The England goalkeeper will not know if he can make a return journey from bum to hero until two hours before kick-off Reflecting on Tim Howard’s downfall as Manchester United’s first-choice goalkeeper in the summer of 2005, Esther Howard, his mother, said in a recent interview in the New Yorker: “In England the goalkeeper is treated like a necessary evil. It’s a totally thankless position. One mistake and you’ve gone from being a hero to being a bum.” Not quite, because Fabio Capello is staying true to Robert Green, author of the goalkeeping howler against the USA last Saturday. The England coach will not say whether Green will retain the jersey against Algeria but nor will he join the chorus that says the West Ham man’s mistake was terminal, which is a loyalty of sorts. The two-hour team-disclosure rule stands, so Capello is sticking to one of his golden principles. • Follow the Guardian’s World Cup team on Twitter • Sign up to play our great Fantasy Football game • Stats centre: Get the lowdown on every player • The latest team-by-team news, features and more The selectorial logic that sent Howard to Everton was not quite as brutal as his mother claims because United had coveted Edwin van der Sar since the end of the Peter Schmeichel era but Mrs Howard’s reading of the goalkeeper’s fear of rejection would have resonated with Green on the eve of England’s second Group
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World Cup 2010: Robert Green’s redemption remains stuck in limbo | Paul Hayward
