The Wilshere Ultimatum: What Jack Wilshere’s exclusion from Under-21 duty says about English football
“All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.”
- Winston Churchill
“What we really need is everyone working together for the benefit of the game in this country and the development of young players.”
-Gary Lineker, July 2010
When Thomas Muller slammed in Germany’s fourth goal against England it signalled not only an emphatic end to England’s World Cup 2010 campaign but also the start of a period of soul-searching in English football. On a superficial level, part of the debate centred on the need for video replays – driven predominantly, I might add, by the same quarters who stand to benefit directly and financially from any investment in said technology.
Nonetheless, what seemed so refreshing about the nature of the debate post-Bloemfontein at the time was that a real focus was placed on the deeper underlying issues hampering English football’s development. Youth development. The overpowering might of the Premier League. Overemphasis on the commercial side of the game. The standard of coaching in England at grassroots level.
The level of debate appeared mature and reasoned – a world away from the usual ‘damn foreigners ruining our game’ cliches of international tournament failures past.
Fast-forward 10 months however and it appears lessons have not been learned.
It is said that goldfishes only have a three-second memory. Well, if true, then in the contrasting reactions to England’s failure at the 2010 World Cup and Jack Wilshere’s exclusion from England Under-21 duty this summer it seems elements of England’s footballing authorities and sections of the English media need checking for gills.
After Germany so handsomely dispatched England in South Africa, debate raged for weeks on end. Despondent, self-analytical radio phone-ins provided the soundtrack to the summer. Specially commissioned TV programmes aired, like the BBC’s “Can England win the next World Cup” fronted by Gary Lineker. The Conservative MP David Amess tabled a Commons motion, calling for “an urgent inquiry into the state of our national game.”
As a nation, we bleated on endlessly about the need for root and branch reform. But when the time came for action, proof of a willingness to make serious steps in the right direction – on the evidence of the Wilshere situation – it seems we were shouting into an empty vacuum, as the FA once again proves itself completely and utterly toothless in the face of the Premier League and the self-interests of its’ members.
As has today been announced, Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll will not be part of England’s Under-21 squad for this summer’s European Championship finals in Denmark.
After the very public tit-for-tat trading of advice for Jack between Arsene Wenger and Stuart Pearce, the England U-21 coach finally had this to say:
“I spoke to Jack last week and he explained that while he told me in March that he wanted to be part of the squad, he now feels he is not in the best condition to take part in the finals.
‘That is based on the number of games he has played for Arsenal this season, sports science data which Jack was presented with last week and concerns he has for his fitness looking ahead to next season.”
On the bit in bold, interesting that Arsenal provide their players with sports science data that suggests they are becoming exhausted at the end of a season rather than say, in the middle of March. Ultimately however, Wenger wins the battle and England U-21s will have to go on without their most talented player.
While it is disappointing to note the obvious pressure Wenger and Arsenal applied on Wilshere not to participate in Denmark, they cannot be blamed. Wenger’s only concern is the well-being of Arsenal Football Club. A summer break for a player who has appeared 48 times for his club – more than any other player at Arsenal – is in Wenger’s best interests.
What is plainly ridiculous however, is the level of power clubs hold over national interests in such a situation. If England as a nation is serious about competing with the best at international level, how is it that Wenger and the sports science department of the Premier League’s 4th placed club can so easily sidetrack England’s prospects at youth level?
Sir Trevor Brooking, often caught in the middle of these custody battles, reacted in the same bemused fashion he has come to perfect over the years:
“Every other country picks their players. It becomes an issue with an English player. Abroad, they just enforce it and the players go and no-one bleats about it.”
Brooking then elaborated eloquently on the benefits of gaining tournament experience at youth level:
“You have a game every three or four days, find out who is a good traveller, who comes off the bench well, who is moody and who is doom and gloom about the place when they are not in the team. You have got to find out about people and you only do that through tournament football.”
All valid points, but by and large he was ignored – drowned out by the cautious warnings of Wenger repeated ad finitum on rolling sports news channels.
Elsewhere, others in the media proved themselves to have desperately short memories. For a prime example, step right up Paul Hayward in The Guardian.
