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England’s Jack Wilshere in angry reply to Jamie Rednapp’s TV criticism England’s Jack Wilshere in angry reply to Jamie Redknapp’s TV criticism
(about 1 hour later)
At first this all seemed rather familiar. Jack Wilshere, clad in England training gear, was shifting uncomfortably in his chair as the conversation turned to recent criticisms from former players about his form and development. Where it had been Paul Scholes’ withering assessment of his progress towards the end of last season, here the focus was on comments delivered by Jamie Redknapp and Jamie Carragher while picking the bones out of the opening weekend victory over Crystal Palace. The sense of deja vu was rather unnerving.At first this all seemed rather familiar. Jack Wilshere, clad in England training gear, was shifting uncomfortably in his chair as the conversation turned to recent criticisms from former players about his form and development. Where it had been Paul Scholes’ withering assessment of his progress towards the end of last season, here the focus was on comments delivered by Jamie Redknapp and Jamie Carragher while picking the bones out of the opening weekend victory over Crystal Palace. The sense of deja vu was rather unnerving.
Yet, where he had felt compelled to seek out Scholes last May and engage with a midfielder he had so admired, soaking up any knowledge he could in the process, there will be no attempt at reconciliation this time – particularly, it seems, with Redknapp, who in fairness was rather more glowing of the youngster’s display against Besiktas in the Champions League qualifiers a week later. “I listen to the people who I work closely with and, with all due respect, if anything Redknapp should have a little bit more, not ‘respect’ but ‘sympathy’,” said Wilshere. “It’s easy for someone to go on television and say: ‘He should be doing this or that.’ But, if you look back, he was injured just as much as I was. Maybe more. And he was never injured at my age as well and it does take a lot of mental strength [to come back].Yet, where he had felt compelled to seek out Scholes last May and engage with a midfielder he had so admired, soaking up any knowledge he could in the process, there will be no attempt at reconciliation this time – particularly, it seems, with Redknapp, who in fairness was rather more glowing of the youngster’s display against Besiktas in the Champions League qualifiers a week later. “I listen to the people who I work closely with and, with all due respect, if anything Redknapp should have a little bit more, not ‘respect’ but ‘sympathy’,” said Wilshere. “It’s easy for someone to go on television and say: ‘He should be doing this or that.’ But, if you look back, he was injured just as much as I was. Maybe more. And he was never injured at my age as well and it does take a lot of mental strength [to come back].
“So to hear people go on TV and say: ‘He’s got to get fitter,’ well, I don’t need that. I listen to people like the boss here, Gary Neville, people who talk a lot of sense and can help me with my game. It doesn’t ‘hurt’ me, hearing criticism from ex-players. It probably disappoints me a little bit more. I heard what Robbie Savage said and that was, if you like, the first ex-player to give me constructive criticism. I respected that. I’ll take criticism. I know that’s part and parcel of football. But when it’s just reckless and aggressive, I don’t listen.”“So to hear people go on TV and say: ‘He’s got to get fitter,’ well, I don’t need that. I listen to people like the boss here, Gary Neville, people who talk a lot of sense and can help me with my game. It doesn’t ‘hurt’ me, hearing criticism from ex-players. It probably disappoints me a little bit more. I heard what Robbie Savage said and that was, if you like, the first ex-player to give me constructive criticism. I respected that. I’ll take criticism. I know that’s part and parcel of football. But when it’s just reckless and aggressive, I don’t listen.”
Those comments, delivered after Wilshere had been substituted 69 minutes into a game Arsenal went on to win in stoppage time, had reflected the 22-year-old’s sluggish start to a campaign that must, surely, prove to be his breakthrough. Too many others, after all, have been blighted by the wrong kind of breaks.Those comments, delivered after Wilshere had been substituted 69 minutes into a game Arsenal went on to win in stoppage time, had reflected the 22-year-old’s sluggish start to a campaign that must, surely, prove to be his breakthrough. Too many others, after all, have been blighted by the wrong kind of breaks.
