Is Gerrard really
a favourite to lift the trophy?
The British press
and the fans alike always have huge expectations on England, in any
major international tournament but their performances in recent
tournaments hasn’t been up to the mark. No doubt, they have a
strong team with highly talented players but they’ve failed to
reach a semi-final in a major tournament for the past sixteen years,
the last being EURO 1996, in their home soil.
The team was in turmoil
when Fabio Capello had to resign from his position, on disagreement
over stripping John Terry off his captaincy, just four months before
the EURO. Although The FA made no official confirmation on who was
going to be the next manager of England, Harry Redknapp, the highly
successful manager of Tottenham Hotspurs was touted as the favourite
to take the post.
But finally, The FA broke the silence,
the experienced, the man known for making average teams look good,
was appointed the manager, Roy Hodgson that is, the person who has
managed nearly twenty teams across several countries and had
successful spells at Inter Milan, Finland, Fulham and West Brom,
among several others.
The squad that he chose was rather
surprising, with players like Micah Richards and Adam Johnson missing
out and Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing being chosen instead, the
duo who a highly disappointing premier league season. Besides,
personally, I was also disappointed over the appointment of an
off-form Steven Gerrard as the captain. He is definitely a great
captain and has led his club to several glories but I’m quite
sceptical about this being the right time for Gerrard to take over
such an important role.
England Squad
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, Robert Green,
Jack Butland
Defenders: Glen Johnson, Phil Jagielka,
John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill
Midfielders: Frank Lampard, Phil Jones,
James Milner, Steven Gerrard ( C ), Scott Parker, Stewart Downing,
Ashley Young, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Forwards: Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney,
Andy Carroll, Danny Welbeck
PLAYER PROFILES
Goalkeepers
Joe Hart (Manchester City)
Iker Casillas, Spain’s goalkeeper and
captain, said during the 2010 World Cup, ‘England’s biggest
problem is that they don’t have a goalkeeper who has Champions
League experience.’. Finally, Joe Hart has made that statement of
Casillas untrue. Hart, whose chances of survival at Manchester City
in 2008 was looking so bleak, managed to revive his career at
Manchester City, after a successful loan spell at Birmingham, where
he nearly single-handedly ensured Birmingham a top ten finish. He is
a highly talented goalkeeper and he has proved his skills even at an
international level, for instance, during England’s 1-0 victory
over Spain at Wembley, 2011. Besides, it is always good to have the
main goalkeeper from the incumbent champions of the Premier League.
It shall not surprise me if Joe Hart claims the golden glove in the
tournament.
Robert Green (West Ham United)
The veteran goalkeeper from West Ham,
who has delivered good performances at club level but failed to
deliver the same at the international stage. He has been with the
squad since 2005 but he hasn’t been capped since his disastrous
performance during England’s first match in the World cup 2010
against the United States.
Jack Butland (Birmingham City)
The teenager was called in after John
Ruddy had to be withdrawn due to a finger injury. He is said be a
wonderkid by many pundits. He is not someone new to international
success, and was part of the starting eleven of the winning England
U-17 team in the 2010 UEFA U-17 championship. It would be interesting
to see him get his first cap in case England manages to qualify after
the first two matches of the group stages.
Defenders
Glen Johnson (Liverpool)
Highly agile and a technically good
full-back currently playing at Liverpool. His crosses are quite
dangerous with a good target striker upfront (is Andy Carroll an
option) but more often than not, he becomes a liability to the team,
with him trying to attack all the time, leaving the right flank open
for the opposition.
John Terry (Chelsea)
He is arguably one of the best
defenders in the world and has led his club to several glories which
includes three Premier League titles, four FA cups, two Carling cups
and one UEFA Champions League title. His unmatched ability at
headers, along with England’s highly competent set-piece takers,
makes him highly dangerous at set pieces as well. There have been
several controversies about him, he had to lose his captaincy over
certain baseless allegations but regardless of all that, a player
must be judged for what he is on the field and one must not bother
about their off-field activities. If England are to win, Terry has to
perform.
