Capello Aftermath: What Now For England?

With Fabio Capello gone from the England manager's role, the FA finds itself in a huge limbo - not ideal with the country's 2nd most important football tournament only months away. Caretaker managers rarely win big tournaments and England's chances of winning EURO 2012 were already low anyway given the form of Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

If Pearce comes in as caretaker manager though, we could see a much younger England team given Pearce's knowledge and nous with the Under-21s. This might actually boost their chances a bit but 3 months is not a lot of time for a team to gel especially one so young and in a tough pool featuring the hosts, Ukraine, England's favourite draw team, Sweden and the old enemy, France.


The Team
In my opinion, if I was England manager, I would go for a radical change of ethos, cutting half the aging stars and going for an average age of 25 resulting in this very youthful EURO 2012 23-man squad playing a pacy, possession based counter-attacking game with a 4-4-2 format:

Joe Hart - my tip for captain

Goalkeepers -
Joe Hart, 25 in June- the only player IMO who should start every game and therefore should be captain. Best keeper in the Premier League at the moment period. 

Ben Foster, 29 - capable backup to Hart

Robert Green, 32 - experienced backup and ideal no. 3 keeper.

Defenders - 

Glen Johnson, 27- talented going forward but a bit vulnerable at the back. Handy to have though as can play left and right back.

Kyle Walker, 22 - another great defender prospect. Very quick going up and down field at right back.

Michael Dawson, 28 - has been solid at back for Tottenham and would make capable vice captain and world class centre back.

Chris Smalling, 22 - my first choice to partner Dawson in the centre back positions - hasn't really put a foot wrong for United this season.

Gary Cahill, 26 - highly talented centre back who is superb technically. Effective going forward and scampering back.

Kieran Gibbs, 22 - great left back talent at the Arsenal and one that should be developed.

Leighton Baines, 27 - solid, experienced backup left back to Gibbs.

Midfielders -
Steven Gerrard, 31 - still world class at 31 and given he has only just come back from injury, should still be very fresh come June. Definitely one to have in the squad even he doesn't play 90 mins

Scott Parker, 31 - Like a fine aged wine, has reached the peak of powers quite late in his career - playing as though he's in his early 20s rather than early 30s. Another contender for vice captain and another one to have even if he doesn't play 90 mins

Phil Jones, 20 - first name as versatile defender/midfielder - probably play him at holding midfield but has capability to go forward.

Gareth Barry, 31 - handy to have as back up to Phil Jones in the holding midfield role and a bit like Parker too.

Jordan Henderson, 22 - young midfielder with heaps of potential. Plenty to learn off Parker, Gerrard and Barry but could be alright starting anywhere in midfield if he showed in training he deserved it.

Jack Wilshere, 20 - probably England's greatest prospect for the future at midfield but has had a season to forget with injury. However, if he's fit by the end of the season, he should be selected and could be fresher than everyone else.

Ashley Young, 26 - currently the premier English winger even though injury has hampered his first season at Manchester United. Able to play both wings with aplomb.

Adam Johnson, 24 - has done well at Manchester City despite the plethora of foreigners at the club. Mainly a right winger enabling Young to play on the left.


Forwards -

Wayne Rooney, 26 - still England's most talented and best player at the moment but will miss much of EURO 2012 due to his red card against Montenegro. Still need to have him in the squad - and have a fifth striker (offset by Rooney's ability to play deeper)

Theo Walcott, 23 - mercurial but highly talented, it's easy to forget that Walcott is still quite young and isn't quite the finished product. However he is deadly when on song and a handy player to have as he can play on the wing or up front. Start him when Rooney is unavailable

Daniel Sturridge, 22 - one of England's highly rated forward prospects and has done well at foreigner-laden Chelsea, perhaps taking the shine off Didier Drogba and forcing Nicolas Anelka to China. Start on the bench.

Danny Welbeck, 21 - has formed an effective combo with Wayne Rooney at Man United and has been highly impressive. Will definitely get better. 

Conor Wickham, 19 - the next Wayne Rooney. If he impresses enough, could oust Welbeck and heaven forbid, Rooney from the starting lineup. Still too raw though and needs a couple more years.






Starting Lineup:
Hart (GK) (captain), Gibbs, Smalling, Dawson, Walker, Young, Jones, Gerrard, Johnson, Rooney,
Welbeck

It's not the flashest team but it's one with energy and pace on the wings to enable effective counterattacks. Jones is effective taking the ball from one end to the other as are much of the defence. 

I would consider Swansea's impressive duo of Scott Sinclair (23) and Danny Graham (26) on form as well as the youth of Tom Cleverley, Ben Amos, Martin Kelly, John Flanagan, Jonjo Shelvey and Raheem Sterling at Liverpool. The Germans started young and it's time England started picking in-form young players.

Perhaps the homegrown rule may finally work out well for England after having its debut a few seasons ago. England still needs to see a few more homegrown young players emerging to boost its chances in the future.