Convict Colony

Young and restless Rodwell’s advice that English players should avoid the Etihad disguises the fact that he failed to make it at that level Rod Liddle Published: 10 August 2014 Comment (0) Print Rod Liddle WERE you aware that Jack Rodwell was still alive? He is, he is. Last week he signed for Sunderland for ten million quid, a couple of million less than Manchester City paid for him from Everton in 2012. In the two seasons he spent at the Etihad he played a total of 16 Premier League games, just five of them coming last time around. No, he wasn’t injured — just not good enough to hold down a regular first-team place. Rodwell was one of the players we talked about with much hope and optimism at the start of the decade, part of a new generation of English players who were young, dynamic, adept with the ball — ready to step into the national side and vanquish all that came before them. Well, we saw how that worked out, to a degree, in Brazil; less the golden generation, we were tempted to conclude, than the zinc generation: distinctly modest in both aspiration and ability. Unfair, perhaps. But I wonder, too, if it was the hyperbole heaped upon the likes of Rodwell — and to a lesser degree Scott Sinclair and Adam Johnson — that was the clincher in convincing them they could cut it at Manchester City, become regulars on the team sheet instead of merely being wheeled out for Carling Cup matches and maybe the early rounds of the FA Cup. Or was it their grasping agents and the lure of unimaginable amounts of wonga? Or simple hubris? Rodwell seems to have regretted ending up in Manchester and, in interviews just before the weekend, urged other young English players to think twice before signing on to play alongside Aguero and Kompany et al. It is better to be playing regularly for a lesser team, was the gist of Rodwell’s advice. It seems likely to me that Rodwell would have been in the England World Cup squad had he stayed at Everton — all the more so given the recent arrival on the scene of a similarly exciting midfield partner, Ross Barkley. Samir Nasri, Rodwell’s former City colleague, suggests in an interview with Martin Hardy on the facing page that players make pragmatic decisions based on what is good for their careers, and that the money is only a contributory factor. Perhaps. It has to be said that despite being close to ever-present for Manchester City last season, Nasri couldn’t force his way into the French World Cup squad, but that’s another issue. You might expect Rodwell to reinvent himself successfully at Sunderland, much as Adam Johnson has, of course. I’m not sure how big the distance was between Johnson being a member of Roy Hodgson’s squad for Brazil and being on the stand-by rota; it must, by the end of an excellent season for the born-again Mackem, have been very close. England have become adept at producing wingers of the week — young, fast players who sparkle briefly and everyone thinks they are the second coming before they fade perceptibly over the course of a few games. Remember when we believed that Shaun Wright-Phillips was the business? Or Andros Townsend? Or Aaron Lennon? The jury is still out on Raheem Sterling, I suppose. But Johnson, less mercurial than the aforementioned, knows better how to cross the ball and score the occasional goal — and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him back in the England squad sometime very soon. His time at the Etihad was fraught and uncomfortable; I wonder if Rodwell looked at Johnson’s move to Sunderland and thought, “Yep, that’s what I should do, right now.” The young British players who really can cut it at the very top Premier League clubs are few and far between, and mostly Welsh. Both Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale could expect regular starts for Manchester City, I suspect. Who else? England’s Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson? You’re having a laugh. I doubt Daniel Sturridge would get many more starts in pale blue than he did while wearing the navy blue of Chelsea, either. Successive Manchester City managers look at English players and see value only in the humble and honest water-carriers: James Milner and Gareth Barry were close to ever present in various City sides over the past seven or eight years. Oh, and Joe Hart, of course. How did that happen? The suspicion is that City and Chelsea will battle it out for the title this season so I suppose it is no coincidence that these are the teams where young English players find it most difficult to break through and instead will watch their careers dissipate from the bench, at best. They fare much, much, better at Arsenal, where Smokin’ Jack Wilshere, Ramsay, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain and Theo Walcott have all thrived during Arsène Wenger’s period of not winning anything whatsoever *****il May). And that’s probably the hard truth of it, proven in Manaus and Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte: they are simply not quite good enough. The nucleus of future England sides will be playing, this season, for Arsenal, Southampton and Liverpool; anyone want to take a bet that all three teams end up as also-rans?

Hahaha I like you (no homo)

Is dave watson wearing headphones and watching his iPad ? must be catching up on True Detective

Respect Bob

Slow news day huh

Fairplay I think Artur will stay unless he can get the same wage somewhere or will wait until Jan and see if Legia want him for slightly less then he will go to them.

how can your opinion be very accurate without inside knowledge

hopefully the usual **** from twitter but just in case TRANSFER NEWS @Transfer_News_8 BREAKING NEWS: #Spurs agree fee with #Southampton for Morgan Schneiderlin #thfc #saintsfc

My feeling on most ITK's who are not Guan or Monk or K billy is that a broken watch is right twice a day. We could all state forcefully that all the players we have been linked to this week should be signed by Saturday and then if they don't state some reason as to why it didn't complete. It's not rocket science, we've been linked with rojo, forster and hope to get them over the line this week as discussed all week on this forum. Am I ITK ? No but a collection of evidence points to this having a good chance of happening.

As opposed to one of our youth team being called Armani

god when will the pain end and the elation begin. until then......

And transfers between clubs are what?

Doyen Group info, seem pretty professional unit. http://www.sportindustry.biz/news/view/12128/kay-%26-oliveira-launch-new-sports-venture

I still don't understand the rule that cos you've spunked your beans up some doris it means you can all now get on the aeroplane before everyone else. Its like being stuck behind someone in the airport security line who is surprised that upon reaching the machine they have to get their laptop out and empty the **** out of their pockets. The 2 things that **** me off at airports, everything else in life I am phlegmatic but those 2 **** me off.

To be fair he looks f*cking mustard and has some pace as well.

talk celtic's server is currently in melt down, you can't even see how irate they are

wouldn't want to be polish in scotland tonight

If the total for a world cup final playing left sided CB/LB is under half of Luke Shaw I will take that all day and every day

This thread got me interested in over the last couple of year's how many muslim players have we had. I thought let me check about Dusan and found this from an old BBC article !!!! "Dusan Tadic is a small-town cafe owner and karate instructor who has been described both as a loving family man, and as a freelance executioner at a concentration camp for Muslims during the Bosnian war." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/515851.stm Anyway back to my original thought, obviously Jaidi, Belhmadi anyone else ? I am sure there are plenty. Also wanted to check Ramadan wasn't in season given this year's is finished and next years is mid June- mid July.

Are libertines still classed as a band, can't remember if they are still formed this week or not

i hope your gut talks sense

My rates were over an hour ago , currency fluctuations old chap, maybe Les thinks the Euro is going to strengthen so trying to close it quickly.

poch's ego means he can't buy any argentinian defenders who have played in a world cup final his when I stories wouldn't impress him at all.

Someone really needs to look over the last 2 season's and work out an accuracy margin or some sh*t then apply it to this season's rating above. I can't cos my cat is sat on me and my dog is eating my foot.

I learn't the hard way