Rio Ferdinand: Reputation guarantees nothing
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Rio Ferdinand says the ruthless manner in which Fabio Capello has discarded fourth-highest scoring player Michael Owen has taught England’s stars that, under the Italian gaffer, reputations count for nothing.
Capello declined to recall the Newcastle United striker, who has 40 goals in 89 England games, despite injuries to Emile Heskey, Carlton Cole and Darren Bent.
The 29-year-old Owen has recently returned to relegation-threatened Newcastle’s squad after six weeks out through injury.
"There can be no complacency in this squad. Look at Michael Owen, who has got 40 goals in 89 appearances," Ferdinand told reporters after England’s morning training session on Tuesday.
"You sit down sometimes and say to yourself ‘So and so has a chance of getting to 50 caps, he has a chance of getting to 75’. And you would have said Michael was bang on to get 100 caps two or three years ago and it would be given he’d be in every squad when he was fit.
"But this manager sees things from a different angle. If you’re not fit enough, or you’re not on form, you won’t get in the squad. Rightly so.
"Is it ruthless? That’s the way it has to be."
He added: "Look at what the manager has won. You don’t win what he has by having a lot of sentiment.
"It’s not frightening, it’s good. It keeps the hunger in your belly, the desire and the passion.
"If you get into the situation where players are almost not worried when the squad comes out, because they’re always expecting to be in it, that’s a bad place from which to start.
"It’s better if people are on their toes. You can’t say anyone in this team, even if they’ve played five or six games, is guaranteed his place.
"But if you look back over the last 20 or 25 years, there have been four or five players who you could say it didn’t really matter if they played poorly. They’d always get the shirt."
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Capello declined to recall the Newcastle United striker, who has 40 goals in 89 England games, despite injuries to Emile Heskey, Carlton Cole and Darren Bent.
The 29-year-old Owen has recently returned to relegation-threatened Newcastle’s squad after six weeks out through injury.
"There can be no complacency in this squad. Look at Michael Owen, who has got 40 goals in 89 appearances," Ferdinand told reporters after England’s morning training session on Tuesday.
"You sit down sometimes and say to yourself ‘So and so has a chance of getting to 50 caps, he has a chance of getting to 75’. And you would have said Michael was bang on to get 100 caps two or three years ago and it would be given he’d be in every squad when he was fit.
"But this manager sees things from a different angle. If you’re not fit enough, or you’re not on form, you won’t get in the squad. Rightly so.
"Is it ruthless? That’s the way it has to be."
He added: "Look at what the manager has won. You don’t win what he has by having a lot of sentiment.
"It’s not frightening, it’s good. It keeps the hunger in your belly, the desire and the passion.
"If you get into the situation where players are almost not worried when the squad comes out, because they’re always expecting to be in it, that’s a bad place from which to start.
"It’s better if people are on their toes. You can’t say anyone in this team, even if they’ve played five or six games, is guaranteed his place.
"But if you look back over the last 20 or 25 years, there have been four or five players who you could say it didn’t really matter if they played poorly. They’d always get the shirt."
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