Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Roots, Branches, Capello and the Media

The morning after England’s disastrous defeat to Croatia that resigned their country to being mere spectators for this year’s European Championships, the English FA Chief Executive Brian Barwick was quoted as saying that England required a “root and branch” review of all things related to the coaching and development of players in the country.

What followed this defeat was predictable. The manager (in this case Steve McClaren) was roundly lampooned in the tabloid press as being the cause of the defeat and his decision to huddle under an umbrella from the London rain seen as indicative of a manager without the requisite passion to manage the England team. He got the sack eventually which at least for the time being placated the baying mob. The tabloids then moved back to their standard obsession with paedophiles and forgot about McClaren knowing that they had got what they wanted, namely a boost in sales before the game/tournament when they will inevitably make the team out as world-beaters and whip the public into a frenzy. Then when the team gets knocked out of a tournament, or as it was in this case not even qualify, the manager and/or a player(s) is demonised.

It is all too familiar a turn-of-events- in fact it is entirely predictable- and it sells, so the papers who after all are in the business of selling as many copies as possible regurgitate this same old formula every couple of years. And I believe this type of tabloid style rubbish journalism plays a larger part than many believe in holding back England as a footballing nation.

On the night of the Croatia game I was braving the November cold in Stockholm to watch the Swedish national team qualify for the Euro when, on the train home, I was informed that England were 3-2 down against Croatia. When I arrived home, knowing the match was completed about 10 minutes before, I turned to Sky News to check if they had any coverage of the result. What they had was a reporter set up out the front of Wembley Stadium talking to the inevitably disappointed English fans who gave them what they wanted; each took turns in abusing the manager, the team, and whoever else they could think of with the central theme being that a lack of “pride in the shirt” was the reason for failure. So again, a lot of vitriolic hot air blown about but nothing new or, more importantly, constructive.

Which was why a series of articles and discussions initiated by the BBC about the state of English football were such a breath of fresh air. Not a mention of pampered, passionless, over-paid stars but more talk about poor quality junior coaching and flawed footballing philosophies. If you want an example, read this article and subsequent discussion that draws heavily on the wisdom of Sir Trevor Brooking.

If a complete “root and branch” overhaul of English football is to happen I see two major obstacles to it taking place. The first one may be somewhat surprising. It is that Fabio Capello may be too successful.

Whatever one thinks of Capello as a manager, one thing is for certain: he gets results. And I for one do not think that this will change with him in charge of England. And this in itself creates a problem. If Capello was to go all the way in a major tournament or at least oversee an honourable final loss, he and the English team would no doubt be feted by the tabloids to the nth degree. The euphoria would create a climate in which any questioning of football structures would be dismissed by the fact that the senior team had been successful. Now, even though Brian Barwick has given assurances that the review will take place regardless of Capello’s appointment, who is to say that it would still happen if short-term success was achieved?

The second factor that will inhibit the overhaul has been touched on already, namely the English press. A technical overhaul of a football country/culture is an ambitious project that requires patience and an understanding public and media well versed in the strategic, long-term aims of such an undertaking. Results are often not seen for a generation. Which is why the tabloid press in England who, let’s remember, are selling the papers that the majority of the football watching public there will read, can be depended upon to provide everything that is not needed for the overhaul to work. They are pretty happy with the current cycle, it works well for them either way. If they build them up and they lose, they’ll sell heaps of papers for weeks after. If they win same thing. The one constant will be hyperbole.

Strangely enough failure to qualify for the Euro may prove to be a blessing for English football. It has created a climate where visionaries such as Sir Trevor Brooking who are advocating a radical overhaul of the structure of football in England from the ground up may finally get a good hearing. And at least it will provide a climate where debate about England’s place in the footballing world can take place, which is always healthy. The hard part though will come when their new manager brings probable success.

Will Barwick and his FA mates be able to see the overhaul through regardless or will they be intoxicated by the suddenly sycophantic tabloids if success does come England’s way? I have an inkling that yes, Capello is capable of bringing short term success, but listening to the likes of Sir Trevor Brooking will ensure success for generations.