Jim White

Fabio's limited choice

Wed Oct 14 12:56PM

Peter Crouch and Gabriel Agbonlahor are likely to start for England against Belarus this evening, with both Shaun Wright-Phillips and Aaron Lennon beetling down the flanks.

Rightly so. If Fabio Capello's expressed managerial intention to pick his England team on form rather than reputation is to have any meaning, then they must get their chance once proper circumstances allow. And if a dead game against a side with no further interest in the competition, with his principal performers injured and unavailable, is not the proper circumstances then they will never arrive.

Besides, if nothing else, a trio of Lennon, Wright-Phillips and Agbonlahor, is worth watching for the speed they might unleash.

Any athletics coach observing from the stands will rue the day those three decided to kick a ball instead of sprint: between them they are three quarters of the way to a more than handy 4x100 relay squad.

Yet a start tonight should not convince anyone that these players have one foot on the plane to South Africa. If fit and returned to form, it is hard to imagine that Capello will look much beyond Theo Walcott to partner Steven Gerrard on the flanks, with Joe Cole in waiting, thus leaving Lennon and Wright-Phillips to compete with James Millner, Ashley Young and David Beckham for no more than two covering spots in the wide positions.

Agbonlahor is well behind Jermain Defoe in the Wayne Rooney understudy role, while Capello does not believe that Crouch, for all his skill and intelligence on the ball, frightens opponents in the way Emile Heskey and Carlton Cole do. And that's not forgetting Dean Ashton. Although almost everyone has.

If this makes it sound as though Capello is spoiled for choice, it isn't quite like that. What he has is a surfeit of bit-part players, of maybes and perhaps. Apart from between the posts, genuine competition for places in his team is minimal. And even with the goalkeepers, it is a case of choosing the least worst option.

This is the problem Capello has, that no amount of experimental line-ups can resolve: history suggests that to win a World Cup, a team needs to be able to call on the services of five world class players, one of whom really ought to be the goalkeeper.

England currently have two - Gerrard and Rooney - who fit into that category. Plus, in the Chelsea trio of Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole, a further corps of fine operators, what might be called European class players.

Sadly, Capello is nowhere near being able to call on a top notch keeper, particularly not in the shape of the one who will take the gloves this evening, Ben Foster. All Capello will be able to do this evening is to look at his fringe options. Which is not really that helpful to him.

In the end, who you take along as third-choice keeper is largely down to who is most able to maintain their spirit on the training ground. Looking at the field available, it seems highly unlikely that there is anyone, in the manner of Alan Ball and Geoff Hurst in 1966 or Paul Gascoigne in 1990, who might burst on to the scene and force their way into the first choice reckoning between now and June. Would that there were. Would that Alex Ferguson's insistence that Danny Welbeck is a certanty for the plane had a bit more substance. If only Jack Wilshire were a couple of years older, wiser and stronger. Wouldn't it be great if Cesc Fabregas was English? But they aren't.

Capello does not have much room for manouevre. Beyond the tarnished members of the golden generation who have been found wanting in the past three tournaments for which they qualified, the choice is thin gruel.

Indeed, if we were all to sit down and produce our World Cup 22s today, we can guarantee that 18 of the names would be on everybody's list. Given that Owen Hargreaves and Phil Jagielka are unlikely to play themselves back into fitness in time, and that Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes will maintain their exile, this is my 22:

James, Green, Robinson; Johnson, Brown, A Cole, Lescott, Ferdinand, Terry, Upson; Lennon, Lampard, Gerrard, Barry, Carrick, Walcott, J Cole, Wright-Phillips; Rooney, Defoe, C Cole, Crouch.

