2010 World Cup: Should Fabio Capello stick with Rob Green?
It’s a cruel fact of life for goalkeepers that they’ll usually be remembered for the mistakes they make rather than the outstanding saves.
Being a keeper is a thankless task, and as England’s Rob Green found out last Saturday against the USA, one lapse in concentration can have devastating consequences for both themselves and their team.
Clint Dempsey’s speculative long-range effort would have been comfortable for Green 99 times out of one hundred. But, with the pressure of playing in goal for England and the nerves that come with appearing in an opening World Cup fixture, the England goalkeeper made a blunder which he’ll forever be remembered for.
The sensationalist backlash from various newspapers and television news programmes was far from unexpected; but for Fabio Capello, it was no reason to panic. Football managers appreciate that mistakes will inevitably happen to players. They also understand that an error from a goalkeeper will be scrutinised far more intensely than it would an outfield player.
During England’s 1-1 draw against the USA, Emile Heskey and Shaun Wright-Phillips were both presented with guilt-edged chances, which they proceeded to waste. Meanwhile Jamie Carragher was effortlessly beaten for strength and pace by Jozy Altidore, and Steven Gerrard was turned inside out by Dempsey in the moments before the USA’s equaliser.
Yet, it was Green who attracted the brunt of the criticism for his mistake; even though he would later redeem himself with a superb second-half save from Altidore. Unfortunately, most of the tabloids chose to ignore this had happened, and no sooner had the final whistle been blown than they were leading the calls for his head.
Over recent years, England have struggled to find a replacement for David Seaman, who also bowed out after a series of high-profile errors which tarnished his legacy. Since then, the likes of Paul Robinson and Scott Carson have been cast into the international wilderness after a couple of notable mistakes, despite producing impressive performances for their clubs.
One leading Spanish football correspondent commented earlier this week that it isn’t a case of flawed personnel for England’s lack of success, but rather an ongoing issue of flawed coaching. With Spain’s embarrassment of riches in the goalkeeper position, there’s no doubt that their current model of goalkeeper coaching is working far more effectively.
But these problems can only be rectified after the World Cup has reached its conclusion. Right now, Capello is now left with two options. Either keep faith with his first-choice goalkeeper for the match against Algeria this Friday night, or buckle under media pressure to replace him with one of his back-up keepers.
While Joe Hart is a very talented stopper, he is only 23, and throwing such a young and inexperienced goalkeeper into the deep end of a World Cup finals could easily backfire on the England manager. And then you have David James, 40 in less than two months and prone to making ridiculous gaffes – particularly with the national side.
It’s far from an ideal situation for the England boss, but sticking with Green could well be his best bet going into the team’s second Group C fixture against Algeria.
The way the England number 12 bounced back from his error last weekend was commendable. He didn’t shirk responsibility for his mistake by blaming the ball, vuvuzelas or altitude levels. As John Terry said in the post-match interview, “Greeny's come out and held his hands up”.
The West Ham keeper may not be the best England have ever produced, but he’s more than capable of keeping his side in a game when under pressure.
Rather than already lining up yet another scapegoat for a potential failure – following David Beckham in 1998, Phil Neville in 2000, Seaman in 2002, Urs Meier in 2004 and Cristiano Ronaldo/Wayne Rooney in 2006 – the media and England supporters must get themselves back behind Green and the rest of the team to alleviate any unnecessary pressure.
It would be refreshing to avoid a knee-jerk reaction from another England manager. The pragmatic Capello must stick to his guns, refuse to bow to anyone and then, hopefully, he’ll reap the rewards of sticking with his first-choice goalkeeper as the tournament progresses.
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