A New Dawn For The Three Lions

Any ardent supporter of the England national football team would drool over a first-team squad like this:

GK: David James

RB: Gary Neville

CB: John Terry

CB: Rio Ferdinand

LB: Jamie Carragher

CM: Steven Gerrad

CM: Frank Lampard

CDM: Paul Scholes

RW: David Beckham

LW: Joe Cole

ST: Wayne Rooney

    Add to this, a bench which included the likes of Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, Michael Owen, Nicky Butt and Joey Barton among other household names, all at their prime, and you have what was one of the most formidable sides to have ever played the beautiful game. Sure, I've taken the occasional casting liberty and made slight positional alterations to create this star studded formation, but isn't that how it should’ve been? I mean, Paul Scholes and Jamie Carragher still had several good years left when they prematurely called it quits on their international careers, as was evident from their stellar performances for United and Liverpool respectively. Anyway, this was the exact side which started most of England’s games in Euro 2004 – Not too far off is it?

    But despite their seemingly illustrious demeanor which could intimidate almost any opposing manager or player if they so much as glanced at England’s team sheet, this divinely assembled squad is astonishingly remembered for all the wrong reasons and is often associated with all that could have been. Be it the frequent clash of big egos resulting in poor team spirit, bad coaching decisions like deploying Paul Scholes in a wide position, or the failed Lampard-Gerrad midfield partnership, excuses such as these began to characterize the squad and the end result was simple failure to deliver on the pitch.

    The side’s glorious celebrity status didn't help either, nor did the fact that they were constantly juxtaposed, if not directly compared, to the highly acclaimed world cup winning England side of 1966. The fact that this was England’s solitary world cup trophy throughout their glamorous history and that this was the side widely touted to end the wait for a second, piled even more pressure onto the talented lot. Put plainly, the weight of expectation coupled with poor man management wore down and eventually broke this great team. 

    But quite contrary to popular belief, the future doesn't look all that bleak for the three lions – at least on paper, given the oodles of talented young protégés churned up by English clubs each year. However, if the past has taught us anything, it is never to blindly trust what we see on paper as it can be deceptive. For this very reason, I decided to take a stab at analyzing the flaws of previous England sides to;

•    Devise an appropriate formation
•    Attempt to select the potentially best from the rest
•    Predict potential success, failure or the same old homespun mediocrity 

With all that said, I think England’s next generation squad should look somewhat like this:

    Barring Joe Hart, who should captain this side, everyone in the squad will be below 25 years of age with few occasional exceptions. Keepers tend to peak later in their footballing careers and Hart’s quality, experience, and leadership on the pitch will be much needed. The purpose is to start afresh with a nascent goal to rid the team of unnecessary heads. I would love to see England consider a squad like this for a change and play a simple 4-2-3-1 formation. It certainly won’t bring instant success and Euro 2016 will have to be sacrificed for the purpose of implementing it properly, but England don’t have much to lose either – It’s not like they are poised to win the next major competition, so it makes sense that they rather build for Russia 2018. To that effect, here is the squad I would place my money on:

NO.	PLAYER	POSITION	CLUB
1	Joe Hart ( C )	GK	Manchester City F.C
2	Eric Dier	RB	Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
3	Calum Chambers	CB	Arsenal F.C.
4	Phil Jones	CB	Manchester United F.C.
5	Luke Shaw	LB	Manchester United F.C.
6	Adam Lallana	RW	Liverpool F.C.
7	Raheem Sterling	LW	Liverpool F.C.
8	Jordan Henderson	CDM	Liverpool F.C.
9	Jack Wilshere	CM	Arsenal F.C.
10	Ross Barkeley	CAM	Everton F.C.
11	Daniel Sturridge ( VC )	ST	Liverpool F.C.
SUBSTITUTES
1	Danny Rose	LB	Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
2	Jack Rodwell	CDM	Sunderland A.F.C.
3	Jon Flanagan	RB	Liverpool F.C.
4	Chris Smalling	CB/RB	Manchester United F.C.
5	John Stones	CB	Everton F.C.
6	Kieran Gibbs	LB	Arsenal F.C.
7	Harry Kane	ST/FW	Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
8	Nathaniel Chalobah	CDM	Chelsea F.C.
9	Connor Wickham	CDM/CB	Sunderland
10	Jack Butland	GK	Stoke City F.C.
11	Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain	RW/LW	Arsenal F.C.
PROSPECTIVE CALL-UPS
12	Tyler Blackett	CB/LB	Manchester United F.C.
13	Jordan Rhodes	ST	Blackburn Rovers F.C.
14	Michael Keane	CB	Manchester United F.C.
15	Nathan Redmond	LW/RW	Norwich City F.C.
16	Zeki Fryers	LB	Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
17	Theo Walcott	RW/ST	Arsenal F.C.

    If your wondering why Tottenham pair, Kyle Walker and Andros Townsend, do not appear in the team-sheet, its probably because they have not been very convincing for England despite being given several opportunities to prove their salt. But, I wouldn't rule them out entirely and certainly think that they should be a part of the fray, as should Chelsea's Patrick Bamford, Southampton's James Ward-Prowse and Manchester United's Nick Powell. The fact is there are too many 'potential starlets' today, while attaining even a glimmer of success depends on the ability to weed out misfits. 

