World Cup week, and it’s a question of frontmen: Puff Diddy or Biggie Smalls. Sven-Goran Eriksson takes his bruised and battered England into battle against Austria at Old Trafford on Saturday without the suspended Wayne Rooney.
Eriksson’s remaining choices up front? The diddymen, Michael Owen (1,73m) and Jermain Defoe 1,69m, or the little and large combination of Owen and the 1,98m Peter Crouch.
These are uncomfortable options for the icy Swede before a game England dare not lose following their abysmal 4-1 friendly defeat against Denmark in Copenhagen, an edgy 1-0 win over Wales and the historic 1-0 upset at the hands of Northern Ireland in Belfast, England’s first defeat in the province since 1927.
Owen has scored twice for Newcastle since his return from Real Madrid a month ago, but he was forced out of action at the weekend by a dead leg. Defoe is in and out at Spurs. Crouch has yet to score for Liverpool.
And it’s not much better at the back. Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand, after the drugs test debacle and the driving fines, now finds himself struggling to remember how to defend. Sol Campbell is back in impressive form for Arsenal and looks likely to partner Chelsea’s John Terry at centrehalf.
Regular left back Ashley Cole is out with a stress fracture, regular right back and team leader Gary Neville is also injured.
In goal, Paul Robinson will get the nod ahead of David James, who threw a couple in against Denmark. In the midfield, in-form Charlton midfielder Danny Murphy remains out in the cold despite the alarming lack of oomph provided by the big names, Steve Gerrard, captain David Beckham and Frank Lampard — who appear unable to play happily with one another. Beckham may be missing on Saturday because his son Romeo is ill in Madrid.
So, after five years of unequalled qualifying success, Eriksson finds himself in charge of an unsettled side with all kinds of selection dilemmas and his career is on the line.
Naturally, he has the backing of his players. He hasn’t, despite rumours, committed the cardinal managerial sin of ”losing the dressing room”; he doesn’t let Beckham pick the side and he wasn’t pressed into changing the formation before the Northern Ireland game. Of course not. He doesn’t really fail to show enough emotion when things are going badly; he always has a plan up his sleeve.
Eriksson, who needs to beat the Austrians on Saturday and the Poles on Wednesday to secure an automatic qualification that looked all wrapped up a month ago, says: ”I have watched the video of the Ireland game many times and it does not get better — but I have not shown the players the video. We need to look forward and be positive and not look back and be negative.”
A couple of years ago, when Beckham, Campbell, Cole, Neville and Owen were at their peak and Rooney, Gerrard, Terry, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole were coming through, it looked as though England’s time could finally come. The country could stop talking about 1966 for the first time in 40 years.
But no. It has come down to survival against Austria and, as it has done so often over the years, Poland.
Eriksson has failed to move England on, to come up with a coherent strategy and a team capable of global conquest in Germany next year. Blow me, the guy has even failed to show that he cares.
These are difficult times for England fans. And as Eriksson himself says: ”For England not to reach the World Cup would be a disaster.”
For England and for you, Sven.
There are other countries battling it out across Europe, of course. In Group 1, Holland need a draw with the Czech Republic in Prague on Saturday to qualify. In Group 2, Ukraine are the only European side certain to qualify (along with hosts Germany), with Greece and Denmark vying for the play-off place in Copenhagen on Saturday.
Group 3 sees Portugal needing just a point against Liechtenstein and Latvia, with Slovakia and Russia, who meet on Wednesday, going for second place. In Group 4 the Republic of Ireland need to beat Cyprus and Switzerland to stand any chance in the tightest of groups with France and Israel also contenders.
Group 5 sees Italy on top with Norway heading for second; Group 6 will come down to Poland and England on Wednesday, while Group 7 sees Spain hoping leaders Serbia and Montenegro drop points. Group 8 comes down to a battle between Sweden and Croatia.