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It's really pretty simple, elene - England rather than World War 2, that is. Up front, Eriksson selected as strikers Peter Crouch, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott. Crouch is a hard-working striker with good touch and a freakish physionomy that can disconcert opposition players. However, he has almost no pace and is nowhere near as commanding in the air as the balls often played to him suggest. His recent scoring rate for England flatters him somewhat, although he is a far better player than the popular consensus seems to believe. Owen, who would theoretically have the pace and instincts to play off Rooney, is badly lacking in fitness after recovering from a metatarsal injury. Rooney, who has pace, strength, goalscoring instincts and the ability to link play with midfield, is even less far down the road to recovery than Owen, although he is physically a monster, which may help. Theo Walcott, the fourth choice, is an Arsenal reserve. He has incredible pace and is widely tipped as a star for the future, but is untried not only at this level but the next level down, having never played in the Premiership. Eriksson may play him against Sweden. If he does not, he will be unlikely to play more than ten minutes of football throughout the entire World Cup, as he may be thrown on as a desparation move.
Without Rooney, there is no real player in the first choice for strikers who drops back and links play - Crouch is the closest, but is too slow to track the ball effectively. Owen has developed this side of his game to compensate for his failing pace, but is still expected to be getting forward to score, and is not currently fit enough to keep up with play. Steven Gerrard has played as a recessed forward behind a single striker before, and many feel this would be worth trying. However, Gerrrard is currently in a quasi-holding role, unfamiliar to him in his games at Liverpool, as Frank Lampard forages forward. Regrettably, Lampard is not in great form at the moment, looking increasingly tired toward the end of the season with Chelsea. So, that's a problem also.
Notionally, England have one of the best midfiels in the tournament. However, Gerrard is out of position and Lampard not on great form. Beckham remains a key player for his crosses (and to a much lesser extent his free kicks), but is not fast enough or a good enough dribbler to be a winger, and not really a good enough tackler to be an entirely confindence-inspiring wing-back or full-back - you can do that with a winger ahead of him with Trinidad and Tobago, but I wouldn't try it with Brazil. Joe Cole is much improved on the left, but is naturally inclined to move infield, and so relies on Ashley Cole to overlap, which he is not doing as effectively as one might hope.
With neither Gerrard nor Lampard both suited to and used to a holding role, the central defenders are, I think, a little nervy - Carragher will be reliable at right-back or masterful at centre-back, but will not provide many attacking options. Ferdinand is an able distributor who is prone to occasional loss of focus. Terry and Robinson are at least bloody good, despite Terry's uncanny facial resemblance to a parallel universe Michael Barrymore who took up kickboxing rather than gameshow hosting.
SO, the problems are a combination of tactics and personnel, I think. Personally, I might have pondered a 5-3-2, with Lampard and Gerrard both making forward runs and Carrick or Hargreaves in a purely defensive, Deiter Elts role in front of a defence of three of Ferdinand, Terry, Campbell and Carragher. The wing players would be potentially problematic - probably Ashley Cole and Beckham, switching to Downing and Lennon - two orthodox wingers of not-quite-national calibre - during the desperate 15-minute hunt for an equaliser towards the end - with, depending on fitness, Rooney or Joe Cole paired with Owen or Crouch as a recessed striker. Then again, that is patently bollocks and would never work. So, possibly an orthodox holding midfielder in a 4-4-2 formation, with Gerrard _or_ Lampard ahead of them, Cole and Beckham being overlapped in left and right midfield. Or Carrick/Hargreaves and Lampard in central midfield with Gerrard playing behind a striker, wen Rooney's metatarsal goes ping again... |
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