Steven Gerrard left ‘hurt and broken’ by England’s World Cup failure
For a long time, Steven Gerrard just slouched in his chair, dark
smudges under his eyes, a week’s worth of stubble and staring into the
middle-distance at nothing in particular. He was “hurting bad, broken”
and Roy Hodgson talked about it being a “period of grieving”. But there
were glimpses of anger, too. Harry Redknapp has been the permanent
backdrop to the Hodgson years, always ready with a quote, smiling and
stabbing, and this time it became clear that the England manager, and
his captain, were sick and tired of it.
Gerrard was as animated in those moments as he has been at any England press conference since his long international career began. Redknapp had talked of a culture whereby players would approach him when he was the Tottenham manager and ask for a way to get out of England matches because it mattered so little to the modern-day footballer and was “too much aggro”.
It was a direct challenge from Gerrard. “Name them,” he said. “We need names. Come on, name them. Is it Aaron Lennon? Kyle Walker? Andros Townsend?”
Or Jermain Defoe, or Peter Crouch, Darren Bent, Scott Parker, David Bentley, Jermaine Jenas, Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone, Jonathan Woodgate, Ledley King? “It’s certainly not Jermain Defoe,” Hodgson said. Gerrard was convinced, too. “I’ve spoken to Jermain and he’s devastated.” So that leaves a smallish pool and that is the problem with Redknapp. He does not seem to realise that he is absent-mindedly incriminating others or talking of a culture that is news to the relevant people.
“If Harry is making a comment like that, he should name them and embarrass them,” Gerrard said. “If it’s the case, it’s disgusting. ‘They didn’t want to play for England? Who? Who does he mean? I don’t know who he means.”
Maybe it was just a way of letting out some pent-up frustration but there was anger in Gerrard’s voice and weariness in Hodgson’s. “I agree with Steven,” the manager said. “In the two years I’ve been here, I’ve seen a greater interest in playing for England, so Harry’s comments come as a bit of a surprise. If you make comments like that, you have to name the players. I could name a player with an educated guess, but ‘players’? It’s unfair to ask people to look back historically like that.”
And, besides, England’s failures out here have not been because the players do not care. Gerrard was a picture of absolute misery. “A mixture of emotions,” he explained. “Frustration, pain. The season for Liverpool ended badly for me. I was coming out of that, trying to put it to bed, trying to get some positivity back. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen, the exact way. The last couple of days have been grim. It hurts. It’s killing me not to have any positives to speak about.”
Jordan Henderson could be seen in the bowels of the Arena Corinthians on Thursday night, leant against a wall, rubbing the tears from his eyes, lost in his own thoughts. Some of the players asked to leave via a separate exit to avoid the cameras. Gary Cahill had to be excused interviews because he sensed he would break down. Leighton Baines did stop and, for a few brief moments, it looked as if he needed holding up. The left-back, overcome by fatigue and emotion, had thought he was going to faint. “No one in this group wants to go home,” Gerrard said. “No one. What Harry Redknapp has said, it’s 100% not here.”
They will fly back directly after Tuesday’s game against Costa Rica, which essentially takes on the form of a glorified friendly now Hodgson plans to field a team of the players who have scarcely figured yet. Baines strained his hamstring in Sunday’s training routine and will miss out but the idea was for Luke Shaw to play anyway. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, after all his work to get fit, had a setback in the same session and will look back on his World Cup as a personal ordeal. The other understudies, however, will start, with Frank Lampard captaining the team in his final appearance.
Gerrard will be involved as a substitute and then there will be the “long, terrible, frustrating summer” that he had warned about. Hodgson’s will not be a great deal of fun either.
“I haven’t been moping around staring at the wall,” the manager said. “I had a bad night and a bad day the following day. My job, leading the team, is to pull myself out of that and make sure the players aren’t suffering in the same way.
“So I’ve been working hard to make sure they get out of it and find the mental, physical and emotional strength to move on. A period of grieving is necessary and we also know we might wake up in three or four weeks’ time, it will all come back and we will feel miserable again, but that’s part of our lives now.
“I’ve had defeats in two European finals, I lost my job at Liverpool and I’ve had other moments. But this is England, a job that means so much to me, and so many people, a massive job. So this is the worst feeling I’ve known.”
Gerrard has made a sensible decision to delay his decision on whether he wants to continue but there is also an issue about whether Hodgson should be starting afresh anyway and easing out the old guard himself. Hodgson clearly disagrees given that he has asked Gerrard to remain as captain for the European Championship qualifying process, which would take him past his 36th birthday.
England’s manager often talks about the influence of Georges Bregy, who was 36 when Switzerland qualified from the group stages of the 1994 World Cup. Yet Gerrard’s brilliance in Brazil has been behind the scenes, as a captain of distinction; not, unfortunately for him, on the pitch.
In Hodgson’s case, he admitted he was “fortunate” not to have lost his job, such is the nature of his business, but tried to sound defiant. “I shan’t change my mind. I see no reason to resign. I feel allegiance to the players and the staff. I think we work well together. I accept this campaign has not been good but I’m grateful I’ve not been made the scapegoat and that people think I can take the team forward.
