Pointless Football Friendlies

England International Football Friendlies – What Is The Point Of Them?


“Pavarotti is not judged by how he sings in the shower.” Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard makes the point that people shouldn’t be evaluated unless they are giving it their all. This clearly doesn’t happen in international friendlies.

The ever decreasing relevance of international friendlies has been illustrated by the FA’s decision to reduce their schedule of friendly matches from 20 to 18 over the four-year period from 2008. England Assistant-Coach Terry Venables believes this is a positive step. “You end up concentrating on a match that isn’t important rather than one that is.”

A recent example of this is England’s 1-0 defeat by Spain. “As much as we needed to prepare for our qualifier against Israel we had to ensure we did not leave ourselves too open to a beating by Spain.” The weight of expectation for England to win every game they play means that room for experimentation is small; results are still important – especially if the manager is under pressure.

This defeats one of the main objectives of friendly matches – to trial ideas. Too much experimenting is often lamented – making eleven substitutions isn’t going to benefit anyone. This stops any possibility of a credible simulation of a competitive game. Nobody can be expected to hit peak form in just a portion of a match.

Owen Hargreaves rise to prominence depicts this. His virtues of a relentless engine, combative nature and all-action style were never expressed by cameo appearances in friendlies. Given numerous 90 minutes to display his qualities, he has become one of England’s most respected players. Friendlies simply don’t allow for freedom of expression as time is always running out.

Gareth Barry argues: “In friendlies, fringe players are given the chance to impress.” The case for this is strong, as players on the verge of the national team gain valuable experience which helps them bridge the gap between club and competitive international games.

Joe Cole was used sparsely in competitive matches as he developed, yet regularly appeared in friendlies. His flourishing into an automatic pick for all games was confirmed by an impressive World Cup. This improvement can partially be explained by Cole feeling accustomed and comfortable on the international stage due to friendlies.

However, for every Cole there is five Seth Johnson’s. Numerous players have been capped and achieved little more than devaluing the prestige of playing for England. Francis Jeffers, John Scales, Mike Phelan; all have represented England for pointless, painful periods of friendly matches before drifting back into the international wilderness where they belong.


Conversely, playing friendlies with players who will actually play in competitive games could be enormously beneficial. Allowing Lampard and Gerrard time to gel in less intense situations could result in a more mature understanding between the two when the pressure is on.

Equally, developing alternative systems and innovative tactics could prove fruitful preparation for facing teams of differing styles. Friendlies could be used to create a Plan B other than hoofing the ball long to a certain giraffe-like Liverpool striker.

They could also be interesting for the spectator. Without fans friendlies would be obsolete; providing entertainment should therefore be a key aim. This doesn’t mean they have to become circus sideshows with tricks and flicks instead of substance. One of international football’s most thrilling elements is the clashing of cultures - tactical battles between the sport’s elite.

This cannot happen when personnel are changed so often and so many key players are missing. Here lies the root of the problem. “We were missing half a squad,” complained Steve Mclaren after the Spain defeat. “It is difficult to get any cohesion.” The strategic battles so prevalent in competitive games are replaced by managers effectively becoming nannys; minding players don’t play for too long and risk injury is prioritised over expanding knowledge of the squad.

Club football overwhelmingly takes precedence. Players don’t take games as seriously, clubs are positively hostile to them, while fans just become bored. England have won just 13 of their last 30 friendlies, but a far more healthy 20 times in their last 30 competitive fixtures. This displays the irrelevance of the events – nobody is really that bothered.

Except the FA of course, who make vast amounts of money. Arsenal Vice-Chairman David Dein slammed this, bemoaning friendlies are “not being played for sporting reasons, but for financial gain.” This money is possibly used to pay ex-Coach Sven Goran Eriksson’s astronomical wages, summing up the ridiculous nature of the situation.

Gabrielle Marcotti’s belief that “most international friendlies are just exercises in futility,” is accurate. However, a viable alternative is yet to be found. Training camps instead of matches has been muted as a possibility. Still, the risk of injuries remains high and the loss of revenue would hit the FA hard. Instead, friendlies appear here to stay - along with wasted evenings watching the England debuts of players like Seth Johnson.

Greg Rose