“The Bundesliga’s output of young talent shames the Football Association and the Premier League,” wrote Hayward in July 2010.
“This generation have rewritten the manual on what the Nationalmannschaft should aspire to be. This is self-reinvention on a scale unknown in recent European football and one England would be wise to copy,”
he said at the time, waxing lyrical about Germany’s faith in youth.
“The story of this World Cup team’s surge to a reprise of the acrimonious 2006 quarter-final is Löw’s ambitious coaching and the successful integration of the stars of last summer’s European Championship-winning Under-21s: Mesut Ozil, Thomas Müller, Sami Khedira, Manuel Neuer and Jérôme Boateng. [Wolfgang] Niersbach, [the DFB's general secretary] says: “Frankly, we had not expected to be able to reap the rewards so soon. Last year’s triumph at U21 level has visibly added strength to this senior side.”
Fast-forward to May 2011 and this seems to have been forgotten. Apparently England need no longer replicate such a successful blueprint, suggests Hayward in an article dismissing the tournament and instead favouring rest and “a managed pre-season programme with Arsenal”:
“Here in England, the country’s finest young creative midfielder since Paul Scholes or Paul Gascoigne, Jack Wilshere, is being pitchforked back to a developmental level he has already passed through, purely so Stuart Pearce’s Under-21s can look good at the junior European Championship,”
offers Hayward, before rather flippantly suggesting that Pearce may be doing so to further his own career prospects.
Quite the change of heart. With the World Cup a distant memory is it no longer fashionable for the mainstream media to ponder such trivial matters as youth development in England? Debate has been distracted by the blinding lights of the “greatest league in the world”. “By playing in Denmark, Wilshere would miss his pre-season at Arsenal,” writes Hayward. God forbid he miss an irrelevant money-spinning pre-season tour of the Far East.
The Wilshere debate – and his consequent exclusion from U-21 duty – only serve to highlight the crux of the problem here. Commercial interests and the Premier League wield far too much power and are far too inward looking to consider the wider good of the national game in England. This will continue to hamper England’s development at international level until the matter is properly addressed.
The FA can come up with all the lofty ideas and useful suggestions they like – as they sometimes do – such as in the Future Game document and manifesto put forward last year. But their impotent ceding of power to the Premier League means such documents are mere suggestions with no guarantees of ever being implemented.
Just like the youth management board created by the FA, Premier League and Football League in April 2008 and subsequently disbanded in January 2009 after the three bodies’ childlike bickering pushed into oblivion what could have been a huge forward step for English football.
One of the board’s key proposals, as put forward by Richard Lewis, chairman of Sport England and backed by would-be chairman and former FA technical director Howard Wilkinson?
-Allow greater opportunity for talented English players to experience international get-togethers.
As the Irish playwright and co-founder of the London School of Economics George Bernard Shaw once wrote, “success does not consist in never making mistakes, but in never making the same one a second time.”
Arsenal, England, English Premier League, Jack Wilshere, Stuart Pearce, Under-21 European Championships, Youth FootballShare This Post!
About Jonathan F
The boss of this here... Creator and Editor of Just-Football.com, world football analyst, watcher, freelancer and all-round enthusiast. French football analyst for Football Radar. Write for FourFourTwo, have also written for ITV, When Saturday Comes and others.
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Daft, blinkered article.
The reason why Jack was left from the U21 was his resulting unavailability for England’s Euro Qualifiers in August/September. By competing in the U21 tournament, Jack would have been rested for the start of the 2011/12 League campaign – and avoid the fatigue that plagued Walcott after the 2009 U21 summer tournament.
By being rested in August, Wilshere would not be fit for the full Senior England matches in August/September.
Lazy journalism.
Thanks for the comment Emir, but did you even read down to the direct quotes from Pearce giving the explanation on why Wilshere was omitted?
It is quite clear from those – especially given Wilshere’s own earlier expressed desire to play at the tournament – that this is less about him playing for the senior side and more to do with being pressured out of it by Wenger.
Not interested in your other personal accusations – would rather debate the matter at hand.
