No JT or Lamps? My Golden Generation XI that would’ve won England the World Cup
At last a meaningful contribution to the national cause by Steven Gerrard. His reopening of the Golden Generation debate with, of all people, Rio Ferdinand, a key member of the hated (at least on Merseyside) Manchester United politburo, has significantly reinforced Thomas Tuchel’s team first message at next year’s World Cup.
Gerrard, holder of 114 caps, is one of the great English footballers of any generation, a player who left an indelible stamp on the national pastime if not the national team. Gerrard self-identified as one of many egotistical losers in a Three Lions squad that turned individual talent to collective mush.
The divisions along traditional Premier League fault lines, bitter rivalries between the alpha clubs, were, Gerrard argues, just too big to overcome. The unity that lesser units conjured lifted them above the internecine impulses of the suspicious, bitter English.
England’s ‘Golden Generation’ never achieved their full potential (Photo: Getty)
It defies rational thought that in the era of Gerrard, Scholes, Beckham, Rooney, Lampard, Terry, Campbell, Cole, Owen and Ferdinand, Greece should win the Euros. Or is a statement like that just another manifestation of the hauteur that enabled opponents?
If Tuchel is right to prioritise the collective over the individual, then it holds that had he been in charge two decades ago in Germany when all those golden eggs lay smashed about Baden-Baden, the squad might have had a more radical look.
As a long-suffering observer of the English national team I have frequently recoiled at the choices made by sundry England managers. Tuchel’s bizarre inclusion of Jordan Henderson and Ruben Loftus-Cheek at the expense of Adam Wharton fits comfortably into that category. But he gets a pass until the 2026 World Cup itself passes judgment.
We are, of course, always right in our own universe, and this is the team I believe might have resisted the twin onslaught of ego and WAG to dominate the early part of the new millennium.
The preferred system would be 4-4-2. I believe in it absolutely. To change would be a denial of my very being, and condemn me to pacing ever decreasing circles, squatting in the technical area, and staring at the floor.
Goalkeeper
Paul Robinson won 41 England caps between 2003 and 2007 (Photo: Getty)
In the post-David Seaman epoch, goalie was one of the few positions for which England had no obvious champion. Paul Robinson, David James, Chris Kirkland, Scott Carson were all a moustache and ponytail short of Seaman’s quality. Robinson, who kept 22 clean sheets in 41 appearances, gets the nod.
Right-back
Another position of insufficient depth gives Gary Neville a free pass. Neville recognised the issue by dropping himself and selecting David Beckham in the wing-back role when he picked his own team of the period. Neville was more likely to swim with sharks than sit at the same table as Gerrard in the team hotel.
His obdurate nature was his selling point. It had to be because he wasn’t quick, skilful or good in the air. His strength was knowing what he couldn’t do, which morphed into dependability.
Centre-back
Ledley King should have played more for England than he did (Photo: Getty)
A half-fit Ledley King pushes John Terry’s nose out of joint to partner Rio Ferdinand. Terry had a terrific right foot and read the game superbly. He was quick in the tackle and brave, but King was that too, and imperious with the ball at those Spursy feet.
Ferdinand was the ideal foil, long of limb and deft of touch. He covered the ground quickly and stepped into midfield with confidence, two ballers for the price of one.
Left-back
Ashley Cole is arguably the finest left-back England have ever had. He was left-footed for a start, which helps, and F1 quick. There is no valid reason for choosing another over him. So he completes the defence.
Right wing
Kieron Dyer was easy to disappoint playing outside the big six at Newcastle. He did not have David Beckham’s laser pass, but unlike “Golden Balls” he knew how to drop a shoulder and go past a defender. He was a hellish threat driving into the box or hitting the byline. He gives this team width and pace down the right.
Centre-mid
David Beckham is the only England player to score at three World Cups (Photo: Getty)
Beckham anchors my midfield. With two ballers at centre-back Beckham has freedom to advance and pick the pass. As a kid he was always a central midfielder. He could run all day, had a great work ethic, and controlled the tempo. He loved being on the ball and, as he showed against Wimbledon, had the capacity to test any keeper from his own half.
The indefatigable Paul Scholes sits alongside Beckham. His range of pass, shot from distance and high footballing IQ made him a staple of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United and the fact that he was hero-worshipped by Xavi and Andres Iniesta in the Barcelona academy of itself elevates him above Gerrard and Lampard in the engine room.
Left wing
Joe Cole was capped 56 times for England during that golden age but did not enjoy the renown of his more celebrated teammates. Perhaps he was too much the child prodigy, the wonderkid who never quite lived up to the Zizou billing.
Who could? Perhaps he might if Pele, who bestowed upon Cole honorary selecao status for the skills he possessed, had been picking the team. He would have had the freedom of the left side, cutting in, weaving his delicious patterns, and curling the odd one over the keeper.
Up top
Wayne Rooney was injured in 2006, the curse of the bloody metatarsal. In this eternal space the mythical man-boy is forever fit and leads the line, a voracious, bull-necked destroyer of defences.
Alongside him, Michael Owen wields the pre-Madrid stiletto. Nothing good came of that adventure, the Spanish experience kryptonite to the lightning strikes and darting runs. Had he stayed at Liverpool, his England career might have had a different ending.
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