Football in England has become a game of contradictions. The English Premier League is vaunted as the best and most exciting league in the world, watched by millions each week.
It has made great strides since the “dark days” of the late 1980s when English clubs were banned from Europe after the Heysel Stadium riot in the 1985 European Cup Final.
There were also the stadium tragedies in Bradford and Sheffield that saw many fans die and urgently usher in the era of more modern stadia and improved spectator facilities.
The EPL was born out of the need for this change and domestically the English game, at least at the top level, has probably never been stronger.
Significantly, however, this resurgence has been due to the influx of supremely talented foreign players who have been adopted as heroes by fans of EPL sides.
Players such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira are icons at Arsenal and the way Robin van Persie is hitting the back of the net, he’ll be part of the eternally worshipped before long.
I doubt Eric Cantona would have to dip into his pocket for a drink in a Manchester bar and names like Ginola, Ronaldo and Drogba have enlivened the EPL over the years.
This is not to say English players haven’t shone in the EPL. No country that produces the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Alan Shearer, Andy Cole and Wayne Rooney could be said to be in the doldrums when it comes to developing talent.
But as England look towards the 2012 European Championships, they do so currently with no coach, no captain, and reports of a fractured squad, divided along lines of geographic locality (north and south) and simmering tensions due to well-publicised allegations of racial abuse.
Fabio Capello’s resignation as England manager was surely inevitable, having not been consulted in the decision to remove John Terry as captain for the Euro Championships.
How could a manager possibly have his position undermined in such a way, no matter whether one thinks the decision was the right one or not?
According to Barry Fry, current Director of Football at Peterborough United, the problems at the top in the English game are the fault of foreign managers taking charge of the national team.
In a rant last week on Sky News, Fry championed the credentials of Harry Redknapp as the new England boss. He said, “We’ve had enough of these foreigners – they ain’t got no passion, they ain’t got no commitment, all they want is the money.” Perhaps he thinks an Englishman will do the job for nothing.
In the next sentence, he went on to endorse Redknapp, who at the time was going through a trial which revolved around “wanting the money.” Thankfully for Redknapp and Fry he was found not guilty – the irony of Fry’s words had he been convicted would have been too much to bear.
Since the job was formalised in 1946, the English national team has had 15 managers. Only two have not been English. During this time, only one manager – Sir Alf Ramsey – has won anything at all, that being the 1966 World Cup, with his team of “wingless wonders.”
At the time, Ramsey’s formation and style were innovative. Had it not delivered the World Cup, he would probably have been hounded for changing an enduring style.
England have only got past the quarter final stages of any tournament twice: the 1990 World Cup under Bobby Robson and the 1996 European Championships, with Terry Venables at the helm.
There is a common thread between the two; they have both managed clubs outside of England, and they have both managed Barcelona. Robson was instrumental in advancing the careers of Jose Mourinho (who he took with him to Barcelona) and Andre Villas Boas, who he appointed to work with him at Porto when Boas was only sixteen years old.
In effect, England’s two foreign managers, Swede Sven Goran Eriksson and Capello, have had no less success than eleven of their English counterparts. Yet Barry Fry – and I suspect he is not alone in this viewpoint – feels the only way for England to succeed internationally is with an Englishman in charge.
This is despite the real or perceived failures of the likes of Glenn Hoddle, Kevin Keegan, Graham Taylor, Ron Greenwood and Don Revie.
There is debate as to whether the influx of foreign players to the English domestic game has had a positive or negative effect on the standard of the national team.
On the one hand, playing alongside or against some of the best from around the world, week in and week out, can only increase the skill level of English players.
On the other, foreign players fill the playing squads of many of the top teams, leaving English players to ply their trade in the lower leagues.
The corresponding debate hasn’t translated to the football manager. Currently in the EPL, only four Englishmen hold the top job at the twenty clubs. There are twice as many Scottish-born managers.
Fry’s call for an Englishman to take charge of the England squad ignores the fact that outside of Redknapp, the list of candidates is not inspiring. According to where their club is currently running, the next-best English manager domestically is Alan Pardew at Newcastle United, who are sixth in the league.
You then have to go to Tony Pulis at Stoke City, who are 13th. Just below in 14th are West Bromwich Albion, guided by Roy Hodgson. Of the current four, Hodgson has coached the most widely, guiding clubs in eight different countries, as well as taking the helm of four different national teams.
It could be argued his coaching credentials far outstrip Redknapp’s, but he has been unfairly labelled as not having the manner for a “big” club. His time at Liverpool was beset by allegations that the job was “beyond” him, and he didn’t do himself any favours by criticising Liverpool fans for not backing him.
While Harry Redknapp may seem to be the natural choice to steer England through the 2012 European Championships, his appointment should not be made on the basis of his nationality. Barry Fry may not realise it, but there is a whole world outside of the English borders, and football is played and coached everywhere.
And at least statistically, it’s being done better in a lot of places than it is in Barry’s beloved England.
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