Man marking is bad for you
(and not the way to stop Bale)
WHEN George Graham or Graham Taylor asked me to man-mark a rival player, all I could think of was: ‘ Why? Doesn’t he think I can play?’
It used to play on my mind. Looking back I can smile now. The Italians were masters at it. They made careers out of it. When I watched them train this week, good defending was being appreciated and applauded.
I didn’t man-mark too often — maybe I should have given in to it more. One journalist asked me about it when I was with England as a player and I bit his head off.
I marked Eric Cantona, Ruud Gullit and always Matt Le Tissier whenever Arsenal played Southampton but I didn’t like it and I didn’t want to be known for it. Graham Taylor, the England manager, would say: ‘Why Martin? You are good at it. Why can’t you accept that?’
One experience still stands out. An Auxerre midfielder, Corentin Martins, who pulled me all over the pitch in a Cup Winners’ Cup match for Arsenal in France in 1995.
In the first minute, Martins, a little playmaker, took the ball off the goalkeeper and looked at me as if to say, ‘Come on then…’ So I went after him and he ran 50 yards from right to left with a glint in his eye. The message was clear: ‘If you are going to track me, then be ready for one long ride’.
I ran and ran, covered every blade of grass and tried to stay with him. We kept a clean sheet, Ian Wright scored the only goal, which the French media described as ‘sensational’ — and I barely got a mention! It was a thankless task.
Taylor asked me to mark Gullit for England against Holland and he ended up on the right wing, so I went to left back. He was a huge man — powerful thighs, strong upper body, great physique — and that mop of hair. Get too close and you’d get a dreadlock in your eye.
He spent quite a lot of the time telling the bench he was injured; this hulking great animal of a man was complaining, which gave me hope. But then he’d produce a moment of exceptional movement. He’d go to run behind and I’d be on the half-turn ready, but then he’d apply the brakes, suddenly change direction and take the ball short instead. The England bench would shout, ‘Get close’ and you’d be thinking of some swear words in your head. People underestimate how good the best players are with their movement.
Which brings us to Gareth Bale, who has become an exceptional footballer. Two good feet, strong in the air and a modern forward who can play left, right or through the middle with devastating effect. In qualifying, he had 56 shots and scored 64 per cent of Wales’s goals. He’s already scored in this competition — and now England have to stop him.
THE attitude of the defenders has to be: ‘This guy can’t be the hero… we don’t want to see his name in headlines after the game.’
If I was Gary Cahill or Chris Smalling, I’d be looking for a weakness. ‘Is he sharp? Is he 100 per cent fit? He was magnificent for Real Madrid in the Champions League final, but then he cramped. He doesn’t look like he’s playing at full speed.’ If so, that gives England a chance.
They must not go into this game with fear. One defender plays for Chelsea, the other for Manchester United so they have nothing to be afraid of. They played well against Russia. My preferred way of stopping Bale depends on where he plays. If he plays as a centre forward, as he did against Slovakia, England have to trust their two central defenders. One has to get tight and aggressive, physical when necessary, and force Bale to have a heavy first touch. Then the second defender can nip in. Everyone around has to be alert. I don’t see a player equipped to be a man marker, maybe Eric Dier. He’s not used to that job but he can help by staying close and offering a shield to his central defenders. The message has to be: ‘Don’t let him get into the game, don’t let him have one of his “moments”.’ He has a wonderful passion for his country, which could take him up to another level, but England have to be confident in what they do.
Chris Coleman has been very clever with Bale and with Aaron Ramsey.
They are made to feel special and in return those two players give him special performances. England have to stop them feeling special on Thursday.