Here's a stupid idea that might just work

Mauricio Pochettino should be appointed England manager if Roy Hodgson decided to step down for whatever reason. “That’s silly” I hear you cry, but give me a minute to explain why it just might work.

The reason why it seems stupid is because he’s foreign, and despite being in charge of Southampton for over a year now, can’t speak a word of English (to the media anyway). When we had Fabio Capello in charge, he stated how hard it was to communicate with the players in particular because of the language barrier; he had to learn English in order to take them forward according to the FA. But it shouldn’t matter if they can speak English or not, as long as they get the team playing well and getting results. However, it’s more than that now.

There is intensifying pressure on the English clubs to produce English talent and play that talent in the first team because the FA feels it will benefit the English national side. Big money acquisitions from abroad such as Mesut Ozil and Willian at the start of the season hasn’t really helped that cause, no matter how good they may be. One manager has so far defied the rest by playing English players, young English players that need games at the top level. That man is Mauricio Pochettino.

Southampton has a famed academy which is responsible for producing the likes of Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Leon ‘Simply The’ Best. The academy long proceeded Pochettino, and the way the club nurtures its youngsters also long proceeded Pochettino. What Pochettino has done differently to the other managers however is two things. Firstly, he’s managed to tie the majority of them down to new contracts, with Adam Lallana signing a new five year contract last season, Luke Shaw signing a five year deal at the start of this season, as well as convincing Calum Chambers and Rickie Lambert to commit their future to the club under his tenure. The second thing is he is able to give them Premier League experience, something only Nigel Adkins has been able do to. The thing that distinguishes Pochettino from Adkins though is that three Southampton players have received international recognition with England under Pochettino’s regime, so he must be doing something that Adkins failed to do. The fact that Rickie Lambert was called up despite being 31 also shows that the style of football Pochettino plays pays dividends for everyone involved, not just the young players.

If there’s one thing that Pochettino is guilty of however, it is that he has slightly given in to the money game, splashing out in the summer on foreign talent such as Victor Wanyama, Dejan Lovren and Dani Osvaldo, who has since been shipped out on loan to Juventus. Despite this however, the home-grown talent still have places in the team, with the exception of Wanyama initially taking the place of Jack Cork in the centre of midfield, a position Cork has since won back. He will give the talent coming through a chance of playing in the first team, even if it is in one of the cup competitions or five minutes from the bench; the experience is vital no matter what competition it may come in. Sam McQueen, Sam Gallagher and Harrison Reed all made their first team debuts this season, while Calum Chambers has become a regular starter at right back under Pochettino.

Pochettino’s future is in doubt too due to the departure of Nicola Cortese, so what the end of the season holds for Pochettino is up in the air at the moment. If Pochettino isn’t involved in the England setup in the future (which is very unlikely as it is), his Southampton players have to be recognised more. Lallana, Lambert and Rodriguez already have been recognised, but I’m talking about the likes of Luke Shaw and Jack Cork who have been incredibly impressive this season. Shaw is a regular player for Southampton, whilst Ashley Cole has been sitting on the bench for Chelsea, with Mourinho preferring Cesar Azpilicueta at left back. It’s one thing for the FA to say that English players should be playing more, but they have to pick the ones that are playing, and not overlook them for ones that are sitting on the bench. It’s common sense.

Cristiano Ronaldo MUST win the Ballon D'Or

So, the three candidates for the Ballon D'Or were announced today, and they were exactly who everyone thought they would be. Franck Ribery, who helped Bayern to the Champions League and Bundesliga titles, Lionel Messi because he's been a good boy this year for Sepp "Santa Claus" Blatter, and the favourite to displace Messi of his crown, Cristiano Ronaldo. 

I could sit here and list Ronaldo's stats from 2013 as the reason why he has to win the most coveted individual prize in football. To be fair, they are pretty damn good. He has 25 goals in 18 Real Madrid appearances this season alone, and with 10 goals in 9 internationals for Portugal in 2013, 8 of which have come since the start of the new season, surely he's the only real candidate for the trophy? For me, he possesses something that Messi and Ribery lack in order to be one of the greatest, and that is arrogance. He knows he's good; you can tell from the constant 'calm down' celebration that he does. But he uses his arrogance in the right way. For example, he could have been a right little rapscallion against Manchester United in the Champions League when he scored at Old Trafford, but showed respect to the club and manager that essentially got him to where he is today, and a lot of respect has to go to him for that alone. Take note Mr van Persie.

Now for why the other two can't win the Ballon D'Or. Let's start with Franck Ribery shall we? Sure, he's won the Champions League and the Bundesliga in 2013 (he also won the DFB-Pokal but who cares). But so have the majority of Bayern's current squad. What has he done that makes FIFA think he's one of the top three players in the world this year? He was never a stand out in the Bayern side for me, and to be franckly honest (see what I did there), he shouldn't be in the top three. I think Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had a better individual year than Franck Ribery. If it was a team competition, then Bayern would be in there, of course, but it isn't. He hasn't even been a stand out player for France who laboured to qualification for Brazil next year.

Lionel Messi. Winner of the last four Ballon D'Or awards. Surely not a fifth on the trot? Surely? Well, no. The fact of the matter is, it is judged by who has had the better year, not who the better player is. And Cristiano Ronaldo has had a much better year than Lionel Messi. I know he's been hit with injuries and so on, but he has failed to live up to his incredible standards that he set in the 2011-12 season when he hit 50 goals in La Liga alone. He got 46 last season, in five less games, so did perhaps deserve the title on those occasions. But he's not done a lot internationally for me in the past year. He's scored 20 goals in his last 20 internationals, which is wonderful, but Ronaldo's performance against Sweden alone should win him the Ballon D'Or. To single-handedly take your team into the World Cup finals is an incredible achievement, but the way he did is was simply astonishing. Is Lionel Messi declining as a footballer? What a stupid question I've just asked there. Of course not, he's just had bad luck that's all.

Let us finish by admiring Cristiano Ronaldo and why he has to win the trophy. He's proved himself not only in Spain, but in England too in two of the toughest leagues in the world. Has Messi? No. Has Ribery? No. He was the world record transfer until some Welsh bloke came along and stole that from him. Did that faze him? You bet it didn't. And finally, he has more goals than he does games for Real Madrid. 226 goals in 217 games in all competitions. Give him a sticker. Or the Ballon D'Or.