image: thefa.com

You don't read many articles in support of Owen Hargreaves, and probably with good reason. While Soccer-Weblog would never (ever) argue that he should be in England's starting eleven, I do think the boy deserves some pity, as opposed to the usual barrage of derision he faces every time an England squad is named.

We keep hearing how well Hargreaves performs as an anchorman for Bayern Munich, and I'd been waiting to see him play that role in an England shirt longer than I can remember. He played there for 45 minutes against Hungary this week and was, to put it bluntly, rubbish.

If we accept that Hargreaves does perform well for the mighty Bayern (it can't just be a big German conspiracy, can it?) then why does he so regularly look like a below average Coca-Cola Championship player for England? My theory is that the man accused of showing too much faith in Hargreaves actually doesn't show enough.

Consider this. Sven has been naming Hargreaves in England squads more or less continuously since 2001. That's five years, or half a decade. In all that time, I can barely remember him starting a game. He seems to be a perennial 70th/80th minute substitute getting nothing but dead game time. Can you imagine how frustrating that must be? And how damaging that must be to the lad's confidence? Both Hargreaves and Sven must be aware of the public antipathy towards the Bayern man, so it would have been wise for Sven to let Hargreaves show what he can do. Sven has had ample time to give Hargreaves a run in the starting eleven in five years worth of friendlies, but never given him a fair chance.

So, next time you feel moved to criticise Hargreaves for looking lost in an England shirt, remember that it's not all his fault.