Just on this point on Pearce’s direct quotes you are relying on:
I dont think its fair to penalize Pearce’s attempt to substantiate his exclusion of Wilshire. If he had said anything else he’d look he it would be backtracking on his initial position for no reason (i.e. one oblivious to the risk of burnouts – no doubt also supported by the fact that Wilshire’s initial enthusiastic stance). At least now he attempts to incorporate/rely on these new developments (Wilshire’s more cautious stance, and the sports science data) for the exclusion.
What’s wrong with Wilshire handing over sports science data to Pearce? If Pearce already had the same, it wouldnt have made sense for him to have taken his initial position at all.
Some very good points here, but a couple of things I’d like to say is no real mention of Andy Carroll here. He is not in the u21 squad or the senior squad. I know he hasn’t really being fit but surely Capello or Pearce should have picked him. I would rather see Wilshere in the senior squad as I think he has shown he can play in the first 11.
One thing is for sure that Arsene Wenger and Arsenal would only have presented Wilshere with data that says he shouldn’t play this summer. I noticed a stat from Opta that says he has played more minutes than any other Arsenal player this season so the data is probably correct. Arsene Wenger does love a perfectly planned pre-season. Arsenal are the only one of the top Premiership teams I can think of that don’t go to USA or the Far East because Wenger prefers to take the team on altitude training in Austria. A trip to the USA may be in line soon now Stan Kroenke is in charge but Arsene Wenger would much rather Wilshere is in the Alps than Denmark
Joe – Arsenal are about to announce a pre-season tour of the Far East according to several reports. I linked to one in the piece.
Carroll I didn’t mention as extensively because he is actually genuinely injured, while Wilshere is basically being omitted because he needs a rest and we’re supposed to accept that being ready for the Premier League season is more important than England’s development at international level.
All well and good, and as I’ve said it’s not Arsenal’s fault as they are only worried about themselves and rightly so.
But I’ll find it pretty hilarious if England flop at Euro 2012 and it gets blamed on key players not getting tournament experience at junior levels.
Although a casual reading of the situation would suggest that Wilshere should go to the U21 championships, after all the young German stars of the World Cup 2010 had progressed through that route but it ignores the fact that the majority of those German youth players weren’t playing regular Bundesliga football when that tournament took place let alone regular Champions League football.
Wilshere has already been playing every 3 or 4 days against the creme de la creme of European football, so we already know he can handle playing tournament style schedules and that he is experiencing the fiercest competition in the world week-in-week-out. He’ll gain nothing by playing at the U21 competition, he’s surpassed that level by quite a margin.
Anyone who has watched Arsenal this season could tell you he’s been burnt out for several months now, starting pre-season late is a recipe for disaster and will end up in him not performing well at the European Championships. A good season for Arsenal will see him perform well.
I think a comparison with the Walcott situation is what’s needed here. Walcott had played many games and had a generally excellent season having established himself as an England first teamer on the right wing, scoring a hat-trick to take out Croatia, the team that prevented England from reaching the European Championships.
Stuart Pearce takes him to the U21 Championship so he can ‘gain experience’, he starts pre-season late get injured and then spends the whole of the following season with niggling injuries preventing him from gaining any form. This results in him not being picked for the World Cup, England looked limp and lacking in a player capable to doing what Walcott did back in Zagrab or what he provided Arsenal all of this season (More effective than PFA winner Bale).
Same situation goes for Samir Nasri (Though not due to U21 internationals, he just fractured his leg). A season without a proper pre-season saw him pick up lots of niggling injuries and never really pick up form, he wasn’t picked and France looked abject. This season Nasri has been one of the best players in the league and Europe.
“Anyone who has watched Arsenal this season could tell you he’s been burnt out for several months now…”
Except the Arsenal manager it seems…
Wenger has to utilise Wilshere in the best way he sees fit, of that there’s no denying and I’ve highlighted that several times.
But I do find it pretty hypocritical of him to suggest all this. If Wilshere has been so badly burnt out that is Wenger’s own doing – not the England Under-21 setup’s. The 2011 Championships didn’t spring up out of nowhere in the last month.
