In an exclusive blog for Eurosport-Yahoo, Joey Barton says England will continue to fail at international level until we allow young players to develop away from the limelight.
It’s often said that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result. On that basis, English football is insane.
We've come back from the World Cup and haven't improved for the experience or learnt from it. If I'm honest, I expect us to get beaten by the Swiss.
Player development in this country is good up to somewhere around 16 or 17. Then between 17 and 21 we're really poor. The development of players stops and we get obsessed with results and the top level.
All of a sudden players change from being youngsters who are developing in the game into being the best in the world and worth millions after five good performances.
Then, after a few bad performances, they're suddenly rubbish and getting vilified in the press. It's unfair to put that much pressure on such young players and it's naive to expect players under that much pressure so early to develop and fulfil their potential.
Just look at the current media coverage of Raheem Sterling, he's a top talent and he has loads of potential, but after a season of solid performances for Liverpool and England, he's being held up as the man that can change England's fortunes. He's 19.
Switzerland are a good example of how it can be done. They have a group of excellent young players like Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka, who have been allowed to focus on honing their skills rather than being hailed as the next national saviour.
As a result, Switzerland consistently punch above their weight considering the size of the country.
It’s a time of change for England after the passing of the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ - Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham, Scholes, Sol Campbell and all those boys.
For me, they were a generation of very good players; very good players individually, but they didn't make a good team. They didn't gel.
And strangely that gives me hope for the current England team: I do feel that Roy Hodgson has a chance to build a team of players that can work together as a collective without, as yet, any of the huge reputations and individual agendas that may have hurt some squads over the last 10 years or so.
Roy has lost that trusted midfield duo of Gerrard and Lampard, so he is looking to try out some of the younger players. From what I've seen of Jack Colback, he looks energetic, full of running, and similarly with Fabian Delph. Only time will tell whether they have what it takes to become full internationals.
The appointment of Wayne Rooney as captain is a strange one for me. When you look at the options Roy had, it was down to Wayne and Gary Cahill. And with the utmost respect for Gary Cahill, Wayne's international goals, his tournament experience and his experience with Manchester United, made him the obvious choice.
While he's not the most vocal leader on the pitch, he leads by example and he's won pretty much everything there is to win in the game. But the England captaincy comes with a lot of pressure, and for a man who is already getting a fair amount of stick for his performances from some sections of the media and the fans, it's a lot of added weight on his shoulders.
But being the man he is, I'd expect him to thrive on that pressure. I suppose we'll have to wait and see.
By: Joey Barton @Eurosport, Sept 7
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