Fabio Capello’s first England squad
The first name noticeable by his absence is of course David Beckham. I am deeply disappointed by this, but I’ve written my views elsewhere and don’t want to rant on about it any more!
Aaron Lennon, Joe Hart, Theo Walcott and Steven Taylor may be slightly disappointed to find themselves in the under 21 squad as they would have been hoping for a call up to the first team. Certainly Lennon would have expected to be in with a chance, particularly with Beckham being left out.
Joe Hart will have looked at the average form of the other England goalkeepers and wondered who might be chosen ahead of him. Walcott has shown no signs of form, and Steven Taylor is a fine player but finds himself playing in a position where England are blessed with many fine players.
The other exclusions of note are Dean Ashton, Paul Robinson, Robert Green and Matt Derbyshire. I think Ashton can feel rightly disappointed as he has been coming back into fine form following his injury. He is the type of player that England have missed since Teddy Sheringham stopped playing international football.
Paul Robinson has been in poor form for club and country, and indeed, is no longer first choice for his club. I suspect that he didn’t expect to be named. Robert Green has been in excellent form for West Ham and could have expected to be one of three keepers chosen. In particular, he may wonder why he has been overlooked for Chris Kirkland at Wigan.
Matt Derbyshire of Blackburn must be regarded as unlucky to be left out of both the full squad and the under 21s.
Surprise names in the squad include Jonathan Woodgate, Matthew Upson and Curtis Davies. However, Capello has named a 30 man squad including 12 defenders, and this will be reduced to 23 following the games this weekend. I would suggest that at least two of those players will be discarded.
There is some surprise that Michael Owen has been included as he has been in particularly poor form. However, he is England’s best striker and it would have been a very brave move to leave him out.
Aston Villa are rewarded for the fine football they have been playing by having five players included in the squad. Struggling Wigan have two in Kirkland and Emile Heskey.
Overall there are not too many surprises and I suspect that once seven players have been sent home at the weekend, the squad will not look so different from the last one selected by McLaren.
A squad of thirty, for a friendly, and no place for Beckham….Sorry, I must stop ranting.
England squad to play Switzerland:
Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Scott Carson (Liverpool on loan at Aston Villa), Chris Kirkland (Wigan)
Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (West Brom on loan at Aston Villa), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur), Nicky Shorey (Reading), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Matthew Upson (West Ham United), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielders: Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), David Bentley (Blackburn Rovers)
Forwards: Emile Heskey (Wigan Athletic), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Michael Owen (Newcastle United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Peter Crouch (Liverpool)
- Fabio Capello Shirt
- Fabio Capello calls for some English pride
- Mourinho turns down England as Capello waits his turn
- 10 Reasons why Fabio Capello should manage England
- Terry’s England Choice? It’s Quite Easy To Guess…
Discussion - 23 Responses
Add Your Comment
Comments are moderated (our comments policy).
the team looks good, but when john and frank became fit to play and have the regularity and quality that they use to have it will be better. I think that capello make the right decision of not calling beckham, the guy is not playing anything and he is in the MLS were the football is very pool and he is still not getting anything.
a proper manager has made a proper FOOTBALL decision and those that endlessly campaign for Beckham,not least himself,a finer self-promoter in sport has never been seen,have rightly been humilaited and shown up for prescisely what they are.Thankyou Fabio from the small nband of people whove follaowed this sport and understand its history and know a player as limited as Beckham has no right just to walk into a squad on his fame and “celebrity” alone.
I’m trying to work out from your post here and the ones on my other article. Are you a fan of Beckhams or not?!
ive never been a fan who people deluded by their own abilities who bring legions of “new fans” into the game through their image and bring up a new generation truly thinking such alimited practitioner of our game is in anyway a “great” of it.I dont know alot abut music and i onced questioned whether Robbie Williams deserved to be seen as a music “great” alongside the Mozarts,the Beethovens,the Lennons and the Dylans and i was shown the sort of contempt i treat those with that dare come over to my art football and pretend they know what theyre talking about and claim the same for David God damn Beckham.Its immensely irritating and though history will call them asses,im still within my rights to do it now before history gets there.