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we are no way going to win the world cup as at least 8 of those players arnt good enough and some of the players who are are a bit suspect to injury
From liamhorne007 on Wed Oct 14 01:12PM
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i still believe england can win!!!!!!!!
england all the way, england till i die
From ben4utd on Wed Oct 14 01:52PM
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Gabriel Agbonlahor? omfg why not try bent.
From spennylad on Wed Oct 14 02:01PM
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This is a load of hooch Jim. Teams that win the world cup rarely have 5 world class players, and Brazil, who have won it more often than anyone else, have never had a world class keeper. To elevate Gerrard to World class status without doing the same for Lampard seems unfair - Frank has all the statistics, including completed passes and goals, on his side when it comes to that mini-debate. Much as Ashley Cole is loathed, he is one of the three best left backs in the world - doesn't that make him World class in his own position? Do any of Germany, Italy, Brazil, France or other teams associated with the Jules Rimet have a left back better than him. No. Owen Hargreaves has several months to play himself back into the set up and should, barring a further injury, be regarded as a cert for South Africa.
From chrisrickleton on Wed Oct 14 02:02PM
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Joe Cole? really?
From rcycy on Wed Oct 14 02:02PM
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"And that's not forgetting Dean Ashton."
wat bout darren bent?
From momo.chacha on Wed Oct 14 02:22PM
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Not a bad selection but Beckham has to go for his experience and quality and I'm not sure about Brown, Joe Cole or Wright-Phillips. I think you've got the goalkeepers right.
From stevelukewebb on Wed Oct 14 02:26PM
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How do you "Beetle down a flank"?
From david.yarwood on Wed Oct 14 02:28PM
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I am constantly amazed at the frankly false claim about Gerrard being "world class" keeps being made. he is always made to look good in a reasonably good Liverpool side but in terms of world football he is not up there with most top foreign midfielders and for England is consistently poorer than Lampard. A Cole is a world calss left back if not the best in the world.
From n.pearce on Wed Oct 14 02:30PM
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Was it not 2008 that J Cole was voted England's player of the year?
From n.pearce on Wed Oct 14 02:31PM
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hey guyss...
don't you think that 'the big carpet-low' should give owen a chance??
From cen_runin08 on Wed Oct 14 02:32PM
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I Agree with the Keepers. But id take Sir David over SWP and Heskey over crouch
From dragonwilkinson on Wed Oct 14 02:34PM
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hey guyss...
don't you think that capello should give a chance to mike owen??
From cen_runin08 on Wed Oct 14 02:34PM
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I think England have as good a team as anyone apart from Spain. Spain still need to perform well at a world cup. Brazil will not be impressed by their status as European Champions just as we would not care if they won the copa america. Greece were the euro kings not so long ago and look how they performed in world cups. I think the teams at the far end of the tournament will be the usuasl suspects. By the way, who were Italy's 5 world class players?. I counted 3, cannavaro,totti and buffon. Del Piero was well past his best. Please inform me of the other two.
From leobliviscares on Wed Oct 14 02:34PM
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that is quite frightening. If he picks that squad, it does not look too promising. The best English qualified goalkeeper is Spanish. I say, forget the inevitable backlash from the Sun readers and give him a go. I still think that Beckham and potentially even Owen will find a way in. They are going to need some experience. You could certainly lose a couple from that squad to make room for some wiser, older heads. It is not as if many of them truly demand selection. The goalkeeper situation is very worrying.
From miseryguts77755 on Wed Oct 14 02:35PM
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Jim - pleased you're not picking the squad! Crouch, Carlton Cole, Carrick not good enough as "alternatives" as they have not performed against the better international teams. Better choices are Hargreaves (he is not far away from fitness), Milner etc...
From stuartplant2003 on Wed Oct 14 02:37PM
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i don't quite agree with your 22,what about the golden boot and the golden boy
From belloabubakari on Wed Oct 14 02:38PM
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Hey, if GREECE can win the European Championships, then England can win the World Cup. All we need is for Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard to be firing on all cylinders and our defence to be rock solid.
From surindersingh99 on Wed Oct 14 02:42PM
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Terry "european class" but no mention of Ferdinand?! Rio is a far better player than Terry, a couple of bad games does not change this fact. Plus he included Ashley Cole who was to blame for the goal at the weekend.
C.Cole is not good enough for England, this is pretty obvious. Plus how come White has missed Heskey off? surely he is def for the squad?!
From ima_fat_tw on Wed Oct 14 02:52PM
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Forget the fact that "if Greece can win it, England can" we are better than Greece!
The fact is Italy won the last world cup and didn't really play well all tournament. This is why the world cup is becoming forgettable, as teams are solid rather than spectacular.
From ima_fat_tw on Wed Oct 14 02:54PM
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Looking at the options, I'd agree that England won't win the World Cup. The striker situation is the most worrying as we really don't have any prolific scorers in the mould of Shearer or Lineker. A fit Michael Owen is worth taking over some of the other players, but as he admits himself, his injuries have robbed him of at least a yard of pace. He can finish better than any of the strikers we have, so as long as we can get the ball to him in space, he'll score. Saying all of that, a well organised team can go far in the competition and even win it. Look at Greece when they won the European Championships. No star-studded line-up of players, but a very well organised team playing to its strengths. It can be done, but Capello has to be ruthless and pick the best of what he's got, in their natural positions and then get them playing as a tight unit.
From rock_and_roll_machine on Wed Oct 14 02:58PM
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Oy jim green is suspended ya nutter. Remember the lunge on Artem Millyevskiy
From hatau_m on Wed Oct 14 03:02PM
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Oy jim green is suspended ya nutter. Remember the lunge on Artem Millyevskiy
From hatau_m on Wed Oct 14 03:02PM
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Jim - I would take Joe Hart instead of Green; W. Bridge instead of W. Brown; Hargreaves, Darren Bent and Heskey instead of SWP, Carlton Cole and Joe Cole.
From staffer84 on Wed Oct 14 03:04PM
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Doesn't European-class imply World-class? Europe is the best footballing continent.
From pegez on Wed Oct 14 03:10PM
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where s young and agbonlahor !?1?i dont agree with j.cole,and why not g.neville?
From geonchester_utd on Wed Oct 14 03:14PM
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Some see only a list of average to excellent players. Some others see a list of skin tones (see comment 22). This is modern England for you. Depressing.
From dihundeyin on Wed Oct 14 03:17PM
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I think that he will end up taking Beckham instead of SWP - otherwise think this is pretty close
From mikeluke on Wed Oct 14 03:34PM
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I still think that Becks isa class act that can drop balls on a sixpence to change a game & to pop those dead balls into the net better than anyone else we have.
And why is the Premier leagues leading scorer (& assists too) dot even being considered now he has been given a chance to prove his worth by playing every week in the premier league?
No he does NOT pick players who are on form... just the players he knows.
From locomotive46 on Wed Oct 14 03:35PM
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Fabio's dream will come to a short end soon, England will not make the quarter finals in South Africa, watch this space!
From wobby_bots on Wed Oct 14 03:39PM
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