Joleon Lescott (Manchester City)
Another high-profile defender and was
instrumental to Manchester City’s success at the premier league.
Has good strength and good defensive abilities and like any other
English defender, he is also dangerous at set-pieces. He is likely to
be Terry’s partner in the tournament.
Gary Cahill (Chelsea)
Cahill is known for his technical
ability, powerful heading and pace, which, on several occasions has
helped Chelsea / Bolton to build up an attack. He made crucial
contributions towards Chelsea’s double this season and it is a pity
that he is likely to sit out due to the cut-throat competition an
Englishman has to face for a position in the central defence.
Phil Jagielka (Everton)
Jagielka, the highly versatile centre
back was called by Hodgson as a replacement for the injured Gareth
Barry. So, probably, Hodgson intends Jagielka to take up a defensive
midfield role during the competition. However, he has to fall behind
Scott Parker and Phil Jones for selection to that position.
Leighton Baines (Everton)
Baines, the Everton left-back is known
for his good defensive technique, crosses and free-kick taking
ability. He is definitely the first choice substitute for Ashley
Cole.
Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
There is no doubt that Ashley Cole is
the best left-back in the world. Age doesn’t in any way seem to
decline his skill. He has had a highly successful club career with
both Arsenal and Chelsea but unfortunately, he hasn’t had a single
international medal, even after more than ninety appearances and is
surely hungry for a win. His performances are vital, for England to
at least ensure a top 3 finish.
Midfielders
Frank Lampard (Chelsea) (if
available)
I think his reputation speaks for the
amount of skills that this man has. Threatening long shots, good free
kicking taking, amazing finishing, great set-piece provider are just
SOME of his abilities. He does have a negative reputation of not
having scored for two successive World Cups (I hate Jorge Larrionda)
which in anyway doesn’t reduce the threat posed by him to the
opposition.
Phil Jones (Manchester United)
He joined Manchester United and along
with it came the huge expectations from the fans. But the nineteen
year (20 now) managed to live up to his hype as he managed to command
a place in the starting line-up of a club like Manchester United,
thanks to his versatility, that he could play as a centre back,
defensive midfielder, right back and also as a central midfielder.
James Milner (Manchester City)
Another versatile midfielder, who is
primarily a central midfielder but, is also capable of taking up an
attacking role. He has a good work rate and chases the ball well and
any player with a good work rate adds huge value to the team. It is
so disappointing that someone as talented as him should sit at the
bench and watch his team-mates play.
Scott Parker (Tottenham)
While it is true that most English
defensive midfielders are more physical than technical, Parker
definitely isn’t a part of that majority. I expected him to lead
the team in the tournament because a team needs someone as
disciplined as he is to lead the team. His tackles are so perfect
that they hardly raise any suspicion for a booking and he has enough
skill to change the entire outlook of the team; which was seen in
Tottenham in the recently concluded Premier League season.
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) ( C )
Liverpool's
captain fantastic, can he also be England's captain fantastic? I hope
so but I fail to see how an off-form player can actually lead a side.
But in case he manages to rise to the occasion, he can turn out to be
the nemesis to the opposition. He has extreme shot power, one of the
very few creative players that England have, along with Lampard and
this attribute, among everything else deserves a mention, his
tremendous ability in diving. So long as Blatter remains arrogant
about football to be judged only by a man, this could always be
considered a good skill. If he returns to form at the right time,
England have a good chance to return with the trophy when they hit
the shore at Dover.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal)
Yet another fellow
who was transferred to the Gunners from Southampton, like his club
and national colleague, Theo Walcott, and like Walcott,
Oxlade-Chamberlain is now tipped to be the next big thing of English
football. However, he has shown more promise than Walcott has, he
certainly has got technique other than sheer running. I hope England
manage to qualify to the next round before their third match against
the co-hosts in the group stage so that Oxlade-Chamberlain could be
given a start.
