Fabio Capello wants youth : intested in Theo Walcott Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshire for England squad
Now that Fabio Capello has secured his place as manager for England, the 64 year old coach will be looking at the youth squads for up-and-coming talent to breathe energy back into the Three Lions.
After another disappointing tournament, England’s failures were summed up as the teams overall exhaustion. Pretty weak excuses for an international team, still, the issue has some validity.
The ‘golden generation’ of Wayne Rooney, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Emile Heskey has come to an end. This year England sent its oldest all-time squad to the cup, a team who competed with much younger and spirited footballers and were eventually outplayed.
Huw Jennings, Academy Director of Fulham noted “Fabio Capello was very conservative in his team selection. James Milner was the only player he took under 24.” But there are plenty young and promising players if you know where to look.
England’s Uner-21’s did very well last year, reaching the finals to lose to Germany 4-0. The Under 19’s were also very impressive when they got to the European Championships in May. England’s younger national teams are likely the scouting grounds for the next World Cup squad, and Capello has already made a list of names he would like to see involved with the national team.
The real hope, believes Jennings, lies in the Under 17’s. The Fulham Acadamy boss also things the best players from should be shoehorned into the best youth development programs, “All of us have got to take a view that if we prepare our young players correctly then they will be good enough. There’s nothing to demonstrate that we can’t.”
Capello has named Arsenal’s 21-year-old Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs, and Jack Wilshire amongst those he is interested in. He also hopes to bring Manchester City winger Adam Johnson and Fulham forward Bobby Zamora into the team. But what young budding footballer wouldn’t be interested in vindicating England’s football reputation?
Walcott was left out of Capello’s 23 man squad this year, though the forward started in England’s victorious friendlies against Mexico and Japan in May 2010. He was also included in Sven-Goren Erikkson’s 2006 World Cup team, where his inclusion came as a surprise to many. Walcott was picked over Darren Bent, an established Premier League Striker and highest scoring forward in the 2005-6 English Premier League. Walcott was the youngest ever England player in a full international, but didn’t get to play more in the World Cup.
When Erikkson retired after the World Cup ended, new coach Steve McClaren had Walcott transferred to the Under 21s. His decision was based on “toughening up” his squad selections. Walcott gained valuable tournament experience in 2006, experience which makes him a strong candidate for Capello’s 2012 European Championship squad.
If Walcott can avoid injury this season there is no reason to doubt he will be joining the national team for qualifiers. In 2008 Walcott sustained a dislocated shoulder while training for a friendly against Germany. He was riddled with injury related problems for the remainder of the season and only started 15 times for Arsenal.
“Last season was a disappointment, personally, with the amount of injuries I had . . . hopefully I can have an injury free season – that is my first target – and to try and help this team win something” Walcott said to Arsenal TV online. Hopefully that luck will extend to England, as he will likely head the striking force if he can keep fit.
23 year old Joe Hart had an impressive season on loan at Birmingham City, but spent most of his time at South Africa on the bench. When David James retires, expect to see Hart as starting keeper. No doubt Robert Green has lost his chances of earning that position, and Hart has shown promise and stamina.
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