Who is the man to partner Rooney v Algeria?

Written by Tom Wakefield Thursday, 17 June 2010 22:49

England World Cup Blog

Ever since Michael Owen faded in to the football wilderness, there has been a place in the England side along side Wayne Rooney. But no matter who plays with the Manchester United man, they never seem to consistently perform. But now Fabio Capello has to chose from Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey or Peter Crouch, for Friday's crunch game with Algeria.

 
Heskey was the man given the role in England's opening game with the USA, but In my opinion I don't think that he provides enough for England. People think that he is just in the team to assist Rooney, but if this is the case, why doesn't he do it that often. I think that he is a player that was once good enough in the past, but it is now time to choose younger and better talent. 
 
I think that Crouch would be a good selection for England's' next starting line up because he has a good goal scoring record for England, also his ability to win the ball in the air and to lay Rooney off this could be a huge asset. I think Crouch provides something different for England as he is a player that comes up with things that other players cant do, players don't know how to play against him, and he could be a real weapon for England.
 
Even though having players like Crouch and Rooney up front would be good ,maybe England could also be a threat by having just one striker, Wayne Rooney, and five midfielders. The obvious option would be for Gareth Barry to sit, with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard in a more advanced role. I feel this could work, and would make us better as a defensive unit, but Capello seems to prefer a 4-4-2 formation.
 
This could give an opportunity to Jermain Defoe. Although Defoe is a player who has had a fine season with his club, personally I don't think he ever plays as well for his country. I feel his lack of international experience and game time is sometimes shown in his performances, and he seems to go missing.
 
Defoe's England career has seen him rarely feature in the starting 11, and when he has, Defoe has struggled to form an effective partnership with Rooney. Even though he is a good player I think Crouch would be much better suited to play along side Rooney.
 
The big teams in the world cup have world class players up front like David Villa, Luis Fabiano and Gonzalo Higuain but at the moment England just have Rooney which could be a concern, but hopefully this could be turned around by putting Crouch along side Rooney and both of them scoring goals. Many people would say that Peter Crouch could never be put in the same group as the elite but if given the chance on Friday, hopefully he can prove people wrong.

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