bradley headstone
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Posted: November 2nd 2009
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England have ‘comfortably’ qualified for the World Cup. I qualify comfortably as really we should manage to qualify this easily for every tournament. That we don’t is probably considered part of our national make up and not exclusive to us.
Ask France about the process and you’ll get more than a Gallic shrug. Argentina, Italy and even Germany left it perilously late and as for the Czech Republic, practically a permanent member of the FIFA top ten since their inception, well blimey!
So we are there and despite no obvious reasons to support the theory, we are already installed amongst the favourites! Capello has brought at least a desire to retain the ball but it would be a hell of a job to completely remove this central pillar of the English game!
Often quoted as being in our favour is the climate. It’ll be winter in South Africa and decidedly parky, particularly with the evening games. It’s a decent theory, but I don’t believe that climate issues affected us in Germany or Portugal as intemperate decisions by the likes of Rooney or Terry.
This campaign, like the those of 2002, 2004, and 2006, the so called ‘golden generations’ tournaments will come down to one factor.
Fitness!
We have an ok squad, with a sprinkling of genuinely good players. In all those previous tournaments key players have got injured during the final months of the season. It was Beckham and Neville in 2002, Beckham again in 2004 (we shouldn’t forget Ferdinand’s broken muscle between his ears and Ledley King’s fatherhood which crucially meant that John Terry was haplessly marking Postiga in the game against Portugal) and Wayne Rooney’s metatarsal in 2006.
There is an argument that would say that injuries to say Defoe, Heskey and Walcott might mean that Crouch, Owen and Milner might get on the trip and play significant roles. But if they go instead of Rooney, Gerrard and Joe Cole then I think another Quarter Final disappointment is in the offing.
It’s not looking great at the moment, Gerrard is out, Cole is back after the best part of a year out and Ferdinand might find himself at Notts County if his present form continues. If there are still issues in April I will be worried.
Of course, this could all be academic, what do these names have in common, Casillas, Buffon, that grey haired Greek bloke, Tafferel, Barthez, Khan, and Schmeichel. Even the one whose name I can’t remember would be England’s current number one (I don’t care how old they are!). I just can’t picture David James grinning down the line as JT lifts the World Cup, can you?