There’s so many things that the FA need to consider before anybody can start calling Wenger hypocritical for playing players he has under contract:
- English teams play in three national competitions, Spain/Germany/Italy/France do not.
If the FA want all their players available at all times for all levels of international football there’s one easy step that will help them be available and in good physical and mental shape; Cancel the League Cup.
- English teams play a minimum of one game per week for ten months, Spain/Germany/Italy/France do not.
If the FA want all their players available at all times for all levels of international football there’s one easy step that will help them be available and in good physical and mental shape; Introduce a winter break.
- English teams play in a league where it’s considered fine to kick, trip, push and barge players over with no concern for their safety (or at least minimum), Spain/Germany/Italy/France do not.
If the FA want all their players available at all times for all levels of international football there’s one easy step that will help them be available and in good physical and mental shape; Start protecting the players from overly physical play.
When the FA start giving a shit about players development and health then they can call up whomever they wish without many complaints.
Funny how you don’t mention Walcott’s situation that was identical to this. Walcott left for the u-21 tournament, was benched in the final while playing every game before that, and had a subsequent inujry ridden season due to lack of rest. All because of Stuart Pearce’s enourmous ego and craven career politicking.
How many U-21 games has Rooney played??
Good on Arsenal for shoving it up the incompetent u-21 management team. Wilshere is a senior internation now and should be pre-occupied with meaningless youth tournaments. Leave that to the next batch of players coming through.
The german u-21 team weren’t treated like some jojo commoditites now where they? The progress normally through the ranks until they hit the senior team together.
Jack Wilshere is a fully fledged senior England player. None of the Germans boys were considered senior players when they went to the under 21 tournament.
If you want to follow the German model then fine. When would you like to pencil in the Winter break?
When the FA are prepared to either have their cake or eat it, and players like Wilshere are no longer used as political pawns in the never-ending club v country debate. We may even get round to actually preparing an England team to compete physically at World Cups or Euro’s.
Unfortunately by the time we get to the finals the pride of England is out on their collective Arses.
What do you want? The most competitive league in World footbal, or a little jingoistic tub thumping every couple of years. I know where my sympathies lie.
Well It would have been good to see jack play in the U21,s but I have to agree he isnt looking quite the player at the moment that he was earlier in the season and whilst I agree its in the best interets of Arsenal for him not to appear I also believe its in the long term best interests of the senior team and the player as well. Also he has now graduated to a full cap so why burn him out in the U21’s looking at the squad there are some pretty decent players available so save Jack for the senior team and the new season makes perfect sense to me.
I’m an Arsenal fan, take that for what’s it worth, but I’m happy Wilshere isn’t going, from an Arsenal perspective he’s been through our Academy from start to finish, from the age of 9 upwards, I hope England look at how he’s progressed and look to the future rather than act out desperation everytime there’s some sort of media outcry.
Wilshere isn’t the biggest or the strongest, he wasn’t rushed through and he’s nowhere near the finished article or close to showing the sort of skill or talent he’s shown in our youth teams.
I’d even say that he probably shouldn’t have played as much as he has this year but he has undoubted talent, we’ve handled him far better than I’d trust Pearce or any other National team manager.
An England perspective ? The pressure Wilshere’s being placed under is ridiculous, it’s typical of the FA, the media and even probably this article, instead of actually taking note of the German Youth team or the Spanish farm system they look at the brightest player we have and decide the fate of the Nations footballing future must be placed in his hands.
It’s been going on for years, decades even, no point in addressing how long or thorough other countries have been in their youth development is, lets take the easy way out.
I wouldn’t look at these teams serving their own interests, but what the FA have done to serve the interests of future generations of England National team players.
Personally, I don’t think Pearce has much of a clue, Trevor Brooking ? What has he actually achieved ?!
Look at all of the countries that have conitually been successful, Spain, France, Germany, they have some sort of youth structure in place, they have managers and coaches who’ve grown through these youth structures, gone onto be successful as players and then used that knowledge to further the interests of their National teams.
Brookings right people shouldn’t bleat on about individuals like Wilshere, he’s wrong in that he should be the one doing more than just pathetically passing the buck and blaming the manager of one player from one team.