    This is a system built around the concepts of youth, a fresh start and an even playing field – Basically, a player’s brand or celebrity status will have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on his chances to feature in the national side. Since long, the English FA has stuck to a rigid age-old mentality that required the nation’s best players to perform exceptionally and become big stars at club level before being given the opportunity to earn their first cap. While I believe this to be a fairly sound approach, I feet that England wait a little too long before providing first-team opportunities to very talented youth players, which isn't always the best thing to do. It’s almost as if a player isn't worthy to play for the country if he doesn't start for his club every week and this is not always true – We have seen numerous shining examples of players who performed brilliantly for their countries but weren't all that great for their clubs and vice versa, namely Miroslav Klose and Thierry Henry respectively.

    Returning to the England squad from that minor digression, I think it’s best if we reverse the system discussed above - Instead of having promising players become stars first and then earn a place in the team, why not give them the opportunity to play for their nation from a younger age and become stars along the way? This way, they will be able to keep their egos in check, or won’t even have any since they are only eager kids who are enthused to play the game and just grateful for the opportunity to represent their country at such a young age. They will learn to love and respect the national team, before some of them go on to earn millions in club football. More importantly, they won’t have to fixate on earning their first cap for their country and then try too hard to perform in a platonically assembled team consisting of peers who have been hits at their respective clubs, but have never played together before. As clichéd as it may sound, real football management is seldom like FIFA 14, although it would be great if it were! You cannot simply put together a bunch of fairly senior proven star players and expect them to deliver – They have to be nurtured, preferably since their early playing days, in order to adapt to each other’s styles. In this process, a manager will realize that some of his favored selections didn't really work out, while others will surprise and that is why a team is built, not assembled.  

    If his work at Tottenham and Portsmouth are any testament, having a strict and experienced disciplinarian like Harry Redknapp to manage such a young, volatile side will be a must. Moreover, Redknapp seems like a man on a mission; someone who actually cares about England and with a robust plan to bring about a positive change in paradigm, or at least his interviews tend to suggest that. 

    I think the only way English football can move forward is if they let go of their past – At present, there are way too many dead-weights and under-performers included in the team based on meaningless reputations, which are weighing the side down. With this mentality, it is difficult to expect the requisite and sought after radical change - There will always be weak links in the team as every senior player with a shiny profile will want to hold onto his place, irrespective of his actual contribution on the pitch. If it were a professional business setting, the term ‘accountability’ might resoundingly come to mind.

    With that said, I believe that everything that has been done thus far, hasn't been all and entirely detrimental – There were definitely some good points to ponder on. Taking a cue from their performance at this world cup, for instance, I enjoyed watching England attack with lightening pace in a team that was technically built around Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling. It may not have been as evident to the naked eye, but he was given a playmaker’s role and was clearly the fulcrum of the squad. It showed that the talented youngster can operate well as the cog in the side, is adept at handling high pressure situations without crumbling and flourishes in a free role where he can pull all the strings.

    One thing that perspicuously did not work in England’s favor was the much hyped mix of youth and experience which they possessed. Personally, I consider this ideology to be overrated and almost never used in the correct context - It makes sense only when you have a well-functioning unit that has played together for a sufficient period of time, like the Germans. It does not blatantly mean that you pick five experienced players and six promising youngsters at random. Despite his impressive club record and his legions of dedicated fans worldwide, Wayne Rooney has not been a hit for England - In fact, none of the persisting superstars of the golden generation have been able to fire on all cylinders, even with major changes to the squad. It is important that players like Steven Gerrad and Wayne Rooney understand this harsh reality and reckon that it is time to move on. It’s the decent thing to do and the only way things have a chance to change for the better. There is no point in retaining ample experience just for the sake of it, and if experienced players aren't contributing equally to the cause, they must be subjected to the same fate as their colleagues. Competency, merit and performance must be given equal, if not more, importance than superfluous 'years of service'.

    Following in the light of this concept, the system in question will need certain players of yesteryear and even the generation, to simply move on. Especially the big misfiring names vis-à-vis Gerrad, Rooney, Glen Johnson, and Ashley Young. Frank Lampard has already retired although he should’ve done so earlier. If these players consecutively announce their retirements, others of a similar mold will soon follow suit until the entire bandwagon of expendables is cleared out - An old fashioned downsizing of sorts, if you will. Even fairly decent performers like Gary Cahill should seriously consider their place or be willing to rotate, in an effort to conform to the objectives of the long-term project – One in which the country comes first and no player is bigger than the team. 

    Sadly, this is the only way the model can work effectively - The young guns must be trusted with the opportunity to run the show independently and autonomously, without being overshadowed by their decorated predecessors. Germany and France have already understood this, which is why Ribery, Lahm, and Mertersacker called time on their careers when they didn’t have to. It is a risky approach, but also one which has paid handsome dividends to the German and Belgian national sides in recent years. France has also adopted a similar philosophy and Spain is on the verge of doing so. In today’s world of football, change is the only constant and there isn't much in the way of a secure approach.