“Jack Wilshere’s problem is Jack Wilshere,” Redknapp had said. “He’s not performing. He’s got to take games by the scruff of the neck like two years ago. There are no excuses for this young lad any more.”“Jack Wilshere’s problem is Jack Wilshere,” Redknapp had said. “He’s not performing. He’s got to take games by the scruff of the neck like two years ago. There are no excuses for this young lad any more.”
That is hardly revelatory and the youngster’s frustration is born of the reality that he does not need reminding of. He is already acutely aware that, after so many false dawns, founded largely in a fragile body, he must take the opportunities ahead for club and country if he is to fulfil his potential.That is hardly revelatory and the youngster’s frustration is born of the reality that he does not need reminding of. He is already acutely aware that, after so many false dawns, founded largely in a fragile body, he must take the opportunities ahead for club and country if he is to fulfil his potential.
It will be a considerable challenge for him to hold down a regular place in the Arsenal side once Arsène Wenger’s complement are fully fit and available. England, almost in contrast, have lost Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard since the summer and Wilshere, a player who made his debut over four years ago but still has only 21 caps, must fill the void and make his mark in Monday’s opening Euro 2016 qualifier in Switzerland. That recurring ankle injury, with its associated aches and pains, is finally behind him. He has spoken to a psychiatrist at Arsenal who has drawn out some of the exasperation that had built up over wasted years. “It was the frustration,” he said. “Now I’ve learned to enjoy my football while I can. Every time I’m on the pitch I just enjoy it. I’m not as aggressive, not as angry.It will be a considerable challenge for him to hold down a regular place in the Arsenal side once Arsène Wenger’s complement are fully fit and available. England, almost in contrast, have lost Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard since the summer and Wilshere, a player who made his debut over four years ago but still has only 21 caps, must fill the void and make his mark in Monday’s opening Euro 2016 qualifier in Switzerland. That recurring ankle injury, with its associated aches and pains, is finally behind him. He has spoken to a psychiatrist at Arsenal who has drawn out some of the exasperation that had built up over wasted years. “It was the frustration,” he said. “Now I’ve learned to enjoy my football while I can. Every time I’m on the pitch I just enjoy it. I’m not as aggressive, not as angry.
“If something went wrong a couple of years ago I would have gone to the physio: ‘Look, my ankle’s not right.’ Now I’m on top of it, enjoying my football and I’ve grown up. I realise things aren’t going to go my way every week. Of course they’re not. But the main thing is to give your all and enjoy. I’ve worked with a psychologist at Arsenal and he’s taught me that, if your head’s not right, it can affect other parts of your body. So get that right and enjoy your football, and that’s what I’m trying to do. I would’ve liked to have played over 250 games and, if I’d been injury-free, I would’ve. So in that respect I’m not where I should be. But in terms of dealing with the injuries, adapting and accepting that, I’m where I want to be.”“If something went wrong a couple of years ago I would have gone to the physio: ‘Look, my ankle’s not right.’ Now I’m on top of it, enjoying my football and I’ve grown up. I realise things aren’t going to go my way every week. Of course they’re not. But the main thing is to give your all and enjoy. I’ve worked with a psychologist at Arsenal and he’s taught me that, if your head’s not right, it can affect other parts of your body. So get that right and enjoy your football, and that’s what I’m trying to do. I would’ve liked to have played over 250 games and, if I’d been injury-free, I would’ve. So in that respect I’m not where I should be. But in terms of dealing with the injuries, adapting and accepting that, I’m where I want to be.”
