Wigan fans have been offered their money back for coming to see their 9-1 defeat at Spurs. Not sure that will make anyone feel much better. Certainly won't fill the hole in their midfield.
The headlines are about Defoe getting 5 goals, but the Spurs striker who made the biggest claim to start for England, in my opinion, is Peter Crouch. The amount of space he created for Lennon and Defoe was unreal, and at times he was holding off two, three challenges at a time before playing one of them in.
When a big man doesn't play for England, Rooney drops off and tries to play spectacular 40-yard balls to the likes of Darren Bent and Defoe who are running around on their own against the back four. It doesn't work. Crouch can win the high balls, but his passing is also sharper than Heskey's, and needless to say he has infinitely more prowess in front of goal.
Crouch needs to play so that someone other than Rooney can do the dirty work. Doing that also frees Rooney to take on centre-forward responsibilities, then Defoe can jump on in his place when we need some pace. Surely it's an obvious choice given his record?
My England XI based on the current state of things:
Green, Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry, A. Cole, Lennon, Barry, Lampard, J.Cole, Crouch, Rooney
no Stevie G?
ReplyDeleteNot for me. The best teams keep stars on the bench when necessary. Fabregas is so much better than David Silva but when it comes to formation, the better player loses out. Having Joe Cole out on the left offers proper balance, more pace and, dare I say it, creativity, than Gerrard.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I agree with you're point, that the best 11 individuals don't always make the best team, but I'd still have Gez in there. Probably at Barry's expense, I know I could EASILY get Gez and Lamps to play together. My dad was telling me actually of one of the Italian national sides that were around when he was growing up. I can't for the life of me remember what their names were, but there were 2 great central midfielders (ala Gerrand and Lampard) and what the coach would do EVERY game would be, play one the first half, and then sub him for the other in the second half. Remarkable! Somehow I don't think that Capello will consider it...
ReplyDeleteSteve G was Liverpool's top scorer from the left wing a couple of season's ago. Seems strange to suggest Joe Cole, who lacks the engine, the pace, the drive and the directness of Gerrard is better suited to a wide role than the Liverpool captain. Cole would, and did under Erikson, make England quite narrow because of his propensity to drift inside to get the ball. If anything he's better off playing at the top of a diamond midfield. That said, I do find the absolute refusal to drop Gerrard a tad annoying (though, unlike a few years ago, he currently deserves his place in the side) and I really like Cole. I feel however, that you're West Ham allegiences may be getting the better of you though! HA. Sorry for leaving it so long before posting on here man! SIM
ReplyDeleteI don't remember Gerrard ever playing left wing for Liverpool - on the right maybe, but then Lennon has that position sewn up for me. Joe Cole has made a big impact for England in massive games over the years, and as I type, I am struggling to think of any times when Stevie G has done that.
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