PEARCE’S CAPTAIN CALL WAS SO SELFISH
THERE are moments, private moments behind the public face of English football, when players are not always handled in the best way. Stuart Pearce taught me that harsh truth in 2012.
Pearce had been an important member of the England teams I revered at Italia ’90 and at Euro ’96. I respected Stuart Pearce. And that’s why the way he treated me later seemed so mind-blowing and upsetting.
After Fabio Capello resigned in February 2012 and before Roy Hodgson took over, Pearce was caretaker manager for a friendly against Holland at Wembley.
I think he imagined he might be in the running, even though his managerial record could not be compared to Roy’s vast experience or to that of Harry Redknapp, who was then tipped by the media to become England’s next manager.
There had been a lot of talk about who would be captain under Pearce and, when I arrived at the hotel, I thought that might have been his moment to say, ‘Can I have a word outside?’ or, ‘Could you come to my room for a chat?’
The following morning, just before the squad left for training, Pearce pulled me into a toilet at The Grove. He said, ‘I just wanted to tell you face to face that I’m going to be picking Scott Parker to be the captain for this game.’
Scott Parker is a good player and honest; I’ve got a lot of respect for Scott as a player and a person. But to pick Scott Parker as England captain ahead of me?
I don’t know whether it was a dig at Liverpool or something more personal — but my overall perception was Pearce was doing some muscle-flexing in the toilet mirrors.
My guess is it was a decision designed to focus attention on him, his way of saying: ‘This is me. I’m in charge.’
I might have had misgivings about his tactical insights as a coach, but I respected Pearce until that moment. I felt he treated me very badly. It was insulting — and wrong. I thought it was selfish. It was a political decision to make everyone think he had balls.
It was clear in team meetings Pearce wanted to impress and get a crack at the job for Euro 2012. But I think the decision he shared with me in a toilet was one of the reasons he never got the position he craved.