England managed to finish their 2011 fixtures in the same manner that they started them; with two wins. The first two came back in February and March with a 2-1 win over Denmark and a 2-0 victory over the late Gary Speed’s Wales team and they finished 2011 with victories too. A 1-0 win over European and World champions Spain, was enough to send the media into sensationalist overkill and the same score line against Sweden saw England march into 2012 with a 9-game unbeaten run.
Fabio Capello’s Three Lions went all of 2011 unbeaten, winning six of their nine fixtures and scoring 15 along the way. It was a stark contrast to the year before, which saw England fail miserably in South Africa, slumping to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Germany in the World Cup. Their doom and gloom didn’t end there though; having been scrupulously damned from fan to pundit, Capello had a task of rejuvenating England in time for Poland and Ukraine. When the young changed face of England, including two debutants, then lost 2-1 to a half-strength France side in November 2010, it looked like 2011 would be an arduous year of preparation in vain for Poland and Ukraine. However, 32 players, 6 wins and a few minor controversies later, England are beginning to shape up for the European Championships 2012.
This year has been England’s first unbeaten year since 1994 and you could argue this year was more successful; despite England only conceding one goal that year, it was down to the fact they failed to qualify for the World Cup in the United States and were therefore playing the likes of Norway, Greece and Denmark in meaningless friendlies. This year has seen the emergence of Joe Hart as England’s #1 and the resurgence of Scott Parker in the national team, who received his first call up since October 2006. It’s also seen Welbeck, Jones and Walker, among others; make the step-up from under-21s to the full side.
Last year, Ashley Cole won the England Player of the Year Award. The award is given to best performing player in the calendar year, based on an online poll carried out by the F.A. Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney have both received the accolade, which has been in existence since 2003 and first won by David Beckham, twice. So, out of the 32 players that have featured for The Three Lions this year, who are the genuine contenders?
Joe Hart
Frustratingly, for most England fans, this 24-year old shot stopper didn’t feature once in South Africa. However, since then he has grasped his chance with both gloved hands, building on the three sub appearances he had prior to the World Cup. In between the sticks, Joe Hart is yet to lose in an England shirt and is one of only two players to feature in every game in 2011, effectively guaranteeing himself the #1 jersey in South Africa. Furthermore he is the only player to go 14 games unbeaten for England since ’96. In 9 starts in 2011, Hart has conceded just 6. His goalkeeping exploits surely warrants a top three finish in this year’s award.
Scott Parker
Last season, Scott Parker was one of the few blazing beacons at Upton Park and his sensational form and inspirational team talks of footballing legend, ensured he stayed well and truly in Capello’s plans. There was a smidgen of controversy when The Hammers went down and Capello highlighted the problem Parker would face staying in the Championship, “The problem is the Championship is a play-off. If you go straight to the Premier League, no problem, but the play-off will play to June and another thing is, they play 46 games – more than the Premier League.’ However, Scott Parker moved to Tottenham controversy-free and since then he has become the lynchpin of Tottenham’s midfield, making 5.96 tackles a game and he has carried his form across to the world stage. Against Spain, a man-of-the-match performance was churned out by the Charlton graduate and his passing ability and defensive duties saw England take away a 1-0 victory.