McClaren reveals potential England stars in
the making.
Steve McClaren sat behind a cluttered head-master's desk
in Mayfair yesterday, initially to help Nationwide distribute 11 million
reflectors to schoolchildren walking home in the dark, but ultimately
more focused on shedding light on the 50 footballing pupils who will illuminate
England's future.
England's manager spoke primarily of "a leader" like Manchester
City's midfield pitbull Joey Barton lending steel to the national cause,
but McClaren also enthused about opportunity knocking for all, about the
door being open to those dreaming of a first cap like Gabby Agbonlahor,
Ben Foster and Leighton Baines.
Impressive and eloquent, McClaren resembled a recruiting sergeant for
Euro 2008. As a playground full of London choristers screeched and sang
in the background, the inner-city Thierry Henry fan club even bursting
into an emotional rendition of "allez les bleus", McClaren told
his callow audience that the most memorable moment of his career was "my
pride in getting the England job".
Wisely, McClaren swerved such queries as "who is better: Frank Lampard
or Steven Gerrard?" Out of the mouths of babes flows awkward questions.
Kids. Sven-Goran Eriksson's World Cup No 2, McClaren was forced to field
inquiries from one youthful inner-city Paxman-style inquisitor as to whether
England careered off the autobahn in Germany because they were either
"unlucky or brain-stressed?"
Clearly unconvinced about Eriksson's handling of certain issues, McClaren
mixed realism with diplomacy. "What's unbelievable is that we never
lost a game in the World Cup and went out in the quarter-finals on penalties
again," he replied. "We couldn't have practised penalties more
and we still went out." As he was in a school, McClaren was inevitably
grilled over how England had done. "Six and a half out of 10,"
was McClaren's rather flattering verdict. "Everybody will say we
could do better."
advertisementThe England manager was keen to talk about Monday's meeting
with assistants like Terry Venables, about fellow-travellers on the road
to Switzerland and Austria. "We have a core of 15 and have identified
50 players we are going to concentrate on," said McClaren. "We
are going to whittle that down by the end of the season to a more manageable
number and that will be the squad for the push for qualification and then
into the tournament."
One contender is Barton. "Yes," agreed McClaren. "I tried
to buy him at Middlesbrough. I like Joey. I know he has had his troubles.
He is one of those players we talk about who has matured. He is a leader,
a great character. I saw him in the Manchester derby. You need forthright
people like that, not just on the field but off it as well."
Barton is not short of a forthright streak, a quality that may alert those
established members of McClaren's squad like Gerrard, Lampard, and Wayne
Rooney, who detailed their World Cup experiences in print. Barton was
unimpressed by the England Book Club. "England did nothing in that
World Cup," said Barton in a spiky weekend interview, "so why
were they bringing books out? 'We got beat in the quarter-finals. I played
like s**t. Here's my book.' Who wants to read that? I don't."
A few do. Responding to Barton's claims, Gerrard's publishers observed
last night that the England vice-captain's book (ghosted by this correspondent)
has just been re-printed for the eighth time with sales set to pass 300,000
by Christmas Day.
"If I'm buying a book," countered Barton, "I'll buy a book
about someone who's won something." Gerrard, who hails from the same
Huyton district of Merseyside as Barton, has a room at the top of his
house crammed with medals from the European Cup, Uefa Cup, FA Cup, and
League Cup, along with shirts from such stellar opponents as Andrei Shevchenko
and Thierry Henry.
Yet Barton's modesty is commendable. As a potential author, he is too
harsh on his potential readability. Although the City midfielder insists
he has not won anything worth including in a book, he could certainly
fill a chapter or two with harrowing stories about stubbing a cigar out
in a colleague's eye, a bar-room brawl with a teenage Everton supporter,
mooning to fans, and the misery of having a half-brother who was jailed
for murder.
For all Barton's generous offer to McClaren of his own availability, McClaren
is hardly bereft of thrusting wannabes in the middle. McClaren perceives
his dream midfield quartet as Aaron Lennon flying down the right, Owen
Hargreaves anchoring dynamically and then two from Gerrard, Lampard and
Joe Cole.
Of more importance than Barton, whose style of tackling concerns many,
McClaren was keen to articulate his backing for his No 2 Venables following
weekend reports about a schism. "I don't take on yes-men, or people
who are friends," stressed McClaren. "I take on people who have
the experience and will help England win. Terry is fantastic working with
the players. He has fantastic knowledge of the game. I am benefiting from
it. The players are."
McClaren's England XI (probable; 4-1-3-2): Robinson; G Neville, R Ferdinand,
Terry, A Cole; Hargreaves; Lennon, Gerrard, Lampard; Rooney, Owen. Subs
(probable): Kirkland (g), J Cole, Carrick, Crouch, King.
McClaren's additional members of Euro 2008 development party (probable):
Carson (g), Green (g), Foster (g), Richards, Brown, McMahon, G Johnson,
Woodgate, Dawson, A Ferdinand, S Taylor, Bridge, Baines, Barry; S Wright-Phillips,
Milner, Bentley, Parker, Barton, Nolan, P Neville, Cattermole, Huddlestone,
Reo-Coker, Downing, Richardson, M Taylor; Dyer, Ashton, Defoe, A Johnson,
D Bent, Walcott, Agbonlahor.
By Henry WINTER.
,
13/12/2006.
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