What truly must be devastating for poor little davcid is all that EFFORT,all those perfectly planned and placed interviews,the trip to “help the kiddies”,the arsenal tarining episode,the declaring of himself “fit” within the last 24 hours-all things hed been instructed to do to pinpoint time by his people.My could they all be in for a docking of pay come tomorrow morning.You wouldnt wanna know what it must be like in the Beckham “camp” this evening,recriminations galore itll be,all sifting through their papaers and documents to see where they got it so wrong.Itll make Labours post 92 election inquiry seem like a mere picnic.Extremely FUNNY one has to conceed that it didnt all work however.Lovely evening,have a good one,cheers.
pedroella, you make very little sense. You surely forget that Beckham is, first and foremost, a football player and a brilliant one at that (not “limited” as you seem to believe). This became very clear in McLaren’s last game in charge of England where he was the sole player to do something worthwile.
Whether he is also brilliant at promoting his image, attracting fans (like myself - who became a Man Utd fan because of him) and making ads is a different matter. All the better for him. He is a brilliant player and that is that. Everything else is a bonus.
That being said, I like Capello’s selection. He is quite consistent as he only picked player which: a) are playing regularly and b) are playing well. Since Beckham is doing neither at the time being, he is rightly excluded. Ditto for Robinson. And a big thumbs up to Fabio for picking Woody! Hopefully the lad will now be given a chance!!
Davis, Upson, Shorey, Carrick, Jenas, Cole [gasp] and Heskey to be excluded methinks.
Pedroella I am sure was clamoring for Beckham’s saving grace last year when the Three Lions needed him most. Now, he doesn’t want the man included, even though Beckham should be captaining this match based on skill and respect.
Instead, the captainship gets turned over to…Gerrard, who will again escape criticism for another soon to be forgetful performance in a national team shirt. But, maybe, finally, we will see him for what he is. No Lampard and no McClaren leaves no excuses for Gerrard to blame if he plays poorly. Hopefully, Capello will decide somewhat on his future for ThreeLions as well.
Brian, Andrei, I would advise you not to bother attempting to engage Pedroella in a Beckham-related debate. You will see from other threads about Becks that his opinion is primarily informed by a personal hatred, an abeyant complex if you will, and that his consideration that football is “his game” and “his art” entirely obscures any potential objectivity. In other words, don’t poke the beast - it’s simply not worth it.
Michael Owen is “England’s best striker”? Bollocks - Rooney is.
Anyway, heh, I’m glad David James was finally reinstated as England’s number 1, his form at Portsmouth has been excellent.
Hogo,football is certainly “my art” over someone who says,without a hint of self-awareness or irony,that Beckham is a “brilliant2 player,”not limited” and was the “reason i got into man united”.When im dealing with such creatures,how do you expect me to react?I only treat those with contempt who deserve it and clearly demonstarte their lack of historic knowledge on this sport and it becomes apparant after some time that these are usually the same people “attracted” to the game late who actually believe Beckham is what that wally said he was.You either get that or you dont and ill happily meet those that do but still want to debate these points halfway.
Fabbio’s 1st squad looks pooh. the goalkeepers are under-rated, Robert Green is much better than all of them put together. The only reason the managers go for players like Rooney for e.g. is the money. Why dont they go to the Coca~Cola League. they might be on a they lower pay-roll and but score better goals! Beckham looks to be in shape. training at arsenal durin the xmas period. any other player wouldnt have!
David, your right bout one thing, ROONEY is! better than Owen, but James mad us look a fool in the world cup. he let all them goals in.
I certainly think that Fabio could have given Becks the game, first and foremost as an apology for the way he treated him at Madrid. Never mind the fact that Beckham was leaving, never doubt an athletes’ desire to win. Ladies and Gentlemen, lets not forget that David Beckham is an athlete. Granted he is every bit the self-promoter and entertainer that pedroella suggests, but he is still at his core an athlete. And I’m sorry, while he may be limited in his game, he still is very much a threat. Much more so than Downing! He doesn’t even have to be a part of the real gameplan. Just let the man step on the field and bow out. This is a freaking friendly against Switzerland. Who cares?!!
Great article, however i believe capello has made the right decision to not give beckham his 100th cap. This is because i feel that he is seen as a liability simply because of his popularity. Other players feel intimidated by his stature and his presence.
