Capello Needs to be Careful

The furore at England's World Cup exit was predictable, and in most regards warranted. Once the FA had decided to keep Capello in charge, whether through fear of the financial cost or belief in the Italian to succeed, all thoughts turned to how he could change England's fortunes for Euro 2012.

The knee jerk reaction is to chuck in the kids. Doesn't matter that they have just stopped sucking their thumb long enough to make a couple of sub appearances in the Premiership, Arsene Wenger says they are ready, and it's not like he has been wrong before. Oh, wait.....

Jack Wilshere is chucked around by the media (and his french manager) as the answer to all England's problems, but this simply highlights the massive problem Capello had. After two years of doing things his own way, Capello started to second guess himself. He lured back Carragher, tried to tempt Scholes, relied on an injury prone centre back and another who was uncapped. Would Milan's Capello have persisted with out of form or out of order players? Doubtful.

Changes are needed, but half a season on loan at Bolton is not preparation for an England debut. Wilshere has potential, and maybe his inclusion in the squad simply to gain experience of the international set up and pressure of being one of England's top players, but to ship the likes of him, Danny Welbeck, Nathan Delfouneso, Kieran Gibbs and the rest in when they are not even Premiership regulars is a disastrous plan.

Laurent Blanc, the newly appointed France manager, will pick an entirely new 23 for his country's friendly game but it will not be filled with unproven teenagers. The media like to paint a picture that behind an established XI there is nothing. You either have a 70 cap midfielder who has won cups and titles, or you have the next big thing who still hasn't finished puberty.

Capello is in danger of forgetting a whole generation of players. Joe Hart will be England's number 1 for a while, but there is plenty of Premiership experience in Lee Cattermole, Tom Huddlestone, Michael Dawson, Leon Osman, Scott Parker, Bobby Zamora, Ashley Young, Gabby Agbonlahor...the list is endless. Players like Jack Rodwell, nearing his 50th Premiership appearance, have established themselves in the Premiership and are still young, but there is a marked difference between them and the hyped up youngsters at the big teams.

Capello needs to be careful. Going from one extreme, the oldest team at the World Cup, to the other, a team full of teenagers, will not work. They say you never win anything with kids, and while Manchester United disproved this theory Capello needs to remember that international teams do not have time to build up an understanding, nor a team spirit. Uninformed pundits may point to Germany's young team, but tell me how young Miroslav Klose, Bastien Schweinsteiger, Phillip Lahm, Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolshi are, nevermind Michael Ballack.