“I’ve not said that I’m the only coach out there, or that there will be other people who think there are better candidates. The bottom line is there’s no reason for me to have any serious doubts about the work I’ve done over the years and the qualities I bring to the team. I’m just happy that the people who analyse me think I am good as a coach and manager and they don’t need to go elsewhere.”
Gerrard was as animated in those moments as he has been at any England press conference since his long international career began. Redknapp had talked of a culture whereby players would approach him when he was the Tottenham manager and ask for a way to get out of England matches because it mattered so little to the modern-day footballer and was “too much aggro”.
It was a direct challenge from Gerrard. “Name them,” he said. “We need names. Come on, name them. Is it Aaron Lennon? Kyle Walker? Andros Townsend?”
Or Jermain Defoe, or Peter Crouch, Darren Bent, Scott Parker, David Bentley, Jermaine Jenas, Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone, Jonathan Woodgate, Ledley King? “It’s certainly not Jermain Defoe,” Hodgson said. Gerrard was convinced, too. “I’ve spoken to Jermain and he’s devastated.” So that leaves a smallish pool and that is the problem with Redknapp. He does not seem to realise that he is absent-mindedly incriminating others or talking of a culture that is news to the relevant people.
“If Harry is making a comment like that, he should name them and embarrass them,” Gerrard said. “If it’s the case, it’s disgusting. ‘They didn’t want to play for England? Who? Who does he mean? I don’t know who he means.”
Maybe it was just a way of letting out some pent-up frustration but there was anger in Gerrard’s voice and weariness in Hodgson’s. “I agree with Steven,” the manager said. “In the two years I’ve been here, I’ve seen a greater interest in playing for England, so Harry’s comments come as a bit of a surprise. If you make comments like that, you have to name the players. I could name a player with an educated guess, but ‘players’? It’s unfair to ask people to look back historically like that.”
And, besides, England’s failures out here have not been because the players do not care. Gerrard was a picture of absolute misery. “A mixture of emotions,” he explained. “Frustration, pain. The season for Liverpool ended badly for me. I was coming out of that, trying to put it to bed, trying to get some positivity back. This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen, the exact way. The last couple of days have been grim. It hurts. It’s killing me not to have any positives to speak about.”
Jordan Henderson could be seen in the bowels of the Arena Corinthians on Thursday night, leant against a wall, rubbing the tears from his eyes, lost in his own thoughts. Some of the players asked to leave via a separate exit to avoid the cameras. Gary Cahill had to be excused interviews because he sensed he would break down. Leighton Baines did stop and, for a few brief moments, it looked as if he needed holding up. The left-back, overcome by fatigue and emotion, had thought he was going to faint. “No one in this group wants to go home,” Gerrard said. “No one. What Harry Redknapp has said, it’s 100% not here.”
They will fly back directly after Tuesday’s game against Costa Rica, which essentially takes on the form of a glorified friendly now Hodgson plans to field a team of the players who have scarcely figured yet. Baines strained his hamstring in Sunday’s training routine and will miss out but the idea was for Luke Shaw to play anyway. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, after all his work to get fit, had a setback in the same session and will look back on his World Cup as a personal ordeal. The other understudies, however, will start, with Frank Lampard captaining the team in his final appearance.
Gerrard will be involved as a substitute and then there will be the “long, terrible, frustrating summer” that he had warned about. Hodgson’s will not be a great deal of fun either.
“I haven’t been moping around staring at the wall,” the manager said. “I had a bad night and a bad day the following day. My job, leading the team, is to pull myself out of that and make sure the players aren’t suffering in the same way.
“So I’ve been working hard to make sure they get out of it and find the mental, physical and emotional strength to move on. A period of grieving is necessary and we also know we might wake up in three or four weeks’ time, it will all come back and we will feel miserable again, but that’s part of our lives now.
“I’ve had defeats in two European finals, I lost my job at Liverpool and I’ve had other moments. But this is England, a job that means so much to me, and so many people, a massive job. So this is the worst feeling I’ve known.”
Gerrard has made a sensible decision to delay his decision on whether he wants to continue but there is also an issue about whether Hodgson should be starting afresh anyway and easing out the old guard himself. Hodgson clearly disagrees given that he has asked Gerrard to remain as captain for the European Championship qualifying process, which would take him past his 36th birthday.
England’s manager often talks about the influence of Georges Bregy, who was 36 when Switzerland qualified from the group stages of the 1994 World Cup. Yet Gerrard’s brilliance in Brazil has been behind the scenes, as a captain of distinction; not, unfortunately for him, on the pitch.
In Hodgson’s case, he admitted he was “fortunate” not to have lost his job, such is the nature of his business, but tried to sound defiant. “I shan’t change my mind. I see no reason to resign. I feel allegiance to the players and the staff. I think we work well together. I accept this campaign has not been good but I’m grateful I’ve not been made the scapegoat and that people think I can take the team forward.
“I’ve not said that I’m the only coach out there, or that there will be other people who think there are better candidates. The bottom line is there’s no reason for me to have any serious doubts about the work I’ve done over the years and the qualities I bring to the team. I’m just happy that the people who analyse me think I am good as a coach and manager and they don’t need to go elsewhere.”
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