the point? Forget all the affairs, the exorbitant salary and the mediocre tactics employed by the Swede. Think to his attitude about the team: Wayne is injured and the competition is over. Heaven forbid. It is easy to remember the impact at the European Championships in 2004 when the fate of Rooney’s foot symbolically broke the courage of the English team. But now, before the impending tournament, surely a man in his position should be bolstering the confidence of some other lad in the team, or even one of the many who isn’t, such as Charlton’s Darren Bent, like Jermaine Defoe, or even Darius Vassell again. But no, its all panic and absence of ideas and overall, an absence of attacking nous in the team. You have to ask, why did the FA keep him on?

And why his selection and panic about strikers anyway? Surely there is enough quality players in England? Of course there is bias towards the big clubs, this is normal, but Theo Walcott??? A player who hasn’t yet played in The Premiership, a player who Sven had barely seen train before his inclusion. With Jermain Defoe and even Andrew Johnson on the standby list you have to wonder whether the untapped enthusiasm of Walcott will triumph better in place of at least some experience. Johnson may have clocked up 17 goals in the Championship, but Defoe has admittedly only managed 9 goals from 38 starts and 14 substitutes appearances with Tottenham. This all, barely, makes sense statistically against Crouch’s 13 from 49(7). But even Crouch seems a long way behind Darren Bent’s 22 goals in 45 games this season for ‘little team’ Charlton. What is even more surprising about Crouch’s inclusion ahead of Bent, is that nobody from Liverpool sits on the Board of Directors to influence the decision. In Walcott’s case, things may be clearer. Is it perhaps the influence of David Dein, vice chairman of the board of Arsenal, and FA Board
executive who may be pulling some strings? Hasn’t he already been accused of favouring Arsenal over fixtures last season?