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So England are playing France at Wembley today in a friendly and I’m predicting the French will win the day. The team that England are going to field against France are once again defined by the whims of Fabio Capello, not any real data or performance by the players in the team. Andy Carrol from Newcastle, Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson, and Arsenal’s 21-year-old left-back Kieran Gibbs all make their first, and in all likelyhood their last, England start as the veritable smorgassboard of selection continues.
Capello, for better, or in my opinion mostly for worse, has decided to experiment with relatively young players mixed in with the older guard instead of forming a coherent team at the top level with the players who failed at the World Cup. Apparently, its simply to hard to get the likes of Rooney, Scholes, Ferdinand, and Gerrard to work together in a cohesive unit, so instead of examining his methods for flaws, he is looking for players to fit his method. Furthermore, he is choosing to abrogate the England youth teams by picking players seemingly at random who have never represented England at any level internationally, than those who have worked their way up through the under age system. This sort of thing will most likely hobble the England youth sides for years to come, and place further importance on the development of players by clubs, and their demands over the national teams.
Capeelo is not an introspective man, and his own flaws are sure to bring more shame on England tonight as they are beaten by the reinvigorated French side featuring mostly youngsters, but youngsters who play as a team. I just can’t see England winning this one.
Prediction:
England 0-2 France
Written by: Matthew Wall, editor, soccerprose.com
