Stan's 5-Point Stance: England Debut Will Improve Kane, Why I Back FA Quota Idea

In this week's "Five-Point Stance," Stan looks at Harry Kane's England debut, reflects on the Football Association's proposed homegrown quota system and fears for Gareth Bale's long-term future at Real Madrid.

1. Harry Kane will return from England duty an even better player

It seems virtually assured that Harry Kane will make his debut for England this weekend, either against Lithuania on Friday or Italy next Tuesday. I would have had no problem throwing him in from the opening whistle against Lithuania—playing alongside Wayne Rooney would be a fine start to his international career.

It would be really good for him to get that experience and very little risk to England to do so on Friday at Wembley. If it were different circumstances, you might have to be cautious, but England are essentially already qualified for the European Championships, and Lithuania are hardly the strongest opponents anyway.

Let Kane make his debut in such circumstances, and he will flourish.

Kane, like me, seems to be very passionate about playing for his country, which is great to see. I remember when I made my debut, I did not get much sleep the night before! My advice to him would be simple: to keep it simple.

Do the basics on the pitch first and foremost; hold up the ball, lay it off, play the straightforward pass. Get confidence that way, integrating with your new team-mates in the process. Who knows, he might get the chance to grab a debut goal—like Rickie Lambert did.

When he goes back to Spurs, things will be different for him. It’s great to have the moniker of “England international,” and you feel differently about yourself. Other players look at you differently, too.

Kane has done a lot already in his career—he’s been out on loan a few times, with some successful spells and some average ones—but now he looks to be the real deal. He comes into the national setup at almost the perfect time. There’s still 14 or 15 months until the European Championships, so he’s got the perfect opportunity to carve out his place in the squad ahead of a major international tournament.

As far as the rest of the squad goes, it looks in reasonable shape with over a year still to go. England have got selection battles across most areas of the pitch, especially in attack: There’s Kane, obviously, but also Charlie Austin and Danny Ings, while even Peter Crouch is scoring goals again. Plenty of young players are improving and giving Roy Hodgson options in many areas, although we still have a real problem in central defence.

Since John Terry, Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand have retired, England haven’t managed to produce another world-class centre back, and that might be costly against the premium-grade teams the side will have to meet at some point. England have scored 15 goals in six games since the World Cup, but my worry is Hodgson's men will come undone against the best sides defensively.

That means tactics might become as important as selection over the coming months, and the friendlies will become an important chance to experiment with formations and lineups. I wonder if Hodgson might go to three at the back for certain games—just because that might be the only way to cover defensive issues.

 

2. Quota system will strengthen Premier League and English football

Last year, I was invited to speak with a Football Association (FA) panel as they looked to the future of the game, and I gave some evidence on why I thought an increased quota system—as FA chairman Greg Dyke has this week proposed—would be a good idea. England is a country of 50-55 million, and there is no reason why it cannot produce far more young, talented players than it currently is.

The problem right now is, especially among the top clubs, if you’ve got the choice between a young, academy graduate and a foreign player with 30 caps, you are going to go with the international player every time. A bigger quota system would force clubs to re-evaluate that approach, perhaps so more players like Ryan Mason and Harry Kane can come through at other clubs.

We would also redefine what a “homegrown” player actually is—so clubs cannot get around the system simply by cherry-picking the best youngsters from around the world and bringing them to England when they are still teenagers.

It would be great for clubs and great for the league—just look at Tottenham Hotspur, their fans love to see local lads performing in the first team. It would also hopefully strike a greater correlation between the strength of the domestic league and the quality of the national team.

Spain have managed that, for example, with a great national team and a domestic league full of homegrown players in squads. In the Premier League, even the biggest clubs—Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United—only have the clout to sign four or five world-class players at any one time, so changing the regulations will not affect the number of quality foreign players in the league.

It will simply mean that English players get more of an opportunity to excel in the first team, and as we have seen this season, some teams are producing players who can take advantage of that opportunity if they are given it.

More young players getting a chance in the first team means more players like Kane coming into the Premier League and then being available for England. It’s a win/win for everyone.

 

3. Bale has significant Real Madrid decision to make

At almost every club in the game, the alpha male of the team is identified and everyone knows how the hierarchy works. At Barcelona, for example, Luis Suarez has come in after being the main man at Liverpool and immediately acknowledged that Lionel Messi is the top dog. He's changed his role, and now his performances are improving.

