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"Heskey for England"

Call me bonkers, but England's recent slump in form has left many a question mark over the selection of Sven's squad and perhaps more promimently the formation the Swede has set up. The Diamond has failed to deliver any trophies and Sven clearly feels that England have exhausted the convential 4-4-2 formation. His insistance to continue playing both Gerrard and Lampard (when only one is neccessary) puzzles me, because in my opinion playing both players in similar position in strangling England's positional play. In my book it would make a lot more sense to go 4 across the back, put 4 in the middle and have 2 strikers up front. Where you place those players on an individual note should be flexible, but the 4-5-1 has should surely sound a resounding failure in Sven's head. If the Denmark drubbing wasn't bad enough, then that Northern Ireland game was beyond repair. England surely have one of the strongest sqauds at their disposal with the likes of Owen, Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, Ferdinand and Ashley Cole proven world beats. Why then did England lose to a team full of odd ends from the Championship and snippets of Premiership talent here and there. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking NI - they played very well - but really that 1-0 defeat is unacceptable.

And this is where it leads me into the next part of my rant; when under Sven's reign have England produced the most goods? I would have to say leading up to the 2002 World Cup with our hugely inexperienced and yet fearless squad of exciting promise. England didn't seem quite so sloppy back then, there was much more energy in their play (maybe because they were a few years younger!), but really because the system Sven employed worked. The press loved him and England's 5-1 fightback in Munich really underlined that quality. And in my opinion the glue that held that team together, the same team which survived the "Group of Death", beating Argentina along the way with solid draws against Sweden and Nigeria, then preceeded to brush aside the Danish challenge 3-0 before (very) unfortunately crashing out to the eventual World Champions Brazil having lead them 1-0! The answer for me is multi-dimensional but to try and replicate those kind of winning ways, has to start with a productive strike partnership. England just can't cope with having a player as hungry and aggressive as young Rooney tormented on the flanks while tiny Michael Owen half heartedly feeds off the scraps. Emile Heskey may not score a sackful of goals, but as Steve Bruce has repeatedly pointed out Emile has all the credentials to regain his England place. His ruggedness, strength and ability to hold up the ball is what both Michael Owen or Wayne Rooney could thrive upon. Rooney and Owen can work well together up front, but given England's recent loss of form; I think a return for Heskey would be more than deserved. Defensively, the team is a mess, Sven can't go blaming the goalkeeper because the man between the sticks hasn't been more reliable since Seaman in his prime. If there's one position that has been sorted out, it's the outstanding Paul Robinson.

So why can't England go for a long stretch of games without conceeding, in my opinion, they must employ either a sweeper or completely blockade central midfield. Michael Carrick should certainly be considered for the man sitting in front of the centre halfs. As for the rest of midfield, Sven has to listen to his players and accept someone like Rooney can't play far right just to please captain David Beckham, who if he is holding back the team, shouldn't be in it. Shaun Wright Philips is the one of the few England players showing good form and drive and should be duly rewarded. England are clearly still missing Paul Scholes and that left side still haunts Sven. In my book, there are some hard decisions for Sven to make but if he wants to keep his job with the FA and his huge salary, he's got to accept his past failing and make brave decisions. Is Beckham past it now? Can Lampard and Gerrard play in the same team? And should Heskey partner Owen or Rooney? If Sven can steer England to automatic qualification for the World Cup then all will be forgiven, but otherwise the fans (and the directors) will never forgive him. The situation calls for a rethink, not a revolution before it becomes increasingly more dire.

Should heskey be in the England squad?
Erm...no

Colourless wrote:
> I personally don't think Beckham should be playing there, but he's
> not playing them out of the game, they're just not playing well.

Muh? Of course he's playing them out of the game. He isn't passing to them.

Reason enough?

Colourless wrote:
> J-42 wrote:
> As for them not playing playing well, have a look at Gerrard's
> performance in games around that time, as good ass ever.
>
> Around last week?
>
> Couldn't fault him today.
>
> He wasn't in the game at all first half, and gave nothing other than
> one shot going forward in the second half. He was good defensively
> though.
>
> I personally don't think Beckham should be playing there, but he's
> not playing them out of the game, they're just not playing well.

He wasn't in the game for the first half because he didn't seem to be receiving any passes. Anyway, he was playing as a defensive midfielder then. You can't fault someone for not getting passed to.

J-42 wrote:
> As for them not playing playing well, have a look at Gerrard's
> performance in games around that time, as good ass ever.

Around last week?

> Couldn't fault him today.

He wasn't in the game at all first half, and gave nothing other than one shot going forward in the second half. He was good defensively though.

I personally don't think Beckham should be playing there, but he's not playing them out of the game, they're just not playing well.

Colourless wrote:
> J-42 wrote:
> You want proof?
>
> Yes.
> Lampard and Gerrard aren't getting into the game much because they
> aren't playing well.... Nothing to do with Beckham. "Fact".

If Beckham is constantly delivering long balls to Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole, where do Lampard and Gerrard come in? They might provide options for them, but they can do so much more.

As for them not playing playing well, have a look at Gerrard's performance in games around that time, as good ass ever. Couldn't fault him today. Lampard didn't have a great game against N.Ireland, not by his standards, but that's because he's been played out of the game.

J-42 wrote:
> You want proof?

Yes.
Lampard and Gerrard aren't getting into the game much because they aren't playing well.... Nothing to do with Beckham. "Fact".

J-42 wrote:
> I don't support Forest, but I have FM 2005 and searched for him.
>
> :D

Heh. Sorry, I assumed since you were replying to that that you were FF. I should've read the name :-)

He's a bit pants on FM, but I believe he's Forest's youngest ever player at 16. Don't really know anything about him though, other than he was on the fringes of the first team for a couple of seasons.

RastaBillySkank wrote:
> J-42 wrote:
> 20 year old Forest striker?
>
> 20 year old Cambridge striker :-D
> You released him at the end of last season and he made his debut for
> us today.

I don't support Forest, but I have FM 2005 and searched for him.

:D

Colourless wrote:
> J-42 wrote:
> As good as his long balls are, Gerrard and Lamps don't get a game.
> Fact.
>
> Statistic?

You want proof?

J-42 wrote:
> 20 year old Forest striker?

20 year old Cambridge striker :-D
You released him at the end of last season and he made his debut for us today.