owen goal

Liverpool’s Manager, Pete Best, was feeling a little jaded. His club sat at the top of world football and had enjoyed unprecedented success under his 8 year reign, but something was wrong.

The Manager sat back at his desk, ran a hand through his greying hair, raised the glass of Bowmore to his lips, and sighed. He loved Liverpool, loved the club and the players, but he was getting a bit tired of the all too familiar surroundings. In recent weeks he had almost been going through the motions, the players more or less taking care of business by themselves in typically ruthless fashion. The fire in the belly was dimming, and it was a bad sign. A stint over in Europe was beckoning, something to rekindle his passion for the game.

Sure, it was great to see the young lads he had developed, such as Diego, Welsh, Vaughan, Dawson, Osbourne and Perez create a stir on the world stage, and to see young players of the calibre of Samba & Robben perform wonders week in, week out for the Reds, but it just wasn’t enough any more. The Manager was ready to thrown it all away and start again.

What happened over the next two weeks was a godsend. Both Brazil & England came knocking on the Managers door, looking for him to guide them to World Cup glory. There was only ever going to be one choice. The Manager accepted the England job, pushing aside the ill will that had seen him knock back the job in 2006 due to the previous incumbent’s non selection of Michael Owen, Emile Heskey & Stephen Gerrard from the last World Cup squad when they were pretty much fit after recovering from injury and had been amongst the best players in the premiership that season.

England had been travelling very well indeed, winning the European Championships in 2008 under Steve McLaren, and were topping their Group in the World Cup Qualifiers comfortably. Ill health had forced a change, and although the Manager knew he was taking a big risk, maybe risking everything by taking his eye off the ball at Liverpool and submitting himself to even more stress than massive amounts to which he was already accustomed, the challenge of trying to win England’s first World Cup since 1966 was too good to pass up. His assistant Manager was ready to take a bit more responsibility anyway, so here was his big chance.

At the press conference the Manager was forthright:

BBC: “Mr Best, do you feel that you are perhaps taking on more than you can handle by taking the England job while remaining in the hot seat at Anfield?”

Pete Best: “No.”

(Pete’s Media skills would need a bit of work in the months ahead …)

BBC: “Would you care to elaborate?”

Pete Best: “Yes – I’m up for the challenge. Something was missing for me this season but now I’ve been fortunate enough to be offered this job, albeit in sad circumstances, I am more passionate about the game than I have ever been. Our thoughts are with Steve and his family”.

Telegraph: “What can we expect from the team with you at the helm?”

Pete Best: “I’ll not stand for any nonsense. I’m going to analyse all available players, set a preferred first XI and squad, and they will be the players who will do the job for England at the World Cup. Reputation will count for nothing. Any player who feels aggrieved is welcome to come and talk to me, but lets get one thing clear – everyone will know where they stand from day one. If a players form drops away dramatically or he does not do the job for me in the team, then they will be out of it and an opportunity will open up a new player – but I expect anyone I pick to be able to do the job.”

Telegraph: “What about the style of play, will you adopt the same style that has worked so well for Liverpool over the last couple of seasons?”

Pete Best: “No. The players, their abilities, and those of the opposition will dictate the style of play”

The Mirror: “How will you look at players objectively when you will be seeing many candidates for the England team every day in your duties at Anfield?”

Pete Best: “Don’t be so bloody ridiculous! Players will be picked on ability and teamwork alone, nothing else. No favouritism. Next question.”

And on it went for the next half an hour, the occasionally abrasive Pete Best sparring with the media hacks and winning few friends in the gallery.

The media conference ended rather abruptly with the Manager announcing “Look, I’ve had enough of this. I prefer to let my players do the talking on the pitch. I’ve got work to do. Thank you, and good night”.

The Managers media minders were noticeably in a flap and were planning some long coaching sessions for the newly appointed England boss.

Later that night, the manager sat on the terrace of his home and looked down the long list of players and statistics on his laptop, and though, “right, time for some decisions.”

Over the next month the Manager had seen all he needed to, and had pencilled in his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Romania. There were plenty of surprises!

