Does Capello Know What He’s Doing?

The Eng­land man­ager, Fabio Capello has just announced his Eng­land squad as follows:

Eng­land squad to play Andorra and Croa­tia:
Robin­son (Black­burn), James (Portsmouth), Green (West Ham); Lescott (Ever­ton), Bridge (Chelsea), A Cole (Chelsea), Terry (Chelsea), Brown (Man­ches­ter United), Fer­di­nand (Man­ches­ter United), John­son (Portsmouth), Upson (West Ham); Barry (Aston Villa), J Cole (Chelsea), Lam­pard (Chelsea), Bullard (Ful­ham), Beck­ham (Los Ange­les Galaxy), Down­ing (Mid­dles­brough), Bent­ley (Tot­ten­ham), Jenas (Tot­ten­ham); Wal­cott (Arse­nal), Rooney (Man­ches­ter United), Defoe (Portsmouth), Hes­key (Wigan).

 The notable excep­tion is Michael Owen, which begs the ques­tion; is this move just to show he’s boss? It seems Steve McClare­nesque; McClaren dropped Beck­ham to show every­one that he was his own man, and look what hap­pened to him!

Leav­ing Owen out is a ludi­crous move; he is the most pro­lific Eng­land striker in recent mem­ory, and even when he is not 100% fit he still man­ages to score where other, less effi­cient, for­wards would make a hash of it. This may come back to bite Capello on the backside.

David Beck­ham keeps his place; this con­tin­u­a­tion seems odd as Beck­ham is well past his best, and by 2010 it is unlikely that his fit­ness will allow him to play a full and active role in the World Cup. It also stops young­sters, who could be play­ing and gain­ing expe­ri­ence for the tour­na­ment, com­ing through the ranks.

Emile Hes­key is another ques­tion­able choice; he seems to be at his best for Eng­land when he is work­ing in tan­dem with Michael Owen, and that sce­nario is obvi­ously not going to hap­pen. Hes­key has had a good solid career and he is a reli­able work­horse, but is he up to the stan­dard Eng­land expects?

By pick­ing this squad Capello has put his neck on the line, and if Eng­land crash and burn he will be the only one accountable.

Tagged as: David Beckham, Emile Heskey, England, Fabio Capello, Michael Owen