Wednesday, March 25, 2009

English Angle: England Don't Need A No. 9 To Win In 2010

Fabio Capello's squad, as ever, looks a little short up front, but Goal.com's Alan Dawson believes this needn't hold back the Three Lions on their quest to re-establish themselves as one of the international scene's top teams...

Italy proved just as much with their 2006 World Cup squad as the awkward Luca Toni managed to record just two goals during that competition. The goal-scoring burden fell on the shoulders of the supporting Azzurri cast, with players such as Andrea Pirlo, Francesco Totti, Gianluca Zambrotta, Alessandro Del Piero, Fabio Grosso and Marco Materazzi lending their weight towards the goal-getting effort.

England manager Fabio Capello does not have the luxury of calling up a relentlessly net-bulging No. 9 like the Alan Shearers, Jimmy Greaves and the Bobby Charltons of the past, so, bar Michael Owen - should the northern crock ever return to a sustained run of full match fitness - the Italian tactician should arguably focus more on where the Three Lions are blessed with quality in abundance: the midfield.

By skirting clear of England's favoured 4-4-2 formation - a system that has not borne fruit for an unwanted number of years now - and opting for the more continental and flexible 4-2-3-1, Capello can suitably answer the question of whether Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard can play in the same team together. All too often they were slotted into the centre of the 4-4-2 and, consequently, England fans were left underwhelmed as they failed to dovetail.

Under Rafael Benitez at Liverpool, Gerrard is flourishing more than ever and calls from esteemed figureheads such as Zinedine Zidane have declared that the Scouse skipper is the best in the world. The influence he has at club-level certainly seems to be unrivalled and so Capello's primary task must be replicating that on the international arena, by, presumably, continuing to deploy him in the No. 10's role.

How can you accommodate the pair?

A 4-4-2 can often be too rigid and concrete, with set roles too defined, whereas the 4-2-3-1 has room for negotiation, meaning that Gerrard could even be positioned further up-field. It is possible that he could perform the same duties as his club's local rival Tim Cahill has recently been doing with Everton while they suffered from a striking crisis.

Both Gerrard and Rooney can effectively share the role of the spearheading trequartista. They would then have to rely on an incoming midfield or two - from Frank Lampard; Theo Walcott; Ashley Young; Shaun Wright-Phillips; the resurgent Aaron Lennon; and Joe Cole (when he returns) - to take advantage of the second ball.

Comparisons between Gerrard and Lampard are futile and ultimately pointless. They play different roles. Gerrard now supports Fernando Torres while Lampard is effectively an attack-minded box-to-box midfielder. His defensive work is often understated. He is strong in the tackle and his positional sense in the deeper areas of the midfield is nothing short of wise.

Source: goal.com

Evra says France's fans lack football culture

France defender Patrice Evra has slammed French fans, claiming their lack of support for the national team shows a lack of football culture and that their support paled in comparison to that he receives at Manchester United.

A disastrous Euro 2008 saw them eliminated at the group stage after failing to win a match and French players were jeered by their own fans at the Stade Velodrome during a friendly defeat by Argentina last month and Evra, who was sidelined for the match, has hit out at the boo boys.

"I was disappointed to see the fans shouting 'ola' when the Argentinians were doing their tricks," he told France sports daily L'Equipe.

"(Manchester United team-mate and Argentina striker Carlos) Tevez, when he came back from international duty, told me he felt as if he was playing in Buenos Aires.

"There were (Diego) Maradona and Argentina flags in the stands. I still haven't seen a (Thierry) Henry flag or a (Franck) Ribery one at the Stade de France.

"The supporters need to be behind us. If they want us to get to the World Cup they will need to do something different."

Evra added: "We don't have the sporting culture of Brazilian, Argentinian, Italian or English fans.

"When I arrived in England, I had the impression that I was doing a new job. Because of the impact of the stadiums and the supporters...there it's a religion.

"We don't lose on purpose, nobody does that, we all go out there to win.

"In three years at United I have just lost two games on the trot for the first time, I understand that we have to win the next game. But even when we've lost, they've still applauded us, not booed."

Evra admits the players have been affected by the jeers and has urged the fans to get behind every single member of the France camp ahead of the crucial double header against Group Seven rivals Lithuania.

"It certainly affects us," he continued. "We talk about it between ourselves.

"I'm at a great club. When you have 76,000 people behind you, it gives you a massive boost, but if you hear boos from the fifth minute, you can't feel the same thing.