To be continued …

owen goal

The squad:

GK: Kirkland (Liverpool), Robinson (Everton), Steele (Man Utd),

D: Clement (WBA), Mullins (WBA), McEveley (Milan), Woodgate (Newcastle), Ferdinand (Man Utd), Dawson (Liverpool), Welsh (Liverpool); Giddings (Blackburn);

M: Parker (Inter); Schumacher (Bolton); Lambu (Millwall), Croft (Man C), Webb (Newcastle), Jenas (Newcastle); Gerrard (Liverpool), Dyer (Newcastle), Kay (Blackburn);

F: Owen (Liverpool), Samba (Liverpool), Brandy (Man Utd), Rooney (Everton), Smith (Barcelona), Bentley (Arsenal), Ashikodi (Millwall).

The squad selection caused quite a stir in the papers, with several seasoned campaigners axed, and being told they would most likely not be required for the finals

Some of the axed players had even gone to the press to bleat about their plight – “My world cup heartache” being one memorable article penned by Beckham, the ex England captain and one time golden boy.

Out were: Beckham, Mills, Vassell, Heskey, Lampard, Hoult, Butt & King.

There were surprises too with the inclusions: the experienced Alan Smith, Scott Parker and Rio Ferdinand making a return after seemingly being out of the England picture for the last couple of seasons, and Steven Gerrard making a welcome return after 2 seasons wrecked by injury.

The Manager had looked long and hard at all the available young talent, and was determined to blood the likes of Stuart Giddings, Stefan Schumacher, Moses Ashikodi, David Bentley, Goma Lambu and Danny Webb. Webb in particular had grabbed most of the headlines. Much like Gerrard, Webb had seen little action for the past two seasons, and was currently in the Newcastle Reserves after making his way back from yet another injury, but, at only 24, he was really just coming into his own, and the Manager had great faith in the dynamic midfielder, earmarking an AMC role in the starting line up, much to the dismay of the tabloids and a number of his squad.

Hayden Mullins, Lee Croft, Wayne Rooney & Fabian Brandy were all late withdrawals, making the Manager see red with their clubs. He read the riot act and demanded medical proof before he would sign them off, but it made no difference. The Manager would address the issue with each of the clubs Managers next week, and if there was any doubt to the authenticity of the players injuries, they would wish they had never tried it on.

Romania v England

Teamsheet (4-1-3-2 formation):

Kirkland; McEveley, Ferdinand, Woodgate, Welsh; Parker; Lambu, Webb, Gerrard; Owen, Samba; Steele, Clement, Dawson, Schumacher, Dyer, Ashikodi, Bentley.

The media had a field day, citing the 5 liverpool players picked as favouratism, the returned veterans and inexperienced youngsters as a recepie for disaster, but the Manager responded with a typically short response : "I'm the bloody Manager, and I'll pick the best team available - you can quote me on that"....

owen goal

A cold and foggy night in Romania wasn’t everyone’s idea of a great night out, but the Manager delivered a typically fire & brimstone speech to get his player fired up for what they probably though was a training drill. England had already qualified and were 6 points clear at the top of their group, but this was no time for complacency. The Manager told them they were representing England and that they should be proud to have the chance – they may never get another. That was enough really to put some steel back into their collective gaze.

The Manager shivered as his players ran out, and is wasn’t because of the damp chilly draft circling round his neck, this was a moment he had always dreamed of.

The match started in a disjointed manner, the new look England team struggling to work with the Managers new tactics. The small group of England fans who had braved the long distance and the cold started in good spirits, cheeky renditions of “Self Preservation Society” and “The Italian Job” beating out on huge drums, but the mood quickly quietened as England looked more like a 3rd Division side on the bumpy pitch.

Webb had not been sighted in the middle of the park, and the Manager was beginning to think he had made an error of judgement. Parker and Ferdinand also looked rusty, and the rest were not much better. Things took a turn for the better when after 35 uninspiring minutes Gerrard burst through the centre and release Owen on the left, the England veteran easily outpacing the Romanian defenders and pulling the ball back into the path of Webb on the edge of the area. Webb controlled it in one touch, dodged a defender and sent the keeper the wrong way with a lovely finish. 1-0 to England. This was a dream for Danny Webb, but the Manager still planned to dress him down at half time and tell him to get more involved. The goal was pretty much his first touch for the night.