Thanks for your reasoned comments Keyser. However, where have I said that the fate of England’s football future should be placed in Wilshere’s hands?
If anything I’m stating the opposite – that growing a team organically by letting it come together through experience at youth level is a method that should be tested more vigorously, starting with the current generation of English young talent we have now.
The very point I’m making is that Wilshere should not get special treatment because he is an important player at a big club.
Rather, regardless of the player, those chosen to represent their country at youth international tournaments should have greater emphasis placed on them by the FA etc to go and get the necessary experience to foster the squad’s togetherness with tournaments like 2014 & 2018 in mind, when it’s the real deal.
In fact I’d argue that your point about Wilshere being placed under pressure by England is invalid – rather it is his club and club manager placing pressure on him by attempting to force him to sit out of England U-21 duty, with Wenger making several ill-informed, doom-mongering comments about it being dangerous for his long-term future to play a few games in Denmark. That is borderline emotional blackmail!
And as for your point about “addressing how [..] thorough other countries have been in their youth development” – we’re in agreement here. That is exactly my point, and why I feel going down the route of actually selecting your best available players for youth tournaments a la Germany 2009 is something worth taking more seriously.
I’m not trying to upset Arsenal here – Wilshere’s specific club is inconsequential except as an example of the type of club that wields the kind of power that has rendered the FA nigh on impotent when it comes to such matters.
Also forgot to add, that Arsenal haven’t stopped him from playing in the FULL national side and Wenger has no qualms over that, but after somehow deigning him as the saviour of English football, Pearce has decided that he must not only save the Full Nationa side but go back and ressurect the Under-21’s aswell.
Pearce should be thinking about he can progress the career of the next Wilshere to come through the Academies or the youth sides, not asking for help from someone who’s already passed him by.
That’s the point – football at this level has NOT passed Wilshere by. Case in point: Micah Richards is in the U-21 squad with 12 England caps to his name!
Some very interesting comments here that I am going to ponder and come back to – thanks guys!
Anyone can hold an opposing opinion but I’d rather they were expressed eloquently/intelligently and in ways that can further the debate and make me and anyone else reading think, rather than petty insults.
Its wrong to compare Germany.. one of the most successfull conutries in world football and England who have …. stuart pearce. Wilshere has progressed beyond the under 21’s so give someone else a chance. Arsenal who pay wilshere’s wages are more important than pearce. some are making otu the success (or not) of the under 21’s is dependant upon wilshere going.
You haven’t mentioned that in Germany players get a winter break whereas an England no such luxury is afforded. This makes a major difference
The purpose of youth football is to develop players. It is particularly useful for young squad players who are aiming to break into the first team and supplements the amount of games these players have. The majority of those participating in the tournament will not have been regular first team players, and those that have will not have played as many games as Wilshere, and certainly not as many at premier League and Champions League level.
To suggest that a 19 year old who has played 48 games at the highest level including Champions League games needs further development with England’s youth team is to not take into account the intensity of the Premier league and the Champions League. Also, he has been playing since the beginning of the season, non-stop and without a break. It isn’t rocket science that he’s exhausted.
Wenger would have to give him at least 4 weeks break after the tournament to fully recover physically which would also make him unavailable for England. And as far as the national team is concerned, that’s the priority, for Wilshere to be available for the senior team, he has won his place already and to make himself unavailable due to the youth tournament is completely missing the point of getting him read to play for England.
The player needs and deserves to recuperate and this should be fully respected. The England senior team is the priority. Playing regular first team football for Arsenal in the Premier League and the Champions League is more than adequate preparation for England.
Interesting comments, thanks, and you’re right about the winter break. But as you also allude to, the majority of players at U-21 level are not regular first team players for their clubs, so the winter break argument is not really relevant here.
I agree with most of what you say. However, I think the particular dynamics of tournament football – being away from home for an increased amount of time, how a player integrates with the group, how he reacts in the more pressurised, focussed environment of tournament football – are factors you are overlooking. Trevor Brooking makes interesting points about that above.