Joseph:
Don Fabio apologizes to nobody. Ask Alex Del Piero, the symbol of Juventus, about being subbed out at least 20 times in one season by Capello.
As I noted in a comment in Graham’s other article, Beckham respects Capello. This decision probably did not surprise him. Training with the Gunners is not the same as competitive games. One can debate whether or not he deserves #100, but Capello needed to imbue his unique stamp from the start. This may be a friendly; however, I wouldn’t deem it meaningless. Even though Mr. Capello has a very short time to prepare the England side, this game will set the tone, in my opinion, for much that follows.
Pedroella, it is YOU who dont understand football. If you are so naive to think we need to know about the “history” of the sport to enjoy it I will fund your bill at the mental institution my self.
Having said that I DO NO THE HISTORY, and that has nothing to do with anything. SO WHAT IF HE BRING “OTHER’ FANS IN (DOES HE PERSONALLY GO TO THEIR HOUSES AND ASK THEM TO WATCH?)? SO WHAT IF HE LOOK A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER THAN YOU? SO WHAT IF HE IS A MODEL? SO WHAT IF HE EARNS MILLIONS? SO WHAT?
WE ARE DISCUSSING HIS PERFORMANCE ON THE PITCH, HOW ABOUT YOU OPEN THOSE BIASED EYES OF YOURS AND REALIZE THAT?
Yes Capello is a great manager, and he probably has his reason but you believe he can do no wrong, just as you were clearly living under a rock last season when he sparked the Madrid revolution and got them their title back. Or when he proved his worth to England by playing like a real man?
Im sorry If I sound angry but your clear ignorance asked for it. I wont be replying to anymore of your comments because there is no way to make you understand. You are blinded by your own image of him and no one can fix that. So go ahead sir, bark all you want, I for one could not care less for what comes out of that mouth of yours from now on. Go ahead and reply to this, just know that no one gives a shit.
It’s quite incredible that some people are in agreement with Capello’s decision not to award Beckham a 100th cap.
At the very least, it could be a display of respect for a player who has led England numerous times, a player who has won games off his own right foot.
I’m not really a fan of his pop-star wife or his ab$urd decision to join the Galaxy, but in all the times I have seen England play, Beckham has never given less than 100% and has always left everything on the pitch.
Some never considered him world class because they said he was “limited” or “one-dimensional”. True, his game might not have been expansive but atleast what he did, he did very well. Master of his trade, jack of none.
Beckham may not have been the greatest captain, but neither was he the worst and neither was he a disgrace who picked and chose his England matches like the current one John Terry.
Again, it’s about respect and there are very few who even come close to 100 caps and those who do should surely be recognized.
Now it’s down to Beckham…he could be English about it and go and whinge to the tabloids, but something tells me he will come out and play to the best of his abilities.
I hope that we would all agree, maybe with the exception of one person, that he is a fabulous crosser of a football, and excellent dead ball specialist and when playing for England, nothing less than 100% dedicated.
Pedroella - I won’t debate Beckham with you since it’ll get us nowhere. I do, however, have a question. Why is it a problem that Beckham got some people into Man United? I’m a North Londoner and as such had the “pick” of numerous teams when I was younger. Then I saw a fantastic goal by Nick Barmby and my mind was set on Spurs. Unless you were an exceptionally circumspect and self-aware toddler, your club allegiances will have been made with little scrutiny - either you were following family preferences, or you found something in a team/player that you liked - and if people were inspired by Beckham’s performances in a United shirt, then great.
What Capello and those that support his decision seem to say is that it is a footballing decision, based purely on the best football that England can play on Feb 6th. Becks isn’t fit, isn’t playing regularly etc.
My problem with this is that it seems to have forgotten why we all care about football in the first place, particularly the national side. It’s about entertainment and pride. Football is not accounting (even if Rafa and Jose believe it to be). It has millions of fans because of people like Beckham. 80,000 people will be at Wembley to show pride in England, and to be entertained. It’s something that should create emotion, not a check box to be filled with a victory.
And for that reason, how can you not give Becks a 10 minute run around in a meaningless friendly? Is it what the crowd want? Yes. Is it respectful of what football actually stands for? Yes. However, Capello’s ego is clearly too large to be swayed by such ‘human’ elements as emotion, and so he will get back to his football by numbers philosphy. Well I say b*llcks to you Mr. Capello. I love football because of how it makes me feel, you should try it out sometime.