After 38 minutes Romania hit back, Tamas heading home from a corner, Ferdinand slow to pick up the late run, and Parker asleep, left in his wake. The Manager was furious. 1-1 and a very poor showing at half time.

*The Managers half time speech has been censored*

England started the second half purposefully, playing a mix of short and long balls with precision, Lambu creative, Webb finding space and providing drive, and Gerrard showing some of his old run. Things started coming together, with England dominating play. Samba & Owen both went close, and Gerrard hit it over when put through by Lambu. 68 minutes … still 1-1.

Finally all the dominance paid off Gerrard and Parker combining to craft a lovely move that created a glimpse of space for Webb to burst through two defenders on the edge of the area and blast the ball past the hapless keeper. Goooooooal!! 2-1, a lovely move. Webb now had both goals, and had effectively resurrected his career in one game, showing pace, skill and strength as well as great control and finishing – the perfect attributes for the AMC role.

5 minutes later Samba got on the end of a great run and cross by Owen with a thumping headed goal which sealed the victory. 3-1 to England, a solid result in the end. The team had looked much better in the second half, and hopefully the defence would improve given a few games together. The Manager breathed a sign of relief and rubbed his hands together to ward off the icy cold. Ashikodi, Schumacher & Dyer were given a run late on and did the job they were asked to do, Dyer in particular looking impressive. Scott Parker got better as the game went on, controlling things with his probing accurate passes from DMC and stopping the run of the Romanian midfielders. The problem with being the England Manager was, the Manager thought, you got to see so much talent close up, it made you start to consider putting offers on the table that you probably would not have thought of. Danny Webb would certainly be a useful purchase, although D’Alessandro was already starring in the same role for the Reds …. food for thought.

Ratings: Kirkland 7; McEveley 8, Ferdinand 7, Woodgate 8, Welsh 8; Parker 9; Lambu 8, Webb 9 (MoM), Gerrard 8; Owen 8, Samba 8; Schumacher 6, Dyer 8, Ashikodi 7.

Group 2 (Eur) Table:

EnglandP9 W8 D1 L1 F25 A3 Pts25
N IrelandPts19
RomaniaPts16
IsraelPts13
MaltaPts 8
Faore IslandsPts 1

The press conference went much better that previous efforts, the Manager relaxing into his new role – only getting tetchy when quizzed about the performance of Ferdinand and his defensive cohorts - maybe all those media coaching sessions were paying off after all.

Stan, The Mirror: “Mr Best, can we expect any changes to the line up for the upcoming clash with Israel?”

Pete Best: “No Stan, and call me Pete, please. I was very pleased with the lads tonight, they showed me they had spirit and pride, and I wont make changes unless I am forced to …”

And he sure would be!

Brian of Nazareth

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>

*The Managers half time speech has been censored*

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>



Good to see another effort from you -always worth it. Some interesting inclusions in the squad there too I might add, good casting off Heskey \o/

Bruce Harvey

"cough cough"
i think u need to have a look your tables

played 9
won 8
drawn 1
lost 1

that cant be right!
lol

owen goal

Whoops! Back to adding up school for me

owen goal

The lead up to the trip to Israel 5 days later was not going according to plan. The Manager had to content with McEvelely, Owen, Samba, Lambu, Steele and Welsh all pulling out with minor injuries. So much for consistency in team selections, though the Manager, as he drank heavily from another shot of malt whiskey at the bar that night. Still, the Manager would show faith in those who performed well for him, and it game others the chance to impress.

To compound the Managers problems, Beckham was at it again, whining in another tabloid about how he deserves to be in the squad, astounded that 19 year old James Kay from Blackburn could be picked over him.

Later in the day the Manager exploded at a press conference …..

[could have ended the story there ………… nice visual image that ……… but]

…. “that Beckham should concentrate on his game and allow the spotlight to fall where it deserves to be for a change”.

The Managers minders were getting a bit concerned about the Managers drinking in the evenings, but had kept things pretty quiet so far, the Manager himself admitting he had a bit of a problem. This might explain his overly unpredictable outburst of late – but he had always been a bit narky, lets face it. This didn’t seem to slow his consumption, however, and that night he was once again basking in the warm glow that only three or four doubles of a particularly fine single malt can bring as he pencilled in the team sheet.

