The Hampton Roar (Part 6)

The following article appeared in the programme for Racing Club Warwick v Market Drayton Town on 13th October 2007

Welcome to today’s match and the latest instalment of the season’s diary by your favourite Racing Club correspondent.

Saturday 8^th September – England v Israel, European Championships Qualifier

Saturday saw England hosting Israel in a European Championships qualification game at Wembley, the first of four England home qualifiers between now and November. Israel you may recall had held England to a 0-0 draw earlier in the group but were expected to be despatched comfortably by our boys. That was, at least, until the sick notes started to arrive on Steve McLaren’s desk with the withdrawal of David Beckham, Owen Hargreaves and Frank Lampard in particular plus doubts about Stevie Gerrard right up until the day before. This was coupled with the continuing absence of Wayne Rooney and, with Peter Crouch suspended for the game, McLaren took the brave decision to give Emile Heskey his first start for three years. I say brave because the press and the public seem to have something of a downer on Heskey, the striker who doesn’t score enough goals but who, in my opinion at least, is a real handful thereby allowing Michael Owen greater freedom to score. McLaren, it seems, is on the verge of being compared to a root vegetable a la Graham Taylor but we’ve got to give him a proper chance and the hacks and pundits were strangely quiet about McLaren following this England performance.

The game kicked off at 5PM and the time was notable for the fact that the national sides of England’s three premier team sports were all in action simultaneously for possibly the first time ever with the Rugby Union side in World Cup action in France against the USA whilst our cricketers were polishing off India at Lords. The 5PM kick off enabled club sides up and down the country to finish their matches and hopefully ensured packed club houses and plenty of cash ringing its way into the tills at the bar. Racing Club faced Causeway United at home in a match that I had to miss in order to get to Wembley in time. Of course, in view of my enforced absence, Racing decided to put in one of their best performances of the season so far in delivering a 2-2 draw and only our fourth point – since I’ve not see us do anything other than lose so far this season perhaps I should stay away more often – anybody fancy sponsoring me to go elsewhere?

Israel have been a somewhat dangerous side in qualification groups over the years whilst never quite doing enough to qualify themselves. Their last major tournament appearance was in Mexico in 1970 but they have frightened the life out of teams like France since then before bowing out at the final hurdle. So I had high expectations of Israel despite the usual lazy line from the press and those idiots who call the phone-in shows who assume that England have a natural right to victory simply because we are England. As it happens however, on this occasion the press and other idiots got it spot on! Despite England’s weakened side, Israel were never a match for their dominant hosts and I cannot recall a genuine chance for them. Our first goal came courtesy of Shaun Wright-Phillips and this was followed in the second-half by a peach of an effort from Michael Owen, edging ever closer to the 40 goals for England mark and in sight of that record, and a first goal in an England shirt by Micah Richards. Wright-Phillips was voted man of the match but in my opinion Rio Ferdinand was the pick of the bunch, hardly putting a foot wrong during the entire match. So 3-0 to England and what a sweet but unusual feeling it was to be going home on a Saturday night with the side that I supported having won! Bring on the Ruskies!

Wednesday 12^th September – England v Russia, European Championships Qualifier

On the evening prior to the England game, Racing Club had slipped up once again, this time going down to a heavy defeat at Westfields in deepest darkest Hereford. For once I was grateful that my better half doesn’t permit me the “pleasure” of more than one midweek fixture. I would have to choose and thankfully I chose Wembley and the visit of Russia, my first sighting of Russia having seen them in their former guise of USSR three times in the 80’s and 90’s. Russia would be a completely different proposition to Israel. They were 24^th in FIFA’s rankings compared to England’s 12^th going into this game and unbeaten in 17 matches having only conceded one goal in the Qualification Group. And they’re managed by Guus Hiddink, a man apparently offered the England manager’s job ahead of Steve McLaren but who turned it down because he’d already given his word to the Russians. If this makes Hiddink sound like he’s a cut above McLaren then it’s worth adding that he was the manager of the Holland side ruthlessly ripped apart by Terry Venables’ England in that classic 4-1 victory during euro96 and, if the press are to be believed (and why would anyone ever do that?), has never been victorious over an English club side in several attempts. It’s worth noting that the Russian top flight is now amongst the strongest in Europe. Russian club sides seem to be rolling in cash with several of their top sides bankrolled by all kinds of nouveau riche multi-millionaires of dubious persuasion. Russian players are therefore well experienced in UEFA competition. Yes this game was going to be a stern test alright.

You can imagine my surprise therefore at the ease with which England brushed the Russians aside. The match finished 3-0 to England thanks to a brace from Michael Owen and a rare effort from Rio Ferdinand. Owen’s goals were number 39 and 40 in an England making him fourth in the all-time scorers table after those other illustrious names Bobby Charlton, Gary Lineker and Jimmy Greaves. Owen’s second was made for him by his favourite striking partner Emile Heskey thanks to a route one effort that Heskey managed to nod across to an unmarked Owen having sucked two Russian defenders into the aerial challenge. The Russians did manage to get the ball into the net which would have made the score 1-1 but the effort was somewhat harshly disallowed. Generally the Russians looked threatening without really forcing Robinson into having to make saves and I would sum their performance up as having been (thankfully) disappointing. Surely they cannot be as poor again in Moscow on their plastic pitch?

So Steve McLaren has every right to thumb his nose to both the so-called gentlemen of the press and, indeed, certain corners of Soho Square who had preferred Hiddink to home grown McLaren. In particular the press should be held to account for some of their conjecture. England were several players short of their strongest side and yet had put in two high class performances against international opposition who are no mugs. Prior to the Israel game the press had been dusting down their pictures of root vegetables, ready to superimpose McLaren’s fizz-gog onto a turnip or a swede. After two convincing wins the public debate has turned to the question of whether McLaren should keep this scratch side together at the expense of Messrs Lampard, Beckham, Rooney, Hargreaves et al (sadly it’ll never happen as Heskey succumbed to the dreaded metatarsal injury playing for Wigan the following Saturday). How can we possibly go from having “no strength in depth” to being unable to accommodate several of our stars within a matter of four days? Get a grip media men! In my view they should be printing headlines such as “Sorry Steve” or “Magnificent McLaren”. Pigs will fly sooner of course and we all know that should England slip up in Moscow the knives will be out once more but one has to ask who the alternative to McLaren is. Stick with Steve please!

Keep the faith!