For over ten years, Gary Neville indisputably owned the number 2 shirt for England. Nobody came near him in terms of ability for both club and country so, when he was injured, there was a great difficulty in replacing him. Whilst the substitutes were adequate enough, it was tough to describe them as quality players. Did anyone think England were going to win the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea with Danny Mills at right-back?
Often enough with the England side, there is always one position with which there is a struggle. Most famously, perhaps, is the search for a left winger; though with the likes of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing, amongst others, staking their claim to be first choice on the left side of midfield, those days could be numbered.
Nowadays, the main conundrum for Fabio Capello is who to have at right-back for the national side. This is not down to a lack of options. Rather, it is too many options which give the Italian such a headache. As opposed to having to decide between two or three players, it is not hyperbolic to suggest that Capello has no less than six players of genuine quality to choose from for the right back slot.
Based on form - the way in which Capello said he would pick his squads rather than choosing players because of their name and reputation - Manchester City’s Micah Richards has to be the stand-out candidate.
The improvement in the 23-year-old’s game has been immeasurable since the takeover at Eastlands. Perhaps it was the threat of losing his place in the team that has seen Richards thrive under Mark Hughes and now Roberto Mancini. Richards has had to improve himself to mirror the improvement that has been taking place around him at the club.
Crucially for England, Richards’ partner down the right-hand side is James Milner – a fellow international. Together, the pair have been in devastating form with the 6-1 derby thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford proving that the pair have the potential to work as a partnership for club as well as country.
Whilst being solid defensively, Richards is usually one of the first names on the City team-sheet despite not being one of the big-money signings made in the Sheikh Mansour era, the former England Under-21 international is just as good going forward. He has five assists to his name in the Premier League so far and he bagged his first goal of the season in City’s 3-1 win over Newcastle last weekend
Built like a tank with pace to boot, Richards’ exclusion from the recent England squads for the friendlies against Spain and Sweden were as baffling and inexplicable as any decision Capello has made during his tenure as England manager. Taking to Twitter to give his reaction, Richards said that to say he was “disappointed is an understatement” and stated that he needs to “roll the sleeves up and work harder”.
Perhaps it is the way in which he failed to deal with Franck Ribéry of Bayern Munich in the Champions League tie at the Allianz Arena that sealed his fate under Capello but he was given no support from the midfield on that night and it is arguably his only poor performance of the season to date. Even so, it does not explain his exclusion from the England squad and gives more fuel to the fire for the argument that Capello will never pick Richards for the England squad, regardless of what he does for his club.
One of Richards’ main competitors for the right-back slot is Glen Johnson of Liverpool, already capped 35 times by England.
In recent years, Johnson has established himself as England’s top right back though doubts remain about his ability as a defender; many think he is more adept at going forward than he is defensively. It is for this reason that he has occasionally been employed on the right of midfield for his club though it has not been as successful as Gareth Bale’s positional change on the opposite flank for Tottenham.
Johnson’s critics cite an eagerness to get forward as one of his shortcomings as he leaves a lot of space which is easily exploitable for the better international sides, particularly the likes of Spain, Holland, Brazil and Germany. It is a naivety that is to be expected of a rookie, not a player who has been on the international scene for eight years.
Evidence does not come in short supply. At the World Cup in South Africa, Johnson was found wanting at right-back and took a portion of blame for three of Germany's goals in the 4-1 defeat. First, he left Lukas Podolski in acres of space whilst occupying the position of a centre half; he was then too committed to England attacks in vain attempts to rescue the match and the space he left was used superbly by the Germans, who counter-attacked clinically and mercilessly.
In defence of Johnson, it was not just he who was poor that day. The whole defence was abysmal; though the shortcomings of Ashley Cole, John Terry and Matthew Upson were not as exposed to exploited as those of Johnson.
Whilst Johnson was out injured, Kelly took over as right-back at Liverpool and did not disappoint manager Kenny Dalglish. Indeed, when Johnson returned from injury he was forced to play at left back due to the superb form of Kelly. With the signing of the imperious José Enrique bolstering Liverpool’s options at left-back over the summer, Johnson has reverted to his familiar role of right-back, usurping Kelly in the process though the youngster says that he is lucky to have the 27 year-old as a mentor for both club and country.
The ex-Chelsea man not only faces a battle to be the number one right-back for his country, but his club too, thanks to the blossoming of Martin Kelly - another player who can harbour genuine hopes of being England right-back.
The 21 year-old has been in fine form for England’s under-21 side, with three goals in his five appearances to date. With Stuart Pearce playing such an important role within the full squad, one has to wonder how long it is before Psycho’s influence begins to rub off on Fabio Capello in favour of Kelly.
One thing that may count against Kelly, however, is the fact that he is not a natural right-back. Throughout his days in Liverpool’s academy, he was played at centre back and it is only since his breakthrough into the first team at Anfield that he has become regarded as a quality full-back.
Putting a seemingly square peg into a round hole has not stopped Fabio Capello from taking Manchester United’s Phil Jones and Chris Smalling into consideration for the right-back slot. Whilst Smalling, Jones and Kelly can be said to be versatile - not a bad quality to have when at a tournament - they are not natural full-backs.
Of the three, it is Kelly who is most likely to permanently become a right-back. Jones is primarily a centre half but has been deployed both at right back and in midfield by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United whilst Smalling has appeared at centre half, his natural position, and right-back.
Although Jones is a promising talent, Capello has compared him to the legendary Franco Baresi; he is prone to untimely demonstrations of his naivety. By playing on instinct rather than with his brain, Jones often allows himself to be drawn into positions of great vulnerability. In Manchester United’s 3-3 draw with FC Basle in the Champions League, he was caught well out of position as he ventured forward and was unable to track back in time to stop the Basle counter-attack which led to their equaliser.
Smalling, on the other hand, has demonstrated a great maturity which saw Capello have enough faith in the former Fulham player to allow him to make his debut for England at right-back for the crucial Euro 2012 qualifier away in Bulgaria.
A change of club for Jones and Smalling has boosted the international credentials of both in the eyes of Capello, who has acknowledged their quick development by giving both players their international debuts since they moved to Old Trafford from Blackburn and Fulham respectively.
If either Smalling or Jones wish to become a permanent fixture on the right-hand side of the England defence, they have an obstacle in their way in the shape of Kyle Walker.
The Spurs right-back made his England debut in the recent friendlies with Spain and Sweden, winning the man of the match award in the latter, following excellent form for his club so far this season which included the winning goal in the North London derby back in October.
Walker, undoubtedly, has reaped the benefit of loan spells – particularly his time at Aston Villa for the second half of last season in which he gained invaluable experience of the Premier League. His return to Spurs has seen him become the first-choice right-back at White Hart Lane in his first full season of Premier League football and he looks set to become one of their key players for years to come.
His pace, which he has in excess, is arguably his main asset and offers him great strength going forward as shown in Tottenham’s recent victory at Fulham where Walker got to a ball he had no right to and put a cross in which Gareth Bale forced into the back of the net off of the unfortunate Chris Baird. However, like Johnson and Jones, Walker’s attacking instincts may leave him exposed and, therefore, not a ‘safe’ option at right-back for Capello.
There was a time when an injury to an England right-back would have meant crisis. Now, though, any injuries to any right-back would not significantly weaken the quality available. England have gone from having one automatic choice at right-back to six possibilities – an embarrassment of riches which must be deal with.
Fabio, it’s your choice.
