Fabio Capello. Now This is a Test.

OK, so RTG is on its Beckham bashing soap box, again, but the issues surrounding Beckham epitomise exactly what RTG is railing against in modern football.

For the record, let us just reiterate. He was a great footballer with the sweetest right foot of several generations. He contributed immensely to Manchester United’s success and he was a stalwart of arguably the greatest midfield quartets ever. He also does usually give everything in an England shirt. That was then. Now is a different matter. Rightly or wrongly he chose a path to further his ‘career’ in a league that is barely English League 1 standard. We say career in his truest sense of the word – that of a media celebrity.

Sir Alex Ferguson has joined the chorus of bleating sheep saying that Beckham deserves his 100th cap irrespective of what England needs. Last week Beckham went to Sierra Leone; this week he’s in Brazil. Interspersed between these wonderful photo ops are pictures of him on a foggy Arsenal training pitch enjoying the banter and wet-towel slapping frolics of the Arsenal squad (Bendtner and Adebayor excepted). So imagine RTG’s surprise when waking up this morning to reports that Fabio Capello is having serious reservations about including Beckham in the squad. Is it just us or are other genuine supporters angry about how trivialised playing for your country has become?

Here is a man who has not played at a world class standard for nearly a year and who has not played a competitive match since his substitute’s appearance versus Croatia. Note also he only played a couple of handfuls of games for Real Madrid in his final season with them. Meanwhile we have an England team that has failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 tournament and who need, at this time more than any, need to concentrate on getting the right players, tactics and systems in place. What do we get? Tiresome, and never ending, discussions on one person’s tribute to celebrityville.

Reports suggest that Capello wants to break with the tradition of naming a 23 man squad and pick an initial squad of 30 in order to see more players close-up at England training sessions. Which led RTG to thinking that ALL the English players in the Premier League (who are not too old, on crutches or serving at Her Majesty’s pleasure) should be included in the England preparation for EVERY game. This would cover all age groups. There are probably only 50-60 players across all ages that fall into this group. Gone would be the endless speculation about who is injured or who ‘deserves’ inclusion. What Capello and his staff would get to see is every English player’s motivation and commitment, up close. Plus, it starts the important process of building the concept of Team England. Of course, we assume that there will exist a suitable place (i.e. Burton) for this to take off.

Hopefully, Capello will see sense and treat this game against Switzerland as the beginning of a new era and not a salute to the last. After all, what is there really to salute?

Reclaim the Game – The Weekend’s Events

• Talking of tiresome, never ending discussions, the Toon (nostalgia and return of the messiah) army now await with baited breath over the potential return of Alan Shearer in their so-called ‘dream ticket’. Amazing, that multi-million pound organisations can make decisions influenced more on the principles of the schoolyard than those of serious businesses.
• Derby County are the latest club to find themselves with new American owners. The new owners were quick to point out that their management style is more Randy Lerner of Aston Villa and less Gillett and Hicks of Liverpool. The group to take over is an organisation called General Sports and Entertainment. Hmmmmmm…….not hopeful.
• The African Nations Cup, currently being played out in Ghana, has been rocked by a series of bribe scandals. Sketchy reports and accusations have been made, but officials of CAF so far are attempting to bury the story in the hope that it will go away. Watch this space.
  
  Hats Off, Take a Bow (or Not)!
  
  Player of the Week: Alfie Potter of Havant and Waterlooville (but on loan from Peterborough). Not just because he has a name that is a throw back to cloth caps and jumpers for goal posts, but also because for a few minutes at least, neutrals dared to dream of the greatest cup upset of them all.
  
  Villain of the Week: Yossi Benayoun. OK a bit harsh on Yossi but he spoilt the dream of the greatest cup upset of them all.
  
  Heroes of the Week: Havant and Waterlooville who led for most of the first half. Excellent effort – even if their team was shored up with a smattering of loan professionals.
  
  Shock of the Week: this week’s shock is one of the literal kind – how we laughed at the look of shock on Michael Ball’s face when he realised that he was clearing a balloon rather than the ball which resulted in United’s first goal in their ‘shock’ win against City.
  
  Cliché of the Week: With a Potter playing in the magical FA Cup 4th round, all those media muppets couldn’t help themselves in trying to describe Havant and Waterlooville’s exploits in terms of being more ‘Harry Potter’ than ‘Alfie Potter’.