Who's to blame?

If you believe everything you hear, Steve 'the wally with the brolly' McClaren, Brian Barwick, the Premiership’s foreign players, inflated wages, Scott Carson, lack of passion, youth training, American football and even the weather are at fault for England’s capitulation.

Is it McClaren’s fault that he wasn’t good enough to bring the best out of his players? Was it Barwick’s fault that he had faith in his man? Is it the players fault that they weren’t good enough?

Get a grip. The rotten core of English football at the moment is the blame culture that infiltrates every level of our domestic game. Season this with the hyper-unrealistic expectations harboured in every fan (myself included) and the result is one vile-tasting dish.

We’ve a domestic competition to be proud of, and we can boast a handful of very good players. But it’s plain to see only one can even be considered to be world class. Terry? Ferdinand? Lampard? Rooney? Owen? ..not Neville surely? No, the only English player worth his salt on the international stage isn’t in that list. The Liverpool player has won matches for every team he has played for, on every stage he has played. His record is outstanding, and he’s the only Englishman that can truly be considered a match winner.

Got it yet?

Steven Gerrard is proclaimed by many to be England’s saviour, but in 63 caps how many games has he won for his country? Since opening his account against Germany the teams he has scored against are the mights of; Macedonia, Serbia & Montenegro, Switzerland, Austria, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Trinidad & Tobago, Sweden, and three in two games against Andorra.

Last Wednesday he was outplayed by…what were their names again? Oh, the infamous Modric, Kovac and doesn't that one play for Portsmouth? Steven Gerrard is the case that shows how difficult it is to convert domestic top-flight brilliance into brilliance on the international stage. Alan Shearer struggled, as did Ian Wright. Matt le Tissier is another classic example.

However, rather than 'Stevie G', it's Peter Crouch who stands - literally - head and shoulders above any other England player at the moment. Unfortunately McClaren could not pick a starting XI that allowed him to shine. McClaren seems to view him as a one-trick pony, but this simply isn't the case. We didn't create one chance from a knock down, instead it was his stunning individual goal that was the only memorable moment of the night. The goal was class, and it would not have looked out of place coming off Ronaldinho’s boot.

Yet it isn’t Gerrard’s fault that he failed to achieve what most hail as his greatest ability, to ‘get a grip of the game’ and ‘inspire those around him’. Gerrard is a very good player, one who can boast pinpoint long passing, strong in the tackle, a belting shot, combined with tireless passion and desire. His talent does inspire those around him, but he has to improve before he can be labelled as ‘world class’, or as the dreaded ‘match winner’.

The latter has become the commentator’s most recent cliché. Fortunately it does retain a germ of truth, but has become hopelessly over-extended. For me the premiership can boast only three 'match winners', players that not only can turn a game on its head with a piece of individual brilliance (there must be 10-20 premiership players who can lay claim to this) but do so on a regular basis, and have enough class to inspire match winning performances from those around them. For the sake of interest (and accountability) my three are Ronaldo, Fabregas, and Drogba. These are the three premiership players that meet all three criteria beyond doubt. There may well be others, but for me these are the only ‘match winners’ in England.

Is it a coincidence that they are all foreign?

Three is obviously not enough to prove a point, but I think it hints at one problem with the English system. Rooney burst onto the scene as a promising youngster, as did Robinson, as has Carson. Ronaldo too came to the Premiership as a very promising player, and he has managed to progress into a world-class player. Robinson burst onto the scene in Leeds’ 1-0 away win in Lazio, who were managed by a certain Swede at the time. In his time at Leeds and early on at Spurs he continued to show promise, but has failed to develop into the ‘keeper many thought he would be.

Carson, another product of Leeds’ youth academy, is in the same situation. As a ‘keeper myself I hope one mistake doesn’t ruin his future performances or reputation, as he clearly has promise. But the same mistake cannot be made with Carson, Green or Foster that was made with Robinson. Potential is not to be confused with ability. Fabregas and Ronaldo are now world-class because they managed to turn their potential into real output, something that seems to be troubling our English stars.

Our big names are letting the hype go to their heads. Robinson, Carson, Foster, Richards, Rooney, Bridge, A and J Cole, Ferdinand, Gerrard, Lampard, Lennon, Wright-Phillips et al need to learn from the Premiership’s greatest stars. Being a promising youngster means nothing if all you are left with are empty promises. The Premiership’s best players have achieved the task of turning potential into success: something our English boys need to learn.

For me the solution is a simple one: we need a manager who is bigger than the players. McClaren tried his best when throwing Beckham out of the team, but he ultimately failed when falling back onto his ‘go to’ guys Gerrard and Lampard this week. Many critics say our players need taking out of their comfort zone, but if we succeed in appointing a manager who is bigger than any one player, and a manager who can truly spot the players who will form the best team, then we can look forward to better fortunes.

Croatia's captain Niko Kovac made some interesting points after the game.

"Croatia are a team while England are not...sometimes it is good to fall down though."

He added: "I also believe the expectation is too high here. I think when the England fans looked at the group they were sure their team would qualify.

"You should hope but not expect."

You should hope but not expect.
Niko Kovac

It is worth noticing that as we’ve slipped to 12th in the world rankings, Scotland have risen to 14th. Only one team separates the sides on official rankings, but in the mindsets of the respective fans there is a gulf the size of the Grand Canyon. England will never create the atmosphere that was created in Hampden Park last weekend because our expectations are unrealistic. Winning is more fun when it’s unexpected, so let’s admit we’re actually pretty rubbish on the international stage, and start celebrating any victories that come our way.

The only reason that we’re all looking for someone to blame for our disappointment is because we ourselves were expecting too much. The blame? It’s not Steve’s, it’s not Stevie G’s, it’s not Scott’s or Robbo’s. It’s ours.

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