A lesson from the Golden Generation
RIO FERDINAND, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, discussing the failure of England’s golden generation, was fascinating viewing on BT Sport this week. The trio agreed their intense club rivalries made forming rewarding bonds at international level difficult. They were not enemies, they said, but they were guarded in each other’s company. England separated into club cliques, anxious not to reveal information, for fear it might strengthen an opponent. Gerrard said he envied Brazilian players their joy at meeting up with the national team, excited to see friends again, flying in from all over the world. Maybe Philippe Coutinho and Fernandinho do not feel those conflicts the way, say, Lampard and Ferdinand did. The pair were good friends at West Ham — but as rivals at Chelsea and Manchester United, drifted apart. It could also explain why Gareth Southgate is increasingly willing to place his faith in young players. Of course, there are still club divisions in the England dressing room now: a sizable Tottenham contingent, for instance, another from Manchester United and Manchester City. Yet by picking those who have experienced relative success in age group teams, Southgate will be hoping to bust the cliques. Even Ferdinand, Lampard and Gerrard said they might have felt differently had they had success together from a young age, like players from Spain and Germany. It seems a pity that the foreign managers who held sway over much of that time, Sven Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, knew too little of the English game to see the harm being done — and the one manager who understood, Steve McClaren, lacked the authority to do anything about it.