One Major Honour to Manage England

So Harry Redknapp is the favourite to become the next England manager.

Ask most people their opinion and he is the first name that springs to mind.

But spend a little longer than just your gut reaction and you really start to question why.

Harry is doing a great job at Tottenham at the moment.

A really great job.

Perhaps though, the successful candidate should have done a bit more than just have a couple of good seasons of late.

After all, he took an underachieving Tottenham side into the Champions League during a period when Liverpool, Arsenal and now Chelsea all hurtled towards a rapid decline.

He’s not won anything with Tottenham.

In fact, his only major honour was an FA cup win with Portsmouth.

Splitting 2 spells at Portsmouth, was a brief and unsuccessful period at Southampton.

Preceded by 8 years doing a steady job with West Ham and his first role at Bournemouth.

Harry may be top of mind for most due to how well Tottenham have done this season and last.

But is the best man for the England job really a manager who has only 1 major honour to his name after 28 years in the role?

Not to mention he’s only ever had one season of Champions League football.

His experience of the English league will be great for knowing what assets he has available to him.

His one season mixing it with Europe’s elite won’t have given him much experience on the opposition.

As for Harry being the outstanding ‘English’ candidate - that just highlights the lack of top English managers at the moment.

Nothing more.

An Englishman will not do a better job than a ‘foreigner’ if he is not a better manager.

And with Euro 2012 fast approaching - decisiveness seems paramount.

But the English FA should not confuse decisiveness with haste.

A caretaker role now instead - can mean the decision on the long term future of the England national team be made in due course.

He will not have enough time anyway to shape the team his way.

It will be a case of steadying the ship in Poland and Ukraine as opposed to setting it a new course.

When the Republic of Ireland interviewed for the current position - Paul Jewell was the outstanding choice.

The FAI took their time over the decision and Giovanni Trapattoni appeared.

The landscape could shift dramatically come this summer too.

Jose Mourinho could become available.

Harry’s 1 major honour might need to total 3 if he’s to beat the Portuguese master tactician to the job.

If Martin O’Neill continues his surge up the table with Sunderland and takes fourth spot, would he be considered the outstanding candidate?

He has had relative little success in the English game too but has still won more major honours than Harry.

Coupled with a more sustained period of success.

Glenn Hoddle, Kevin Keegan and Steve McClaren had 1 major honour between them and all had a shot at the England hot-seat.

But it was Sven Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello - with 32 major honours who are the only managers to have taken England to a quarter final of a major tournament since Euro ‘96.

If Fabio and his 16 major honours cannot make a success of this group of players - I’m not sure Harry and his 1 can do any different...

A look back on the glorious international career of Kevin Prince Boateng (2010-2011)

Alan Shearer.

29.

Retires from International football.

Jamie Carragher.

29 the first time he retired.

Paul Scholes.

29 as well.

Each a great loss to their country.

Each bowing out just a little too early.

However, if any country can cope with the loss of one player, then a country with a pool the size of Englands to choose from can.

I’ve never really had a problem with players retiring from the larger nations, even if the above bowed out prematurely.

There is usually a couple of great young players just behind them bursting to take their place.

Think Michael Owen after Alan with Wayne Rooney not too far behind.

Or else quality established stars that are keeping them out of the first team anyway.

Think John Terry and Rio Ferdinand when Jamie went.

But when a player is retiring from a smaller nation such as Ireland, South Korea or Ghana, it is invariably going to leave a massive hole.

The depth of talent that these lesser nations produce, means they could easily go 10 years without producing a left back that’s better than Championship level.

We have seen such countries produce 4 great strikers and not a centre midfielder in sight.

3 left wingers and no right.

That is why it is paramount that when they do produce a player of quality, the player makes it his prerogative to play as long as he can for his country.

When Paul left England, they brought in Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

When Roy Keane left Ireland, it was Steven Reid with Kevin Kilbane.

Cut to this weekends news of Kevin Prince Boateng.

A player who had represented Germany 41 times as a youth team player.

Yet never quite good enough for the senior squad.

And in 2009, things weren’t going well for him at club level either.

He was heading for the Championship with Portsmouth.

However, he also qualified to play for Ghana.

A Ghana side that had reached the upcoming World Cup.

One switch of allegiance later and despite not playing a single World Cup qualifier, he was on the plane to South Africa in 2010.

Making his debut less than a week before the tournament started.

He used Ghana to get into the World Cup shop window and thus secured a move to AC Milan.

Fast forward one year - and only three games outside that month of June - Kevin announces his retirement from international football.

At the age of 24.

Alan had at least amassed 63 caps before he left England prematurely.

Paul had 66.

Ji-Sung Park had 100 caps when he retired from South Korea at the age of 29.

Yet here was Kevin Prince Boateng, not good enough for Germany, giving the chance to play in a World Cup by Ghana, repaying them by retiring after a whole 9 appearances.

A small nation loses one of their stars just short of their participation in the African Nations Cup.

A 6 week disruption he can do without in his Serie ‘A’ career with AC Milan no doubt.

But no hint of loyalty to the country that helped get him to Serie ‘A’ in the first place.

Had done so much for a young 23 year old struggling in a relegation battle to make sure he could represent their country.

And without the depth of pool that an England has to choose from.

Has it really gone so far that players can now ‘use’ countries as well as clubs.

Kevin used an entire nation as a stepping stone.

And didn’t even hang around long enough to say thanks.

Whatever else Alan ‘might’ have achieved on the international stage was unfortunately lost to his early retirement.

But at least he gave a massive amount to his country in the 9 years he did play.

Sadly though, that’s 1 year for every game Kevin had...