Hugo, I will take your advice. Thank You.
Beachryan, I had never though about it that way (not given these circumstances) but what you say is brilliant. I guess he should have been given his cap.
Although later English football will become about just another tick in the ‘win’ collumn this friendly is absolutely meaningless.
Hugo,if they understood the game and it was for the right reasons,it would have been Roy Keane or Paul Scholes more then Beckham that would have “attracted” them to united.We both know the reasons why Beckham specifically brought in a new breed of “fans”,it had nothing to do with them knowing the finer points of this sport or of being able to understand what constitues a “great” performer of it.Take that idiot above who really does believe Beckham “revolutionsed” madrid and led them to a 10 month title win with a run of 8 or 9 games late in the season v the la liga also-rans.Beckham simply wasnt what he was cracked up to be even on his limited range of ability.His free-kick record with england was woeful,with madrid equally poor and once fergie saw how deluded hed become by his own limited ability,he got him out his club and Beckham went only one way-downwards.He had success as part of a united side as its 4th best midfield exponent in the late 90s but truly never achieved anything else substantial and when outside his family comfort zone of old trafford,got found out without any real debate atall.
Okay mate, you have asked for it. Not liking Beckham is one thing, but insulting him is another. It seems that you are just a Man Utd fan who is bitter and has developed a distate for Beckham when he left Man Utd. So everything you are saying is misguided and full of bias.
Next thing. You say that you know football, but clearly you do not know a lot. When one is an eight year old boy, the last thing that stands out in a football match is a player’s ability to close the opposition down (Keane) or dictate tempo of a match (Scholes); also consitecy goes rather unnoticed. So when Giggs was giving performances of 8/10 for 30 games in a season and Beckham was usually giving 7/10 performance but also had the occasional outstanding match (of course along with the occasional hoorible one) he would be more visible to someone who is just being introduced to football.
Next up: limited ability. You clearly forget the time when Mills and Neville were injured and the right-back spot had to be filled by, you guessed it, Beckham. Yes, it was the 2002 World Cup. And he did not only ‘fill’ the position, he did so with success. In terms of playing ability: he can shoot and pass. At both he excels. So what if he cannot dribble or has no speed? He can get the ball moving and as long as he does it in an efficient manner, that he is very useful for a team.
Then of course is his strong point: set pieces. Without thinking about it too much, I can recall some amazing free kicks which ended up in goals (vs Liverpool, vs Barcelona, vs. Everton, vs Madrid, vs Greece, vs Ecuador). And other amazing assits (vs Paraguay to Owen 2006, vs Sweeden to Campbell 2002, vs Bayern to Sheringham & Soljkaer 1999). So now you have someone who excels at one part of the game and does well at other.
Your other argument is that he is given credit for Madrid’s title without having in reality done too much. Well, Real Madird did not really win the title over a 10 month period. It was more of a late surge and a failure of Barcelona to consolidate a big early lead. It seems as though you do not watch La Liga. Just to give you the general picture: Real Madrid picked up 22 points from the last 24 possible in their last 8 games in 06/07. Given that Beckham featured in most of these and as you mentioned it was the only part of the season when he featured regularly, then he clearly added something to the team because it was the team’s most consistent run in the whole season. (http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team/results?id=86&season=2006&_league=esp.1&cc=5901)
That would be enough for now, but I have more if you insist.
hmmmmm, ive got to admit that I agree with the chap your all giving a ribbing (pedroella). Beckham in my opinion is a good football player and thats it. I dont have any hatred towards the guy , but as a passionate football follower it sure annoys me that Beckam gets as much publicity as he does. and you bet it annoys me when people call him a “great” or a “brilliant” player. The majority of the worlds population knows who David Beckam is but if you stopped people on the street and asked them if they know who Iker Castillas or Kaka is , would most know? , ofcourse they wouldnt! . That my friends is nuts . If Gerrard (who is a much better player than Beckam) pulled a stunt like joining the Galaxy and touting his image around the globe instead of playing regular football for a decent team, would he be dropped from the England squad?, you bet! , so stop unjustly defending the guy!