Fabio Capello, England boss was in defensive mood following his side’s 1-1 draw against Ghana tonight at Wembley.
With no Chelsea players on show – all given the night off to cavort in nightclubs and allsorts, England’s young bucks showed tremendous character.
The result was a deserved draw and Capello can take comfort that his senior players are now under serious pressure.
“I am happy,” said the grim-looking Italian.
“I saw a fantastic game, not a friendly – there was plenty of bite in the tackles.
“The new players did well. I now know their value when they play at Wembley.
Carroll scored a goal, he needs to improve.”
When asked if Carroll will be allowed a celebratory drink – a dig at Carroll’s capacity to neck the beer, Capello retorted: “That’s a question for [club manager] Kenny Dalglish.”
Capello then had a slight dig at the national journalists who had reported that Capello only needs 100 words to get his point across.
“My formation is 9-1, technical no 100 words needed.”
Yeah, well it wasn’t the greatest was it... but this is Capello fighting back.
Danny Wellbeck made his debut, much to the annoyance of the Ghana fans – Wellbeck, born in Manchester has Ghana relatives.
“Wellbeck will be an important player – physically and technically he is good,” said Capello.
“He can improve”
Ghana coach Stavanovic Goran was also happy with the result – and looked it.
“People enjoyed a fantastic game,” he said.
“England were better in the first half, we the second.
“It was a good result playing England at Wembley after travelling three days from Congo [where Ghana played an African Cup of Nations qualifier]
Danny Wellbeck could have being playing for Ghana instead of against them.
When asked for Wellbeck several times. But now he has played for England, it’s impossible [for him to play for us]
When asked about the fantastic support from the 21,000 Ghana fans, he said: “I have never seen that in my life. The fans were brilliant.”