Kirkland; Clement, Ferdinand, Woodgate, Dawson; Parker; Croft, Webb, Gerrard; Brandy, Rooney; Subs Robinson, Mullins, Giddings, Jenas, Dyer, Kay, Ashikodi.

owen goal

A debut for young Blackburn pair Stuart Giddings and James Kay beckoned, as both had impressed with recent form – they knew that this was a once in a lifetime chance to make an impression before the World Cup next year.

It was a warm night in Tel Aviv, the stadium lights blazing and the crowd buzzing. Israel had performed well in the qualifiers and would be no walkover for the much changed England line up.

The Manager had a scorching headache, but it disappeared as soon as Israel kicked off and he started bellowing instructions to his players.

After a couple of scratchy minutes where not much happened, the England side started to gell, with Parker, Croft, and Gerrard putting some useful passes together. Rooney was looking full of life up front, and Brandy was causing all sort of problems for the Israeli Defenders in the air. The Defence looked much better too, the experience of Clement providing a calming influence. Ferdinand was looking something like his old self again, too.

England broke through on 15 minutes after efforts from Webb and Rooney had grazed the post and crossbar respectively, Brandy making a strong run, leaving defenders in his wake and firing the ball home into the bottom left hand corner. The small group of England fans went nuts, otherwise, there was silence. The Manager suddenly felt a bit conspicuous jumping up and down on the touchline, and returned to his seat grinning from ear to ear. It was a nice start and better was to come. England ran Israel ragged, maintaining the pace of the game and having many attempts on goal go close. Rooney finally made it 2-0 after 38 minutes with a nice finish close in after being put through by Webb, who seemed to be growing in confidence each outing. The half time break was quite subdued in the dressing room, the Manager feeling no need to deliver a sermon, instead sitting quietly and talking tactics with two or three players.

The second half continued in the same vein as the first, with Webb scoring a spectacular volley from 25m which cannoned in off the bar from an excellent cross by Kay. 3-0 it stayed, but England piled on the pressure for the whole 90 minutes, Parker and Gerrard excelling in the middle of the park. The Manager was well pleased. His tactics were starting to pay off now that players were more comfortable with their roles.

Giddings, Jenas & Kay came on late and fitted in well. Giddings getting caught out one by a long ball but otherwise giving a good account of his ability. Kay made some nice runs forward and looked to be a good backup for Webb & Dyer in the AMC role, also doing well when drifting out wide – nis natural balance and pace ghosting him past defenders with ease, also shooting over the bar towards the end.

26 scoring shots to 1 told the story, the Managers only regret was that his defence was not stretched.

Kirkland 6; Clement 8, Ferdinand 8, Woodgate 6, Dawson 7; Parker 9; Croft 7, Webb 8, Gerrard 8; Brandy 9, Rooney 8; Subs Robinson, Mullins, Giddings 6, Jenas 7, Dyer, Kay 7, Ashikodi.

owen goal

The Manager was starting to realise just how difficult being an England Manager can be. Even though his side had performed brilliantly, there were still plenty of articles questioning his selections and tactics, particularly his reliance on youth. The press were worried about a perceived lack of depth, but the Manager had seen enough from the players he had picked so far not to be too worried (barring injury of course, but that was the lot of all Managers). The Managers stress levels had effectively doubled, and his drinking was getting worse, his minders even having a quit word or two in his ear one morning when he was feeling particularly worse for wear.

Worryingly, the Manager had indeed taken his eye off the ball at club level, his assistant Manager making a poor decision to rest key players Robben, Deco, Gerrard, Adriano & Owen for the away tie to Ipswich. The result, a jarring 1-0 loss to a club struggling at the wrong end of the table which saw Man Utd and Arsenal skip away to a 5 point lead at the top of the table. The Manager vowed to pay closer attention at club level from now on. The Liverpool Board, who had been singing Pete Best’s praises for the last 6 months, now were publicly criticising him despite hia great track record. Perhaps they had a point.