In that context photographs of him smoking while on holiday in Las Vegas this summer might have been considered untimely, particularly given he had spoken to Wenger after coverage of a similar incident last season. “If I smoked 20 a day and scored 20 a season, it wouldn’t be a problem,” he said. “I’ve been caught a couple of times but I’m not a regular smoker. I’m not reckless. I have two kids. I don’t want them growing up thinking: ‘Look at Daddy, he goes out all the time. He smokes.’ I’m not one of ‘them’. It’s under control. I spoke with the boss after the first time and he was accepting, like ‘I’m French and I’ve been on a team bus with French players who are smoking’. And the second time it was: ‘Look, come on, Jack. This is a big season for you.’ I knew that already.In that context photographs of him smoking while on holiday in Las Vegas this summer might have been considered untimely, particularly given he had spoken to Wenger after coverage of a similar incident last season. “If I smoked 20 a day and scored 20 a season, it wouldn’t be a problem,” he said. “I’ve been caught a couple of times but I’m not a regular smoker. I’m not reckless. I have two kids. I don’t want them growing up thinking: ‘Look at Daddy, he goes out all the time. He smokes.’ I’m not one of ‘them’. It’s under control. I spoke with the boss after the first time and he was accepting, like ‘I’m French and I’ve been on a team bus with French players who are smoking’. And the second time it was: ‘Look, come on, Jack. This is a big season for you.’ I knew that already.
“I went on holiday and enjoyed it but as soon as I came back to pre-season training I said I’d be fit and I have been. It is an important season for me not just for my country but for my club. I’ve had a good pre-season, the first time in three or four years where I’ve managed to do every single session. I’ve stayed away from injury, trained here every day. I’m fit and in the gym. It’s a big season for me. There’s no point in me saying: ‘I’ve got another year to develop.’ I’m 22 now. Look at Germany. Mario Götze has won the World Cup and he’s my age. It is time to deliver.”“I went on holiday and enjoyed it but as soon as I came back to pre-season training I said I’d be fit and I have been. It is an important season for me not just for my country but for my club. I’ve had a good pre-season, the first time in three or four years where I’ve managed to do every single session. I’ve stayed away from injury, trained here every day. I’m fit and in the gym. It’s a big season for me. There’s no point in me saying: ‘I’ve got another year to develop.’ I’m 22 now. Look at Germany. Mario Götze has won the World Cup and he’s my age. It is time to deliver.”
Wilshere welcomed three World Cup winners back to Arsenal last month in Mesut Özil, Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker, with their presence offering constant reminders of what can be achieved through the strength of the collective. “I asked Podolski who their best player was and he said: ‘We didn’t really have a Cristiano Ronaldo or a Lionel Messi. We were just a good team.’ That’s what they had. Don’t get me wrong: they’ve got world-class players but they work so well as a team and, when up against the Messis and Ronaldos, they came out on top because they worked together.”Wilshere welcomed three World Cup winners back to Arsenal last month in Mesut Özil, Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker, with their presence offering constant reminders of what can be achieved through the strength of the collective. “I asked Podolski who their best player was and he said: ‘We didn’t really have a Cristiano Ronaldo or a Lionel Messi. We were just a good team.’ That’s what they had. Don’t get me wrong: they’ve got world-class players but they work so well as a team and, when up against the Messis and Ronaldos, they came out on top because they worked together.”
Therein probably lies England’s best hope of progression, with the development of a selfless, industrious team who play to their strengths. It is a process which will take time, but one in which Wilshere hopes to be integral. “Germany won the World Cup and we went out in the group stages, so that’s how far we are away from them,” he added. “We haven’t got Messi or Ronaldo but we have good players. The team’s been broken up a little bit with Lamps and Gerrard going, so we’re trying to work together as a team. We’re moving in the right direction.” Their progress will be tested in Basel on Monday.Therein probably lies England’s best hope of progression, with the development of a selfless, industrious team who play to their strengths. It is a process which will take time, but one in which Wilshere hopes to be integral. “Germany won the World Cup and we went out in the group stages, so that’s how far we are away from them,” he added. “We haven’t got Messi or Ronaldo but we have good players. The team’s been broken up a little bit with Lamps and Gerrard going, so we’re trying to work together as a team. We’re moving in the right direction.” Their progress will be tested in Basel on Monday.