England hope to take a left turning on road to Japan

Published on Saturday 10 November 2001 00:00

SVEN Goran Eriksson’s relationship with England’s football fans has become that of a benign doctor with an excitable patient. That 5-1 win in Munich was an adrenaline overdose, and Eriksson had to reach for the hefty sedative of a desperately bad display against Greece.

The problem was that David Beckham negated the overall impression of familiar ineptitude with his dramatic individual intervention, and the England fans are full of unreasonable expectations again. To douse them with a little cold water, Eriksson has invited his fellow Swedes to Old Trafford for today’s friendly. It’s an encounter likely to be a worthy but dull spot of tinkering with an England machine, with a lot of substitutions, still missing a couple of cogs.

"Lots of changes" he promised yesterday, although Eriksson also said that he would start with his first-choice line-up. That in itself is a measure of the progress he has made since his appointment a year ago. England hadn’t really had a first choice line-up since the days of Banks, Cohen, Wilson, Stiles...

As it turns out, two of Eriksson’s chosen people will be missing. Steven Gerrard pulled out of the squad on Wednesday with a groin strain. The phlegmatic manager might console himself with the thought that Gerrard is now such a key part of his England side that it might be as well looking at possible stand-ins well in advance of the summer. Eriksson was also unwilling to risk Michael Owen, who has a tweaked hamstring.

Without such irritations, there would be relatively few question marks about Eriksson’s preferred first team. It’s a blend of youth and experience, and in the team’s two talismans, Beckham and Owen.

David Seaman, whose shoulder problem keeps him out of the present squad, will, form and fitness permitting, have his international swansong in the Far East. Barring disasters, Gary Neville will keep the No2 shirt for the next seven years or so. In central defence, Eriksson is prepared to give Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand the time to build their partnership because they are young enough and talented enough to be around for the next three major tournaments at least.

Doubts have been expressed about Ashley Cole’s defensive abilities. In favour of Highbury’s version of Roberto Carlos is that Eriksson sees him as a player with a long and illustrious future, and in the present it is hard to make out a convincing case for an alternative. Those clamouring for Graeme Le Saux’s recall have obviously wiped their memories as it was his slip against Romania that meant England had to play Argentina in St Etienne in 1998, instead of taking a rather less demanding route in the competition.

In midfield, captain Beckham will have, when fitness allows, the player he calls Stevie G as his lieutenant. Paul Scholes has been guaranteed a place for the past three years, although recent form has taken an alarming slide, due mainly to his unfamiliarity with the new position he has been asked to fill at his club. The left side of midfield remains a vacancy up for grabs.

With varying success, Eriksson has deployed Nick Barmby, Steve McManaman and Emile Heskey in the role. Heskey, superb against Germany, Bayern Munich, and against Manchester United last weekend, seems to have confirmed himself as Owen’s strike partner at club and international level, though given Eriksson’s broad choice of forwards he may be tempted to shift Heskey wide again. Otherwise, without an obvious left-footed candidate, Eriksson is looking at a variety of journeymen for the role.

Darren Anderton still nurses hopes of a recall, though nursing isn’t the most tactful of verbs to use around the injury-afflicted player. Barmby, unfit today, is a strong candidate, though rivalled by his clubmate Danny Murphy, who has been pivotal in Liverpool’s recent run of results. "Murphy has become better and better," Eriksson said this week. "I have seen him play outside-left, outside-right and in the middle. I think he can play in all the midfield positions. He is a very useful player. He is a hard worker, a good passer and he has a good shot."

If Owen fails a late fitness test, Sunderland’s Kevin Phillips may be given a rare starting chance. "He has not been ignored," Eriksson said, "but I have made mistakes. It’s not always easy to pick 25 players from all the good young English players available."

Reading between the lines of Eriksson’s comments, you get the impression the manager prefers Teddy Sheringham or Alan Smith, but is liberal enough to give Phillips a chance to change that opinion.

Of the absentees from the squad, McManaman (busy with Real Madrid this weekend) and Kieron Dyer make the most compelling cases for consideration. Since being a part of the Euro 96 side, McManaman has been an international enigma with successive managers struggling to find his ideal position.

But for Real Madrid against Barcelona last Sunday he was the best player on show, which, considering he was alongside Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo, was quite an accomplishment. Eriksson may be tempted to give him Scholes’ position.

Playboy gadabout Dyer, once he recovers his fitness and gets over his hangover, may be another option down the left. His brief international appearances have been promising if not quite revelatory.

England haven’t beaten Sweden for 32 years, and Eriksson won’t be too concerned about changing that statistic, even though he faces a depleted side lacking the likes of Henrik Larsson and Freddie Ljungberg.

The important element at this stage is bedding down his established side, and running an eye over the alternatives.

After that he has seven months to judge if some upstart can force his way into contention. The last two World Cups were marked by the late inclusion of prodigies: Paul Gascoigne and Michael Owen. England may have a settled look now, but there is still a vacancy for genius.