England team can benefit from football intelligence

Everton centre-back John Stones is one of a number of talented young English players who seem to possess football intelligence

The England national team has been given a battering in the media since the World Cup.

The Three Lions decent displays in their Euro 2016 qualification campaign, albeit against inferior opposition, have gone some way to putting right some of the wrongs of World Cup 2014.

The England team is slightly like that old nursery rhythm the Grand Old Duke of York.

When they are up they are up and when they are down they are down, or so the media would have you believe.

Hysteria

When a young English player breaks into a Premier League first team there seems to be mass hysteria that they are going to be ‘the next Wayne Rooney’ or ‘the new Alan Shearer). Most of those youngsters fall by the wayside and enjoy decent careers, but none can live-up to the hype.

Tottenham striker Harry Kane is currently in the midst of such hysteria. He is suddenly the saviour of English football and the man that will lead England to glory. When in truth he is a 21-year-old guy with less than a season of Premier League football under his belt.

I am a big fan of Harry Kane and he does seem to have the attributes to become a very good player in the future, but the media have to be careful about how they hype up the youngster.

Kane is set for his first England start against Italy on Tuesday night, after coming off the bench to score after just 79 seconds in England’s 4-0 win over Lithuania on Friday night.

Potential

It would be like shooting fish in a barrel criticising England boss Roy Hodgson and his team. England does have some players with potential coming through the ranks at club level and hopefully they are given chances to play regular first team football.

England’s under-21 side defeated their German counterparts 3-2 last night and showed that there is quality within the junior ranks for the Three Lions.

First Team

The key to for youngsters fulfilling their potential is gaining regular first team football, without having the weight of a nation put on their shoulders. A number of English youngsters have gained more first team football this season and developed well for it.

Kane at Tottenham is the biggest example of an English player getting his chance and taking it with both hands. If young English players are good enough they will get chances at club level and that has been proven in the last few years by the likes of Everton’s Ross Barkley and Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling.

A young English player who has developed well because of regular first team football this season is Everton centre-back John Stones. The 20-year-old centre-back has become a key figure in the Toffees defence, despite missing a chunk of the season through injury.

When Stones has been missing from the Toffees team they have fallen apart at the back. The youngster played for England under-21’s in last night’s victory over the German’s alongside club teammate Luke Garbutt and seems to be an intelligent player.

Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse is another player who featured for the under-21’s and scored the winning goal. The youngster is a set-piece specialist and has played more regularly in the second part of the campaign for the Saints.

The young midfielder looks like he has the temperament and ability to eventually progress into the full England team.

Intelligence

Kane, Stones and Ward-Prowse all seem to have one thing in common, they all come across as level headed young guys, who also have football intelligence.

In the past young English footballers have failed to develop their talent because they have let fame and fortune go to their heads. They have not had the mental aptitude to deal with their position and their careers have suffered for it.

It is impossible to predict whether Kane, Stones or Ward-Prowse will develop into top-class players, but to use an old fashioned phrase they all seem to have good heads on their shoulders.

Optimism             

As the England national team prepares for tonight’s friendly game in Italy it is good to see that the Three Lions do have some promising players coming through who seem to have the mental attributes not to let their fame go to their heads.

Young English players do tend to get hyped up, but for once English football fans know that there may be a group of young players who have both the ability and temperament to fulfil their potential at international level, which can only be good news for the national team.

Does England have good enough youngsters to challenge top teams in the future?