Balls over technology

Was that a goal?

In the 2002 World Cup, reigning World and European champions; France surprised everyone by finishing bottom of their group and failing to score a single goal. Having qualified automatically as holders, many blamed their underachievement on the fact that they had not played a competitive game for 2 years. Following the tournament FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced that holders would no longer qualify automatically for the World Cup.

Sepp Blatter is not in favour of bringing video technology into football because "if science likes that comes into football then we will have no discussions." He is reluctant to make changes to the rules that will be impossible to implement at grass roots level and retains the belief that "introducing video technology into football will result in the type of artificial intelligence-lead apocalypse documented in the Terminator films."

Most England fans this morning, if asked, would be fervently in favour of video technology. We need a scapegoat following footballing failure, and who better to blame than 'The Man'. The Man, in this case, being FIFA. England's 'Golden Generation' again go home from a World Cup empty handed and open hearted, with the oldest squad in the competition it's safe to say that most of them will not be back.

But is footballing success for our national side worth risking the possibility of a future where heavily armed cyborgs seek to destroy the human race? That's not for me to decide. Given the choice right now I would probably say "Yes", but perhaps that's why I'm not the president of FIFA.

France's 2002 failure was not only down to their not having played a competitive game for 2 years, their awesome 'golden generation' was made up of players largely born in the late 60's or early 70's and continued success meant that there was now a lost generation of players behind them who had barely had a sniff of international football. Claude Makelele for example (a player so influential in modern football he has a position named after him 'The Makelele Role') was 29 leading into that tournament and had only 14 caps. France were a victim of their own success and, having failed to blood younger options, they arrived with a team of thirtysomethings and crashed spectacularly.

England are not victims of their own success, although they are in danger of making a similar mistake. Fabio Capello picked the oldest squad at this World Cup because he prefers experience. Despite this experience, England committed 8 players forward for a direct free-kick that Lampard was to take. Frank Lampard is very good at football, but experience has taught me that when offered a direct free-kick in a shooting position, Frank Lampard doesn't tend to pass to a team-mate.

Frank Lampard will be 36 at the next World Cup, it is time for him to retire from international football, but he is not this year's scapegoat. James, Green, Upson, Carragher, King, Wright-Phillips, Beckham, Carrick, Defoe and Heskey should all join him and provide opportunities for the next generation. Clinically, there are younger players of similar ability who would not noticeably dilute the squad.

The English media want to give their waiting public a scapegoat, the Uruguayan linesman cannot be realistically daemonised, he was perfectly positioned to judge for any offside when England's 'goal' was scored, but the angle was perhaps not best suited for judging whether the ball was over the line or not, and he cannot be expected to be in two places at once - he's not a cyborg from the future. Usually the morally ambiguous John Terry would be the default scapegoat, but his recent media charm offensive and neo-iconic attempt to stop a shot with his face against Slovenia has neutralised popular opinion, so much so that, when the press last week pencilled-in Fabio Capello as this years scapegoat, Terry was bold enough to admit disquiet towards his manager on the record.

A World Cup match between England and Germany is a big deal and so, after the mandatory post-game television interviews, Capello was seated before the crème of England's written press. We didn't get to where we are today by being shy/retiring types, and the Italian was forced to endure an incessant stream of stand-up bollockings from a tightly packed room of men who understand or influence English football and public opinion better than he. "We don't want you. Resign or we will make your life unbearable" was the explicit subtext. Potential scapegoats Gareth Barry, Robert Green, John Terry, Emile Heskey, Mauricio Espinosa and Wayne Rooney can breathe a sign of relief, it's a two-horse race between Capello and FIFA.

Capello's saviour may have arrived an hour later, as the Argentina/Mexico game provided similar controversy. A Carlos Tevez header put Argentina ahead but while the Mexican players surrounded the referee and linesman, a replay of the goal was played on the stadium monitors - showing Tevez to be offside. It was too late; the goal had already been given and, even though officials had seen that they were wrong, FIFA rules meant the decision could not be changed. More pressure for FIFA as a worldwide audience sees two vital games decided by incorrect decisions that technology would have rectified.

Let England learn from this, video replay or not, Germany were the better side with the third youngest squad at the tournament. If England fans want to campaign for reform it should be The F.A, and not FIFA where they set their sights. A future with the likes of Adam Johnson and Joe Hart must be infinitely preferable to a future of robot assassins.