England need more than golden balls! (England National Football Team)

Name: dididave

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Product:	England National Football Team
Date:	16/10/05 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: We can win 2006

Disadvantages: We still need a lot of work!

England to win the World Cup in 2006! Easier said than done especially if Sven Goran Eriksson insists on not dropping players who do not perform and messing around with his formations. What is it to be Sven? A 4-4-2, 4-5-1 or 4-3-2-1 this is one of the main problems Sven needs to decide now that an unimpressive but ultimately successful qualification campaign is out of the way.

For all my nit picking I do think Sven is a good tactician although his team selections can be a bit bizarre. I applaud the fact he is trying new formations in an attempt to find one that suits his band of talented misfits as for me this is what they are. A gifted group of individuals who at present do not know how to play together. There is no doubting this is the most talented England team for many years but talented individuals do not win a team a world cup.

Sven's team selections seem to be a problem at the moment. Although impressive against Poland, in many respects we were disappointing in that we failed to capitalise on a huge amount of possession. Considering the wealth of talent we have going forward that many other international teams would kill for, it is bewildering that we seem unable to do much other than poach the odd goal. In fact I feel that without Frank Lampard or David Beckham's set pieces England are unlikely to score, certainly against more impressive opposition than those in the qualifying group are. Fortunately, Sven is obviously also concerned by this although his unwillingness to drop stalwarts such as Owen and Beckham may turn out to be his greatest failing.

Owen is a good player but the electric pace he was once renowned for is not what it was and his form is hardly sparkling. I do feel that teams particularly on the international stage can read Owen's game too easily nowadays and although he will always score in the six yard box I think we would be better served by a hungrier striker such as Bent or Defoe. Bent certainly deserves a chance based on current form and surely that is how a manager should make his selections? On a similar front Beckham will always have the ability to whip in a cross but when playing world class teams such as Brazil my personal opinion is that he will not worry defences. Sean Wright-Phillips on the other hand looks like he could be superb in the right-wing role and I for one would like to see him given more starts. His ability to get to the by line and run past players gives something to the team Beckham cannot. After all if he tires then Beckham could be brought on.

This brings me onto the problematic left side for England. Joe Cole is a decent player but he is not the answer to our left-sided midfield problem. As a substitute he is a good addition to the squad but for me the youth and exuberance of Stuart Downing when fit should be employed on the left side. Again he has the hunger, pace and ability to take players on that England desperately need. Coming into the middle of the park I feel Eriksson has to play Lampard and Gerrard in midfield. Often they cancel each other out but you have to think they will click eventually and it only takes either one to have a good game to win it for England. Both players would walk into any national side so surely Eriksson cannot afford to leave either out.

This is not to say I do not like Ledley King. He played well as a holding player against Poland but I still feel central defence is his best position. Although I would take the experience of Campbell and Terry first King would be an ample replacement as he showed against France in the European Championships. I am no fan of Ferdinand as I think he does a low of showboating instead of actual defending so for me I was pleased when Eriksson dropped him.

Of the rest of the England squad I see real promise although I do not see Eriksson's current gambit of Peter Crouch as paying off. It would appear Eriksson has drafted him as the target man but I just do not think he is skilful enough to pull it off. His mobility is poor and his heading for such a big man is atrociously off target most of the time. Benitez must see something I do not as for me is no better than Sean Dundee!

So, am I writing off England's chances in Germany? No but I do think there is a lot of work to put right before we can start talking of winners. We lack organisation and Eriksson needs to decide on a formation (for me 4-4-2 is still the way to go). However, providing we can get a good draw and get the teething troubles sorted we have the ability, whether we have a team with the drive, determination and guts is a different matter.

Dididave's world cup winning eleven.

1: P.Robinson

3: G.Neville 4: J.Terry 5: S.Campbell 2: A. Cole

11: S.Downing 7: F.Lampard 8: S.Gerrard 6: S.Wright-Phillips

9: W.Rooney 10: D.Bent

Substitutes:
C.Kirkland
R.Green
P.Neville
L.Young
L.King
D.Bec kham
A.Smith
J.Defoe
M.Owen

Summary: We can do it...maybe!