As it stands, Wilshere’s next experience of this (after the Euro U-17s in 2009) will probably be at EURO 2012 – by which time he is already in at the deep end.
I’m not saying that Jack Wilshere playing in Denmark will solve all England’s problems.
But I do think that if we’re going to really seriously assess and adjust the way we develop youth in this country to try and get the best out of players at international level in big tournaments, the first major steps need to be made without pressure from Premier League managers who are serving their own interests.
No player, including Wilshere obviously, should be playing for both the full England team and the U21’s. If you look at the announced U21 squad it comprises mainly of players who haven’t even made it as first choices at their clubs, or are out on loan to other clubs, or even from lower divisions. Clearly they are not playing anything like the number of games that Wilshere is, and equally they are not in the full squad.
As for Arsenal, they have every right to protect their player. They pay his wages and suffer if he returns tired or unfit from international duty. It’s not pressuring if Arsene Wenger makes his point using performance stats, it’s being professional and protecting his player.
The U21 tournament is a mickey-mouse event compared with Wilshere’s commitment to the full England programme, and yes also compared to the Premiership and Champions League with his club.
for god sake wilshere now an established member of england senior squad. i can’t believe people don’t understand that. u-21 not wilshere level anymore. he belongs to senior squad. pierce should have known this and should not select or even mentioned wishere name for his squad. some idiots even compare it to germany, they must be as stupid as fifa members who can’t accept technologies into the game. muller and co never play for their country’s senior squad when they win u-21 championship. i think only in england player already established in senior squad can be downgraded to youth level to satisfy certain individual ambitions. capello also at fault, he should make it clear to pierce that wilshere not belong with u-21 anymore.
A well presented argument Jonathon, but I do think you’ve missed a key point.
You have rightly acknowledged that we can’t blame Arsenal for not wanting him to participate in the U21 competition. I’m an Arsenal fan and obviously I want our best players in peak condition for the start of next season.
However, at the same time we can’t blame Stuart Pearce or indeed the FA for wanting Jack at the competition. Similarly to Arsene Wenger’s positon, why wouldn’t they want one of the best available players in the team?
So both sides are attempting to protect their best interests. What sways the debate for me however, and what I feel you’ve neglected in the article, is the best interests of Jack Wilshere.
International experience would benefit Wilshere, I’ll admit. So I can understand that argument, but he has had great experience throughout this season playing against the best players in the world, Barcelona being the obvious examples.
I feel that participation in the U21 competition is simply placing too much stress on a young athlete. He has played a staggering number of games this season (too many if you ask me), and then he would compete with the U21 team, return for another full season with Arsenal, and then be expected to compete with the senior England team the following Summer. Ignoring the risk of injury next season, what about the risk of injury the following season after 3 years of non-stop football?
Of course he may get through unscathed and be better for the experience, but surely placing the long term fitness of one of the best creative midfielders that England has seen for so long, is far too great a risk to take?
Very good points Ben. Here were Wilshere’s thoughts on the subject as recently as March 30th:
“It can only be good for my career,” the Gunners midfielder said.
“If you look at the Germans, when they won the under-21 tournament they went to the World Cup and had such a good tournament.
“It’s important to start winning international tournaments early and hopefully you can take it to the world stage.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9440567.stm
The nature of those comments lead one to believe he has since had his arm twisted…
just want to point out something.
this thing that you guys emphasise on…he needs to play with his international team mates to gain experience, Jack Wilshere is already playing with his International team mates, at senior level.
him going back to junior level would just take him backwards!
Jonathan F – See, there you go, Wenger’s making the ill-informed comments and needless doom mongering, yet he’s backed up his opinion with something scientific, something we’ve put in place because we were worried about the amount of injuries our squad was sustaining over the course of a season. A season where they’ll play in Internationals however important or howver meaningless.
Come on, if Wenger’s comments were ill-informed despite his comments being backed up with something tangible, what has Stuart Pearce got behind him, or even you with your ‘just a few games in Dennmark’ comment.
The point isn’t whether it HAS literally passed him by, it’s that like you’ve said yourself there is no structure in place, there’s nothing regimented or any sort of process to follow they just pick and choose players as they see fit regardless of what happens to them physically or for their clubs.
