Euro 2012: England
With just over two weeks until the start of UEFA Euro
2012, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about England.
For every tournament that England are involved in, there
is always an hysteric expectation that they will eventually lift silverware,
despite a forty six year dry spell. Even though England are considered to be
the fifth best team in Europe according to the FIFA World Rankings, I believe the
chances of an English victory in Kiev on July 1st are very slim.
The appointment of Roy Hodgson has not been unanimously
welcomed by England supporters. However, he has international experience,
whereas other more popular candidates, such as Harry Redknapp, lack this.
International football and domestic football are very different, and they
require different approaches. Although Hodgson lacks the eccentricity that
Redknapp is adored by the media for, I believe that Hodgson is a better manager
than he is given credit for.
Despite this, I do not believe that England’s squad is as good as previous years. I believe that England are
particularly weak in attack. With Wayne Rooney suspended for the first two
games against France and Sweden, striking responsibility will fall to one of Andy
Carroll, Jermain Defoe or Danny Welbeck. Rooney has been a key influence for
Manchester United this season, with 27 goals in 32 Premier League starts.
Rooney is a world class player, but his replacements are not up to this standard. Carroll has scored 4 goals in 35 Premier League
games, which hardly warrants his £35 million price tag. Defoe has 11 goals in
25 Premier League games and Welbeck has 9 goals in 30 Premier League games.
France and Sweden are tough teams, and I believe that
it will be difficult for England to escape the group stages. The final group
game against Ukraine may be particularly challenging, considering that they have
home advantage.
By Kelvin Jones
Statistics courtesy of whoscored.com
Follow me on Twitter: @Kelvin_Jones
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