Paul Scholes back for England? Don’t make me laugh!

When Paul Scholes played in the Champions League final last year both Xavi and Iniesta were desperate for his shirt. For them Paul Scholes was their inspiration, much like they are for many kids around the world today. It shows how highly regarded Scholes has been by fans and players around the world. Is he as highly regarded in own country as his in others? In his absence United struggled and his return to United has resulted in an improvement in results and performances. Yet on the back of a few decent performances there are many in the media pushing for a return to England, what does this say about state of English football when our hopes rest on a player just out of retirement?

No-one can doubt how good Scholes' career has been. He has played over 450 games for the biggest team in England and possibly the world since 1994, in that time scoring 103 goals. He has won every trophy a player can wish to win in club football and has been instrumental in United’s success during his career. Many young players may not realise how good Scholes was a decade and so before. A good comparison today would be Fabregas; a play maker who makes runs into the box and who creates and scores goals regularly. The modern Scholes has been more like Pirlo in the way he plays deep and looks to be a deep lying playmaker with his pin point passing ability. In either position, Scholes has been excellent and his recent performances have shown that even a short retirement has not limited his class.

Of a career showered in trophies in club football, there appears to be a void left in his international career. Should Scholes have played more than 66 games for his country? Of course. Xavi is a good example of a player who shows what could have been had Scholes been used as the focal point of the team.Could Scholes have been an essential part of winning the Euro’s and World Cup for England as Xavi has been for Spain? Why did a player with so much class have to retire so young? His reasons were simple; he was not used effectively, especially under Ericcson.  

There are a lot of if’s in football, yet imagine if the England team had been revolved around Scholes like Spain is with Xavi, would we have been more successful? I think so. We struggle in this country to accommodate quality, trying instead try to fit square pegs in round holes by fitting players to a tactic which offers little room for movement and fluidity. Playing Scholes on the left side of midfield reduced his influence. As with everything hindsight is a great thing, what is important is that lessons must be learnt from Scholes’ England career about how to get the best out of quality players.

For the past few weeks Scholes has returned to a United team who have struggled at times this season; the Champions League campaign was too casual, games in the Premier League have been either average or very poor, even the Arsenal and Chelsea performances at Old Trafford lacked the quality required to be title winners. It is only in the past few weeks that performances have improved and this does appear to coincide with Scholes’ return. The media appears to have started a campaign to get Scholes back into the England team, this is preposterous. Scholes has brought experience to this United side, yet his performances have not been fantastic, he is a continuity player who retains possession and dictates the tempo of play. Yet, the media has decided to hype up Scholes creating a frenzy where people believe he is the answer, the missing link to England being victorious.

There are many reasons why England don’t need Scholes back; most importantly he is a man who is beyond his best and has no room to improve. If people believe that England need Scholes then are not being fair or honest, if anything they are being deceived by the media. There are other players who do deserve to play for England; this season has seen an on-going improvement in a rejuvenated Scott Parker who is now playing for a better side and in arguably the best midfield in the Premier League. His performances have been top class and he has shown that he can make the step up from a relegation team to a title challenge side. His name should be on the England team sheet for the coming years.

And next to him should not be Scholes but another United player, Michael Carrick. Carrick has been much criticised in his time at United, yet he has been a major part in a side which has won 4 domestic titles and has been in 3 Champions League finals, winning one. People questioned how United would replace Keane in midfield, Carrick has been the man to fill the void and led United to being more consistent than in the Keane era. He is a player who doesn’t steal the headlines and this is important, he retains possession, starts attacks and is disciplined, which gives the attacking players more confidence to push forward. With Parker and Carrick in midfield and with players like Wilshere, an improved Gareth Barry, Phil Jones and Jack Rodwell either as back up or potential stars, then there is no need for Scholes, Lampard or Gerrard.

The England team needs a new start, a new midfield to build on and to prevent the reliance on players who have not performed well enough. The team needs experience which Parker and Carrick have, this is essential in order to aid the development of young players coming through. The media and FA needs to look to the future, not just the next tournament. We have a habit of being short termist which becomes a chronic issue to the development of the team as we rely on the same players again and again and fail to use new players who without getting experience end up lacking the experience, it is Catch 22.

The new manager needs to do more than just prepare for the next tournament; they need to put in place the foundations to build not just the current team but the teams for the future. A way of playing, all the way to down to grassroots level needs to be implemented in order to have a philosophy that is constantly evolving from generation to generation. It is worrying therefore that the favourite for the job is Harry Redknapp, I have argued for him to get the role based on the populist outpouring from the fans and players, however his comments regarding Scholes indicate a worrying trend for the “old guard” to be kept in the team. Under Redknapp I can see Terry, Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes and even Beckham being used, this is just not what is required for the team to progress.

The best man for the job may be Stuart Pearce, he has experience with the England set up, he has worked with the youth teams and has an understanding of the need for development. His manner and low profile may stand him in good stead for the future of the team. A team who have planned for the future has been Brasil who have used the past 2 years as a way to develop their young stars for 2014, we have lost another 2 years by using the old guard again. This must be a time to move on from the old boys and make a fresh start. Scholes has been an excellent player, yet his comeback should only be at United.