At Real Madrid, it has been a similar deal. Perhaps Gareth Bale came into the club accepting that Cristiano Ronaldo is the main man, but thinking that after a couple of seasons, he could replace him. Perhaps Ronaldo sensed that, and that’s caused a few issues with in the squad.

Certainly, the Real Madrid fans have noticed Bale is now playing second fiddle, and so, considering how much it cost to sign him, they are starting to say, “Hey, he’s not as good as we expected him to be.”

Bale now has a huge decision to make. I think the only way we’ll see the player we saw at Spurs is if Ronaldo leaves, but that is not going to happen for at least two or three years. So does Bale wait for that or make the move now and become the main man again at a new club?

It’s worth remembering he has always been something of a shrinking violet: It took him a long time to settle at Spurs, and Madrid is a far bigger transition. Perhaps he would just prefer to be the bigger fish in a smaller pond—if so, then Manchester United could be a perfect escape.

OK, so it’s not exactly a much smaller pond, but being the main man, and a British one at that, at Old Trafford could work well for the player and the club. He could certainly take over Wayne Rooney’s mantle for United, if that’s something he wants.

With that being said, the international break comes at a good time for him. He comes into what is a very average Wales team and puts them on his shoulders. He knows that everyone looks to him, that he is the star man and that is a responsibility he seems to have embraced—we’ve seen it with the fist-pumping and the other shows of emotion already in this qualifying campaign for the European Championships.

He’s already got that with his national side, the question is whether he can get that for his club side—and how soon.

 

4. Gerrard clearly distracted by impending exit

Steven Gerrard has been one of my favourite players in the Premier League era. If he’d gone to Manchester United or Chelsea or Manchester City, he would have been as decorated as any English player. But what happened on Sunday at Anfield was a disappointing chapter.

I just wonder if the constant questioning about his impending move to Los Angeles, and the creeping notion that he is coming to the end of something huge, has taken his eyes off the ball to a certain extent. You sense that everything has combined to create an internal frustration with Gerrard, a frustration that came out at the wrong moment.

It is worth reflecting on what a big move it is that Gerrard is about to undertake. He is not just moving club but also moving to the west coast of the United States. It could hardly be any more different from what he has known his whole life.

Gerrard is imbued in the Liverpool way, he’s been a part of the club since he was a young boy. What’s on the horizon is a complete, total change of lifestyle—that’s bound to cause some consternation and distraction to affect his concentration and his thought process. Perhaps that’s what we saw at Anfield.

 

5. Terry has earned latest contract extension—unlike Sterling

John Terry’s latest contract extension at Chelsea is a just reward for his body of work. He is still playing 40-plus games a season at an exceptional level. He remains one of the best central defenders in the country.

I’ve been a vocal anti-racism campaigner, but I hope the Anton Ferdinand incident does not hang over him forever, overshadowing his achievements even after his career is over. There was an apology there—I know it perhaps wasn’t the one some wanted, in front of cameras and with his lips moving, but there still was an apology made.

Nevertheless, the contract is a reward for his playing ability—the career he has had and continues to have. He has earned the numbers on that contract, unlike Raheem Sterling.

I’m a bit concerned for Sterling and worried about the advice he is getting from his agent. Terry earned his deal over a decade, whereas Sterling is still in the first seasons of his career. I’ve watched a lot of those games, and he remains inconsistent—he will have a 9/10 game, then follow that up with a 5/10 performance.

He must understand, despite the bumper Premier League television deals (which I’m sure his representatives are eyeing a slice of), contracts of the size he is supposed to be demanding are earned, not just handed out.

Liverpool have an admirable wage structure in place, one that ensures players only make the big money when they’ve put in the performances on the pitch to warrant it. Sterling is good and sometimes great, but he is still to step up to that level.

I still don’t see that Sterling would start regularly for Chelsea, Manchester City, Bayern Munich—the premium clubs around the world—and yet he wants to be paid like he is already in that bracket.

The best thing he can do is play a key role to help Liverpool qualify for the Champions League this season, next season and the season after that. Between that, he needs to do all he can to make a huge impact for England at the European Championships.

If he does those things, then his agents can talk again about the contract he wants. Like Terry, he will have earned it.