Will Roy Hodgson regret leaving Arsenal pair Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out of the England side tonight?
Though not as prestigious as the World Cup, Euro 2012 as a competition has still got a lot going for it. ‘Kings of Europe’ is not a bad tagline for any team to have to carry around with it.
It’s still early stages, but for me the forerunners this tournament seems to be Spain and Germany – the Dutch have been a big disappointment and the French are yet to show what they can do, perhaps they will tonight.
Therein lies the conundrum: as a supporter of English football, I should be including England in this line up.
However, their strength, especially up front has been worrying me. I know that Rooney is not there. I know that Rooney is an asset to our team.
But we cannot rely on him to take us through alone as we have tended to do in the past – perhaps his temporary absence will prove a good thing if Welbeck and Carroll perform well in a few hours time.
Tonight Andy Carroll starts upfront, pushing out Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and James Milner starts on the right instead of Walcott. True, other players such as Lescott and Welbeck, and the excellent Steven Gerard are there to score, but is it enough?
I know that the manager is experimenting as they all do, but tonight’s game is pivotal, and in my view, both these decisions are wrong.
If England loses tonight, they might not even get out of Group D, and even a draw puts them in a precarious position because France will probably go through, therefore that only leaves one place open. Both Ukraine and Sweden might just pip us to the post which would be disastrous – and facing the host nation in the final do or die game will present a tricky scenario.
Spain virtually had a training session against Ireland last night, and they look as strong and poised as ever, and the German team always looks strong.
Others in the mix such as France (still a force), Portugal and Italy – should they make the latter stages – are going to make it very difficult for England to progress, so the manager has to get the mix right: in my view it’s far too late to be experimenting – but after the Capello saga and late appointment we have been left with little choice.
If a player isn’t performing, like James Milner, that player should be ruthlessly dropped. No point in putting someone in who brings nothing to the team when there are players who do.
Walcott is better than Milner, and I suspect that Oxlade-Chamberlain might just be the tonic that pushes England through, even if is from the bench.
Hopefully, the manager will see this too, before it’s too late. No second chances. England needs to win tonight. Nothing short of that will do.
image: © whereareyousimon
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