It thrills me to find that Sven Goran Eriksson is clearly planning to go out in the manner that has underpinned the majority of his tenure: a blaze of conservatism. I’m not Mr Loverman’s biggest fan, but my current gripe is with his squad selection for the upcoming game against Uruguay. Lets face it, we all know exactly what the starting XI will be if all remain fit for this summer. This is not what concerns me; I would pick the same as Sven. What troubles me is his lack of imagination with the remaining 12.
In a wave of unpredictable exuberance Sven has given a Bent a shot. Bully for him. A number of players, however, may feel slightly aggrieved at having not been give a shot. The Uruguay game is the last time for Sven to have a bit of a play before settling. His choice of Richardson, Carrick and Jenas as backup midfielders is about as exciting as curling. We know exactly what sort they are; decent players with couple of caps between them, definitely not going to set the world on fire between now and the World Cup, nothing special internationally speaking. So what’s the fucking point? Even if they go to Germany they’re not going to play anyway.
Two omissions are obvious, both better than the triumvirate of mediocrity mentioned above. An injury to Cole, Lampard or Gerrard would inevitably change the midfield formation to a diamond, the only reason we don’t have one right now is that Lampard and Gerrard are too go not to both start (you work it out). The only decent, and actually pretty good defensive midfielder we have is Scott Parker (above). Playing Rio or King in midfield is a mistake, Gerrard or Lampard are wasted there, and Hargreaves and Carrick not good enough. Parker would be our best bet. But he’s not even in the squad. Another one who could play there, or anywhere in the centre if necessary is Kevin Nolan (right). Whilst he would obviously get nowhere near the starting XI, he is surely stronger that Carrick, more threatening than Jenas, and more consistent that Richardson.
The third replacement I would have is simply for the sake of it. For fuck’s sake Sven, live a little! Why not give Aaron Lennon a try? Take a chance on a bit of Nigel Reo-Coker action? Leighton Baines or Matt Taylor at left back anyone? Kerrea Gilbert slipped in on the right? Joey Barton in England call up shock? Its not as if they’ll actually play a game this summer!! Whatever happened to the Sven that would call up Chris Powells and Gavin McCanns for a bit of a laugh? But that’s just not the way Sven rolls these days is it. Much more likely to try to defend a one-nil lead against a Zidane-inspired France for 84mins than try out Jimmy Bullard on the left of a three man midfield. Ok, maybe that’s too much, but you get the point.
If you can bear the excitement, full squad list can be found here
No comments:
Post a Comment