Football: United eclipsed by Boksic and Zidane

Before Newcastle United's Uefa Cup tie in Metz on Tuesday night the point was made that the French took little account of the form of their footballing exiles in England, preferring to follow that of their exports to Italy. The following night, at Old Trafford, we understood why.

Eric Cantona may regard himself as a prophet without honour in his own country but he was comprehensively outshone by Zinedine Zidane, who dominated the Champions' League tie even more completely than Cantona can a Premiership match.

After one interchange with Alen Boksic, one spectator moaned: "Why don't we have players like that?" He could equally have been talking about Boksic, the leader of the line United craved and still need.

Boksic preferred to join the Juventus revolution - they had a turnover of 18 players in the summer - and United ended up with an inexperienced Norwegian, an unproven Dutchman and an inconsistent Czech. For all its growing attractiveness the Premiership is still struggling to acquire the overseas elite before they begin thinking of retirement.

But it is not just the players. In times past English efforts could overcome superior continental technique. No longer. Juventus, like Milan, are as committed and hard working as any English side. Their team spirit was underlined when Moreno Torricelli won possession, played a quick one-two with Zidane then slid a pass into the path of yet another angled run by Boksic. Peter Schmeichel got there first but, before resuming his midfield position, Zidane, who had filled in for the left-back, waited to touch hands with Torricelli in recognition of his efforts.

It is not just technique where we are lagging behind. Juninho may have been exaggerating when he said, last week, even the lowliest Italian club was better organised than an English one, but there was more than a grain of truth. Arsenal and Chelsea are beginning to experience the attention to detail which is standard practice on the continent but there is a way to go. While the fitness trainer at Juventus is as important as most of the players, the use of masseurs and dieticians is a new development in England.

Then there is the coaching. Alex Ferguson and Brian Kidd are two of the better tacticians in the Premiership but United, for all their effort, looked static and formulaic compared with Juventus. After Roy Hodgson, Terry Venables and Bobby Robson, how many of our coaches command a worldwide reputation?

But is it their fault? An English club manager has responsibilities from dealing with agents and parents to groundsmen and sponsors. At the lower level, where many learn their trade, they can even find themselves painting the stands. Others come in at the top with little more than a two-week coaching course (if that) and several years personal observation to equip them to be the key figure in a multi-million pound business. The new preparation course for managers is long overdue, an extension of the continental practice of letting coaches coach and club officials deal with peripheral matters would be a further boost.

This lack of knowledge, and lack of time to develop it, has a knock-on effect. Players are short of tactical awareness with the 80s kick and rush era still casting its long shadow. So too has the poor quality of schools and youth coaching, which is only now being remedied.

We do have fine players and Manchester United and Newcastle may yet qualify, along with Liverpool, for the spring stages of their competitions. But it is clear that there is a long way to go before we can match the continent's best. Meanwhile, at Lancaster Gate, the FA's two-year search for a technical director to shape the direction of the English game goes on...

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