Unlike several of his predecessors, Fabio Capello appears to have the implicit and unwavering trust of the nation. Having seen the national side fail so dismally under Steve McClaren, the revitalisation and rejuvenation procedure carried out by Capello, which manifested itself in the side’s convincing qualification route to South Africa, has meant that the Italian’s decisions are subject to far less scrutiny than those made by the average England manager.
Whilst the 23-man-squad was named last Tuesday, the injury sustained by captain Rio Ferdinand provided Capello with the chance to reconsider one of the seven omissions he had initially made. The Italian eventually plumped for the uncapped Michael Dawson, clearly indicating a staunch desire to house five centre-backs within his squad. Whilst this like-for-like replacement was expected, some have suggested that Capello could’ve used the unfortunate injury as an opportunity to bolster England’s attacking options.
Without a doubt, the most divisive issue amongst England fans was the omission of Arsenal winger Theo Walcott. Still only 21, Walcott has been beset by criticism during the last year. A succession of injuries and subsequent loss of form have undoubtedly hampered his development, but the scolding barbs aimed in his direction (most notably Chris Waddle’s assertion that Walcott lacks a ‘football brain’) have been unbelievably harsh for one so young. Instead of using his virtuoso display in England’s 4-1 victory over Croatia as an example of his undeniable talent and ability, large portions of the media have used said performance as a barometer by which to measure his shortcomings and failings, with many vehemently asserting their disillusionment at Walcott’s inability to replicate such form.
Indeed, Walcott’s showing in Zagreb highlights exactly what England may need this summer. Regardless of their own abilities, all defenders fear pace. And despite his deficiencies, Walcott possesses unparalleled pace in abundance. There is no doubting that, in a tight game, with 10-20 minutes remaining, the injection of Walcott’s searing pace off the bench may have been very effective against tired opposition defenders. Although he lacks the consistency to feature within England’s starting XI, Walcott’s strengths as an ‘impact sub’ in top-level games have been there for all to see, having made telling contributions for Arsenal as a substitute during several Champions League games (most notably, a run and assist against Liverpool in 2007/08 and a goal against Barcelona during 2009/10).
Walcott’s omission stays true to Capello’s stance of picking players on merit, but the inclusion of Emile Heskey (and to a lesser extent, Michael Carrick and Shaun Wright-Phillips ) suggests that this is not always the case. Indeed the selection of Wright-Phillips, one of Walcott’s rivals for the right-wing berth, is puzzling due to the indifferent season the former Chelsea man recently had at Manchester City.
Ultimately, Capello’s squad decisions will be vindicated by the level of success he achieves with the England side at the World Cup. Should England progress to the semi-finals or beyond, his decision to leave Theo Walcott will be swiftly forgotten. Whilst his managerial CV suggests that he will be able to lead England to glory, I can’t help but feel that he missed a trick by failing to reinstate Theo Walcott.
Do you agree with Capello’s decision to leave out the Arsenal winger?
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