Glacial is the word that springs to mind when contemplating international breaks these days. Every few weeks the hurly burly of the Premier League gives way to a version of the same sport that operates at a snail’s pace. That is not just watching England either. Time seems to stand still for the whole of the process, making Wayne Rooney losing his place a five-day drip-feed of suggestion, confirmation, reaction and then attempted rehabilitation, with the eventual match a bolted-on afterthought that leaves the landscape oddly unchanged, save for the somewhat surprising discovery that hardcore England fans believe Sam Allardyce was harshly treated.
Football supporters normally cannot wait for the domestic programme to start up again and it is tempting to believe managers and players feel the same way. For managers the intrusion of international football into the season has long been an irritation. At best, clubs get their players back tired and often late, with those involved in southern hemisphere fixtures frequently returning from long flights only a day or two before the next league match. At worst, players might pick up an injury while playing or even training for their country.
While not quite as anxious as their rugby union counterparts waving players off to an Eddie Jones training camp, football managers still know that during an international break the side envisaged for the next league game cannot be confirmed until everyone is counted back in and passed fit.
Players themselves must have similar worries. Excited as Jesse Lingard must have been about breaking through into Gareth Southgate’s side, an injury picked up while playing for England might have sidelined him for weeks and allowed someone else to take his place at Manchester United.
Yet physical injuries are probably only the half of it. Rooney already had a fight on his hands to recover his first-team place and establish a role for himself in José Mourinho’s reshaped side and now he returns with his England future also in doubt. Privately the captain must have been hoping to impress in England’s two games, to prove a point to his club manager rather in the way that Joe Hart did in saving the nation from defeat in Slovenia.
It did not quite happen that way. Rooney is captain of Manchester United and England, apparently unwanted by either, and even for a player with over a century of caps and the England goalscoring record it must be a career development that takes a psychological toll. He says he is not finished with England, though he must know someone else will be the judge of that – if not Southgate, then the caretaker manager’s successor.
Retiring a current England captain is never something easily managed. It is usually best if the player himself makes the decision, as Alan Shearer suggested. He was not telling Rooney to go, just advising him of a way out. Shearer himself knew perfectly well back in 2000 that, if he did not force the issue, Kevin Keegan would still carry on picking him, even though the player and the rest of the country could see past the armband and recognise a change was necessary.
At least Southgate has proved willing to drop his captain, something a few of his predecessors found difficult, though as long as Rooney remains captain the issue will recur with every international. Rooney is not really Southgate’s captain either – he is Allardyce’s. Every new England manager, at least every permanent one, has a chance at the outset to name his captain, ideally choosing or retaining someone who is bound to be among the first names on the teamsheet for the foreseeable future. Allardyce rather let that situation drift, even going as far as to suggest it was not even his job to tell Rooney where to play, and, if that was what Southgate meant when he said he had inherited a mess, few would disagree.
The problem for Rooney and Mourinho is that the mess now goes straight back to Manchester United. Like most of the other England players, Rooney was unimpressive in the international break but, if he still wants further caps for his country, he is going to have to make the case at his club. And that might be quite difficult from the bench.
If Rooney has not played enough games by the time Scotland and Spain come round next month, Southgate’s decision will be an easy one. Over to you, José. Your captain, the guy you said would always play in attack, never in midfield, needs to hit form. You need to give him a game or two to show he still has what it takes. You have only Liverpool, Fenerbahce, Chelsea and Manchester City coming up in the next few days, so a bit of rotation would probably not go amiss anyway. Good luck.
Despite England’s shortcomings the international break is not all bad news, however, and at least Mourinho can count on a confident Paul Pogba returning to the fold after his stunning goal for France against Holland.
For much the same reason Christian Benteke is likely to be pleased with his weekend’s work as he rejoins Crystal Place, after striking the fastest goal in a competitive international, before completing a hat-trick. Hart goes back to Torino with praise ringing in his ears, having shown his true worth as a goalkeeper playing for his country, while England’s new midfield of Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson – a pair most people would have agreed Southgate should have used – rather fluffed their lines in Ljubljana. Both remain good players but this is the slightly unnerving effect internationals can have.
One particularly feels for Henderson, who is playing well for his club and found himself promoted to captain of his country when Rooney was left out in Slovenia, only to lose his bearings a couple of times in a generally hesitant performance. His head must be in a whirl too, and next up for him is Liverpool v Manchester United on Monday. Like everyone else he will have to get back up to speed quickly. Whatever is going to happen at Anfield, it is highly unlikely to be regarded as glacial.