Out of the FA, Stuart Pearce, Fabio Capello or Wenger, if anyone had to choose who to trust with the development of a young player it’d have to be Wenger each time.
Out of those 4, Wenger has obviously placed the most interest in the players well-being, that simply can’t be disputed.
Wilshere, like Walcott has gone straight from our first team to the FULL national side, now we’re asking them to help out the under-21’s aswell.
How is that going to help their development more than simply give Stuart Pearce a better chance to further his own career ?!
You can’t place blame on the clubs who’ve brought these players through from young ages, when the FA, the national side, or the under-21 side couldn’t care less how they progress further.
Keyser – thanks again for your comments.
There is a structure in place and it’s well established – pick the best players available to you who meet the age criteria and have the right passport. That’s pretty much the mandate as an international coach!
However, let’s ignore that for a second and imagine that you’re right – there is no structure in place in terms of player selection. (And to a certain extent you are; for example Theo Walcott is still eligible but isn’t being chosen, probably so as not to rile Wenger any more than necessary!).
If there is no structure in place, how will it be established? Where do we start? Who leads it? When do we begin?
The reason I chose the last World Cup as my starting point was because at the time it really felt like we as a nation were about to start embracing the fundamental changes that are needed to benefit England’s development!
As I’ve written however, it now appears that a lot of what was written by mainstream journos at the time about serious reform etc were just words – hot air to pass the time before a new season began to let us forget about all that serious stuff.
In my opinion this 2011 U-21 should be that starting point. And Wilshere, as England’s best player at that level, should be the first example (and if it was Rooney/McEachran/Carroll or whoever else I’d say the same – this isn’t club specific).
Otherwise big clubs are just going to continue to run roughshod over England’s development at youth level like this and managers will continue to pull stunts like this to derail England’s hopes with the aim of benefiting their own clubs.
Some of the comments in here are so blinkered and biased and plain WRONg its unreal. Everyone should be able to have an opinion but dont make crap up to justify it.
Ozil was a full international (but not a nailed on started just like Wilshire isnt nailed on starter wither) before going to the U21 competition.
He also played 47 games before the U21 Euros 44 after it then into the World cup. Pretty certain during that time he went to the UEFA final as well didnt he?
Being a full international and going has nothing to do with it, Busquets is a WORLD CUP winner, a CL winner. And he has over 80 games for Barca to his name he is in the Spain provisional squad. Bojan who has 100+ Barca games is included also. As are 2 more WC winners in Mata and oh the other name eludes my old brain
If Wilshire was burnt out earlier this season then Wenger should have rested him! HE knew about this end of season competition, but thought ‘hey its ok, i can force him out of it by announcing he is in before the FA do, kick up a media fuss and then walk all over the FA’ Thats what happened last friday when the U21 squad was due to be announced. It was put back to monday to try and resolve it. And the resolution was…Wilshire released.
People need to remember he isnt an integral part of the international set up, Rooney went in started and didnt look back. Wilshire isnt and wont do that.
Other european nations have leagues which do not have as much power/money as the PL and thats probably why their stars play U21s, seniors etc.
I understand Arsenal and Wenger wanting to protect his players, but surely you dont just protect them when the seasons over do it when they need it. He didnt just get fatigued on the last minute of the last day of the season!
Thankyou Powlay! You’ve hit the nail on the head. I’ve been looking into it after reading comments here and so far it’s apparent that Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels and Sami Khedira were all regular first team players at their clubs before the Euro 2009 U-21s – and Neuer & Khedira had also both experienced Champions League football. And that’s just from the few I’ve looked up so far.
Your points above also highlight what I’m getting at, particularly with Busquets who is apparently keen to go.
I think ultimately Wenger has used his power as a prominent PL manager to influence the media to sympathise with him & rather than think back to the problems highlighted last summer post-World Cup they’ve bought it hook, line & sinker. Wenger wins the media battle for his club (good for him) but England lose out.
Wilshire will god willing be playing for england for the next decade. The fact that grown mnn who are charged with managing him (capello and Pearce) are letting him dictate wether he should play or not.