Ashley Young (Manchester United)
Young, the
considerably young attacking midfielder from Manchester United would
be a key member of the English attack. His pace and good crossing
abilities help a cross-oriented team like England and particularly,
Ashley Young's reasonable dual footed ability can come into good use.
Rooney, the key member of the English attack, once stated that, 'I'm
enjoying playing upfront with Ashley Young and Theo Walcott as my
partners'.'
Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
Theo Walcott is
probably one of the fastest players in the world. Lately, his
international form has been very good and has picked it up at the
right time. If England are planning a counter-attacking strategy, his
pace would come in very useful. What Rooney said about Young applies
to Walcott as well.
Stewart Downing (Liverpool)
He had no goals
and no assists for Liverpool in thirty six appearances and I still
haven't the faintest idea on why he was chosen over Adam Johnson.
Sorry, no opinions.
FORWARDS
Jermain Defoe (Totttenham)
Has the reputation
of never having played a full game for England. Had a reasonably good
season with Tottenham, scoring eleven goals in 25 appearances.
However, he can only continue being only a substitute and I'd have
preferred Sturridge over Defoe.
Danny Welbeck (Manchester United)
Sitting in the
bench all along, moving on loan to several clubs, he finally got his
chance in the first team for Manchester United and he didn't
disappoint anyone. He showed good poaching instincts and good
finishing abilities, although, his form just faded away in the latter
half of the season.
Andy Carroll (Liverpool)
For the past six
months, he has been mocked by nearly everyone for managing to find
the net only on nine occasions in this season. However, I feel that
this fellow is not someone just overrated as he has delivered some
really good performances for his former club Newcastle United. His
performance in the final of the FA cup showed signs of him finding
some form and I believe he should be England's first choice striker
for the first two games.
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
I think everyone
knows about his abilities, he just has to prove himself in the world
stage. While it is disappointing that he has to miss out on the first
two games of the tournament, I'm pretty sure that considering
Rooney's current form, he can easily steer us to the semi-final of
the tournament, if England are to qualify.
TACTICS
I'm not a mind
reader and I can't say for sure what Roy Hodgson is going to use but
I feel, considering Chelsea's success, England should also adopt
catenaccio since they've the right players to execute the tactic and
there are examples to show how catenaccio is more effective than
Spain's tiki-taka. The formation shown below could be very ideal.
(Sorry about my rather amateurish work)
The back four
should ideally be stay put in their respective positions, with the
full backs, Cole and Johnson being allowed to run help Young and
Walcott respectively. Parker could be the holding midfielder acting
as a link between the defence and the defence and the central
midfield. Lampard and Gerrard, have the ability to provide good
through balls to the forwards or take long shots themselves. Young
and Walcott must use their pace to help the forwards and provide
crosses to the forward, irrespective of whether it is going to be
Carroll or Rooney since both have good abilities with the head.
Set-pieces should be a crucial means of scoring as England have
players with good heading abilities along with players who can
provide such opportunities. Considering the pace that the forwards
possess, counter-attacking, along with a good catenaccio could also
be a viable option.
PREDICTION
So, let me answer
the first question, is Gerrard really a favourite to lift the trophy?
After seeing a squad of such high calibre, no sensible person would
say that they're not one of the favourites. They haven't got the
easiest of groups, with France being one of their group members and
the other being the co-hosts themselves. Sweden too is not an easy
opponent, as it consists of some very good players like Larsson,
Kallstrom, Toivonen and Ibrahimovic, among several others.
Despite all these
constraints, I do expect England to finish as group toppers and
anything below semi-final could be considered as underachievement.
So, I'd say that their minimum is semi-finals but they've the
potential to beat any team, which inevitably implies that they've the
potential to be the champions of Europe.
Have a nice day
Andy