There was one more England fixture to be taken care of this year, a friendly against Sweden at the new Wembley Stadium, a chance for the Manager to test his backup players. The Manager had decided to use Friendlies this year and early next to play 2 teams for 45 minutes each, a much maligned tactic sure to cause much consternation in the press. So, it was Sweden on December the 6th, then no England duties until February and April next year, when more Friendlies were lined up. The Manager knew he would have his work cut out keeping any sort of team spirit together over that period, but he had a few special speeches lined up which he hoped would get the message across.

The Manager had pencilled in his 2 teams:

1st half: Kirkland; McEveley, Ferdinand, Woodgate, Welsh; Parker; Lambu, Webb, Gerrard; Owen, Samba.

2nd half: Steele; Clement, Dawson, Mullins, Giddings; Jenas; Croft, Dyer, Kay; Rooney, Brandy.

Anyone not on either team list knew they would have to rely on injury to step up into the Managers plans. The likes of Alan Smith and Paul Robinson were particularly disappointed – but that was just life as far as the Manager was concerned, he wasn’t going to put up with any nonsense from the pair, and moved quickly to put a stop to the rumblings with a couple of late night phone calls. He thought he had solved the problem, until he read the headlines the next day …..

owen goal

BEST THE WORST! Screamed the back page headline of the News of the World. It was an ‘exclusive’ with Alan Smith. The Manager nearly choked on his cornflakes, but composed himself enough to read on, with much amusement. “Alan Smith, Barcelona star and England international, claims new England Manager Pete Best’s treatment of him is the worst of any England Boss he has served under ….” Etc. Smith had apparently gone on to say that he could not see the point of being in the squad if he was not going to be picked, that he deserved a spot upfront with Owen and that he considered his England career finished! “Well, that can be arranged” said the Manager aloud with a smirk.

A few phone calls later that day and everything was ironed out. Smith insisting he had been misquoted and saying he would be suing the paper. The Manager still had his doubts, but wasn’t about to let anything as petty as this affect his team selection policy. As fate would have it, Smith had his chance to impress in any case, Rooney turning his ankle in Training the day before the friendly.

It was a miserable night. Cold, foggy, intermittent drizzle … oh, & did I mention how cold it was!

The Manager was in a foul mood – everything seemed to be going wrong this week – the Manager upsetting his Board, his assistant Manager, his Liverpool players and several of his England squad along the way. The Manager’s mood swings were obvious to all but the Manager himself.

The way the game panned out did little to improve the Managers mood.

The first half was a dull, disjointed affair, the only bright spot Lambu’s creative play in midfield and a sharp finish from Samba on 44 minutes to put England a barely deserved equaliser (Farnerud had put Sweden ahead after 35 minutes with a superb long range strike which Kirkland either didn’t see or … well, lets just say he didn’t see it, thought the Manager – he was very interested to see how Steele performed in the second half). Samba’s reputation was growing with every England game, and he now had 12 goals from 13 England appearances. It was a shame his domestic record this season was not as good, the Manager thought to himself as he shuffled down the race at half time, a few jeers coming from some of the hardy fans.

More disjointed play in the second half, actually worse than the first had the Manager contemplating a change of tactics and reverting to a 4-4-2. After 67 minutes Giddings was caught out by a Kallstrom through ball and Farnerud raced though to plant the ball in the bottom left hand corner of the net past Steele’s outstretched glove – the keeper didn’t stand a chance. 1-2. Deafening silence and a few England heads went down. The Manager took note.

Thankfully Fabian Brandy pulled back a late equaliser after a scrappy goal line scramble to save the day, but both England teams had been awful, and there were few positives. Kieran Dyer again did well in the AMC role but had little support from Smith, the headline hunting player failing to show his value when it really counted. James Kay looked out of his depth, but would be given a chance to find his feet. An interesting aside - Danny Webb had failed to find the net for only the second time in an England shirt (7 Apps 6 goals)

Ratings:

1st half: Kirkland 6; McEveley 7, Ferdinand 7, Woodgate 6, Welsh 6; Parker 7; Lambu 8, Webb 6, Gerrard 7; Owen 6, Samba 7.

2nd half: Steele 7; Clement 7, Dawson 7, Mullins 6, Giddings 6; Jenas;7 Croft 7, Dyer 7, Kay 6; Smith 6, Brandy 7.