Why club means more than country to Jamie Carragher
IT'S no wonder players are going round saying losing with England never hurts as much as it does with their own club.
You'd probably feel the same if you'd been messed about as much as Jamie Carragher has by his country. But the fact that he should have won many more caps and was hardly ever played in his best position is just the tip of the iceberg in the club v country debate.
Most people I spoke to in the press room in Barcelona for the Andorra v England game on Saturday were pretty much of the same opinion. Good on Jamie for being so honest about it.
If push comes to shove most people would rather their club do well. If their country does well on the back of it, then fine, but it's no surprise there is increasing disillusionment where England is concerned. Carragher's Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard expressed it too with his complaints that he has only been played in his favourite central midfield role five times in 68 appearances.
That stat surprises me, I must admit, but accurate or not, it raises a serious point about how some players don't feel as loved by their country as they do with their clubs.
They don't tend to be the focal point when they get on the international stage and they find it hard to raise their game in the same way.
It's all very well complaining that Gerrard isn't the same player for England that he is with Liverpool but that's because he's not played in his best position. Play him 10 times in central midfield in succession and then you will see the same player.
And people can bleat on as much as they want about how when you're representing your country that should be motivation alone. But there are games in the Champions League that are more testing and more intense than many internationals now, especially in the qualifiers. So the club v country dynamic has changed completely.
Let's face it, Andorra away is not the highest level John Terry or anyone else will be playing at this month, let alone this season.
And as for atmosphere - Anfield on a European night or Belarus away on a wet Wednesday anybody?
Another myth that needs destroying is that this problem is a new thing, a symptom of the way club football has created footballers so wealthy they don't care about their countries any more.
The situation isn't like that. It's just a case of finding a compromise and a balance and that's the way it always has been.
Ireland once had a trip to Brazil, but me, Jim Beglin and Ronnie Whelan were told by Liverpool that they would rather we didn't go so we could rest. To them it sounded like a jolly so we pulled out to make our club the priority.
It was an unwritten rule but it's always gone on.
BY the way, why are club managers so unhappy about their players going away on international duty?
As far as I can see they get an awful lot of rest.
They don't train too hard and seem to be holed up in hotel rooms most of the time. No chance to run around taking the kids out or swanning round the shops.
Okay, the clubs are a bit miffed that they only get one day to prepare them for their next weekend game but then that's the same for all clubs in the top flight. I can't think of many who don't have a mass exodus.
But for the ones that do go away it's generally the most relaxing time of the season - so the managers should relax about it too.
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Good on Carra for speaking the truth. People should look at the real problem - Liverpool are a team, a family who fight for each other. England on the other hand are a group of players. A highly talented group sure, but rarely do they perform like a team. Of course players are not going to feel the same in taht environment.In Australia there is State of Origin Rugby League. One side regularluy picks their best 'team', the other tries to cram in the most big names they can often having players playing out of position. Guess which side shows the greater heart & commitment? If England continue to ask Stevie to play out of position (because he can) to accomodate Lampart (who can't) they will continue to fall short.
Bliv I totally agree with you.