The fact is he’s a 19 year old playing his first season for a big club. He plays for the senior national team, why should he be pre-occupied with a youth tournament?
Good on Arsenal for smacking Stuart Pearce around. Prick got schooled and shown up as a craven self-serving manager.
Im sorry you seem to have typed in Capello & Pearce as the grown men who are letting him decide to pla or not.
If you are THAT blind that you cannot see its Wenger making the choices for Wilshire then this realy isnt going to get anywhere. Wilshere didnt go to the sports science part of arsenal say ‘look lads im tired knock me up a report that says so much please’ nor did he hold a presser where he claimed that this decision ‘was the wrong choice that it would jeperdise his career’
Wenger did though.
Like i origionally said, Wenger has the right to protect his own players. His job is Arsenal not England.
Also with a fit Gerrard and Lampard we (read as non arsenal fans) know that Little Jack isnt going to be anywhere near starting in next summers Euros, so he will have plenty of time resting on the bench wont he
This entire article is plain rubbish. LAZY JOURNALISM is what it is, with a cynical attempt to stair up debate on an issue that is clearly bereft of logic.
All the arguments for Wilshere playing the U21 are plainly ignorant of the most common fact. You move up in the football level which you play at not downwards. PERIOD.
WILSHERE HAS PLAYED IN U16, U17, U19 AND U21 ALREADY.
He has already been picked for the Senior squad multiple times.
It is simply ridiculous for U21 management, to not be able to find talent but rather demote talent from the Senior Squad. Whats the %&*%&% point of the youth side, if you have to keep floating between Senior Squad and Youth Squad??
Would SPAIN ask Fabregas to play in the U21’s? NO
Would Argentina ask Messi to play in the U21’s? NO
I for one am in total agreement with Wilshere. He shouldn’t play in the U21. He is a senior squad member now and should only be aiming for that.
Seriously, What does it say about the state of the national game, when the U21 team has to raid the Senior squad for players?? Think about that.
With the greatest respect, people like you really grind my gears. Yeah, this isn’t really how I feel about the subject at all – it’s just a cynical attempt to ’stir up debate’! You’ve got me rumbled! I really am that shallow!
You call me lazy, but even with all the facts, quotes and information presented to you right here, and in the comments by other more reasoned, intelligent people than yourself – YOU STILL DIDN’T READ THEM PROPERLY!
1) You’re “in total agreement with Wilshere”…but Wilshere is on record as saying he wanted to go. “It can only be good for my career,” the Gunners midfielder said. Nice one on that, great argument. Then,
2) You imply that Spain or Argentina would never call up proven senior players… but Busquets is in Spain’s preliminary squad for this year’s 2011 U-21 tournament… AFTER WINNING A WORLD CUP LAST YEAR!
So how is any of that in line with your “most common fact in football”, huh, oh wise knowledgeable one?
I wouldn’t usually reply like this. And if you want to disagree with me, great! I’m more than happy to debate it with anyone – that’s why we’re here and that’s why I wrote the piece.
But if you’re just going to come on here and throw around insults and baseless accusations at me personally, when your own entire argument is the laziest, biggest load of rubbish on this page, then I’m afraid I’m going to have to respond in kind.
Thanks for reading.
Comparing Wilshire now to a Fabregas or a Messi.
Clever.
Messi played for Argentina at the U20 World Cup and the Olympics. Will Wilshere play for England at the U20 World Cup later this summer and the Olympics next year (GB team permitting)? I doubt it.
I think an alternative angle, which we might not have discussed so far, is that the other U21 players will benefit more from the tournament if they play with high-quality teammates.
The core of the current Spain side played together in youth tournaments a decade ago, the spine of Manchester United’s treble-winners won the Youth Cup together 7 years earlier.
There’s a lot to be said for a team growing up together and – given that the current England generation have failed so many times – we should be giving the next generation as many opportunities to play together as possible looking towards the 2016 Euros and 2018 World Cups.
Instead, I think Jonathan sums up pretty well how short-termism within the senior management and self-interest amongst the PL clubs will probably damage England’s chances of future success.