Another England game, another club versus country debate. But whilst the Rafael Benitez’s and Alex Ferguson’s of this world may sit in their offices with their Fabio Capello voodoo dolls at the ready, many fans are simply disappointed to see England have to put out a skeleton side in a game against one of the world’s best. And did anyone take the time to ask Mr Gerrard how he feels about being not playing? One suspects not.The issue of club managers becoming possessive of their players has reared its ugly head before and will continue to do so unless an England boss or F.A executive has the cojones to stop it. This latest example is another act of sheer single mindedness from a Premier League team and, notably, a top four team. Steven Gerrard, the sometime cog of the England midfield, the man who played a scoring role in a league game against Bolton at the weekend, had previously been prevented from joining the England squad after suffering "a tear in the adductor magnus muscle in his right leg", as the Liverpool website so helpfully put it.
The announcement smacked of a conspiracy. Benitez was clearly not going to have his best player representing his country where a nasty thing like an injury could happen. Not by a long shot. The fact that Gerrard had played ninety minutes at the weekend was clearly immaterial - Steven was injured, end of story. Capello then showed some of the fight necessary to beat the greedy club managers. He called Gerrard in for an England medical check up. They would be the ones to judge if he was available or not.
As it turns out, Gerrard was ruled out. It has to be said, along with others - Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, Wes Brown, Emile Heskey, Joe Hart and now, wonderfully, Theo Walcott are all closer to the injury table than they are to the pitch. Admittedly, the majority of those are genuine injuries or injury concerns that have legitimately ruled the player out. But the Gerrard saga shouldn’t sit right with England fans. England players have a responsibility to represent their country. It is, or should be, the pinnacle of a player’s career.
It is hard to blame Gerrard in this. One gets the feeling that he would want to play and that he is being advised, or rather held back, by the Scouse powers that be. But Benitez has no right to do it. Yes, the game is a friendly but it’s Germany away in Berlin. Try telling me that any member of the squad, either initially named or called as backup, would not want to play in this game? Capello and, indeed, the England fans deserve more respect from managers like Benitez and others who have played the ‘sudden injury’ game before. That’s you, Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
A similar situation occurred in the dying embers of Steve McClaren’s reign. Michael Owen, coming back from injury, was called up into the England squad to play Estonia and Russia at Wembley. Then Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce protested furiously at this, saying that England were rushing his precious asset back. The truth is England and McClaren needed and wanted him. Why shouldn’t they have him if he wanted to play? Owen duly played both games, scored three goals and played a blinder against Russia. He returned to St James Park happy and in good form. Can’t players going away with their countries be a good thing?
One can understand the concern of managers that they do not want their star players being injured in meaningless friendly games. But a different perspective and attitude must be taken. Good players will play for their country - it’s a fact. They may pick up an occasional knock but that is just bad luck. Sometimes, there will be a positive effect and players can come back better and happier. It is their international manager’s choice, not their club boss.
Heaven knows, it is not up to Rafael Benitez to pick the England squad.
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