Just read this article on soccernet:
England's left flank fix
Norman Hubbard
Picking the strongest side is not an obvious recipe for controversy. And the notion that David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are England's four best midfielders provokes little dissent. But it invariably leads to the recurring question of the Sven-Goran Eriksson era: who plays on the left wing?
Scholes, if the Iceland game was as persuasive to Eriksson as the scoreline suggested. Gerrard, if the previous warm-up games are a better indication of the Swede's selection against France.
Five other members of the Euro 2004 squad (Wayne Bridge, Owen Hargreaves, Joe Cole, Kieron Dyer and Emile Heskey) have also taken their turn in England's problem position. All prefer to play elsewhere.
And yet, two years after starting a World Cup campaign with Heskey on the left flank, Eriksson appears equally undecided. The late rethink prompted by Nicky Butt's slump in form has allowed for Lampard's inclusion but merely complicated the make-up of the midfield.
Before the crushing of Iceland, Gerrard had become the recognised choice on the left in a diamond formation. It says much for him that he was never a weak link in an alien position. Indeed, his fierce competitiveness meant England were rarely defensively exposed on the left flank while Gerrard was enough of an attacking threat to set up Michael Owen's goal against Japan and force a penalty away in Turkey.
All the more impressive for a player with a marked aversion to using his left foot. Gerrard adopts the Paul Merson technique and cultivates the outside of his right instead.
Positionally, when England are in possession, he opts to get ahead of the ball so he can turn back infield when receiving a pass. He might be the best one-footed player in the world. The problem, thus, is not what Gerrard contributes, but what he cannot.
If the midfield holding role restricts the Liverpool captain from making his trademark driving runs, a position on the left puts half the pitch out of bounds for a midfielder increasingly accustomed to dominating games.
The partnership of Gerrard and Lampard, each with some defensive responsibility and a consuming desire to control the match, at least offers each the chance to replicate their outstanding club form on the international stage.
It is something Scholes has failed to do, especially under Eriksson. The Manchester United man has had an international career of two halves. For the first four years, the goals flowed. In the past three, he has failed to score for 26 often undistinguished games as his club contributions have dwarfed his international displays. In that, Scholes is the polar opposite of Beckham. Is it any surprise that Sir Alex Ferguson prefers the quieter man?
But if Eriksson correctly supposed that Scholes spent too much of the World Cup too far from the opposition goal, his recent role at the head of a midfield diamond has only extended that drought.
So perhaps he has been banished to the left flank in a flatter midfield four as punishment. Despite his admission that Lampard has a greater claim to a place, Scholes's honesty is unlikely to cost him. Eriksson simply refuses to drop him. He has, however, played on the left of the Manchester United midfield at times.
And while Iceland's population is less than Bournemouth's, a buoyant Scholes was a major influence in England's morale-boosting 6-1 win. A hat-trick of perceptive passes put Owen in the clear and, again unlike Beckham, Scholes delivers a better diagonal pass from left to right.
He should, too, have scored that long-awaited goal from a Gary Neville cross. Perhaps the anonymity essential for ghosting into dangerous positions is a reason why Scholes has not imposed himself upon enough England games.
At any rate, 45 minutes against a ragged Iceland side were notable for both Scholes and Lampard converging on the visitors' penalty box and combining for the opening goal.
If, inevitably, both Scholes and Gerrard cut infield, that is only to be expected. Neither is a specialist left-sided midfielder and those Eriksson has selected - Trevor Sinclair, Alan Thompson and Nick Barmby - are palpably inferior footballers now.
Joe Cole and Dyer, the other midfield options, now seem certain to be substitutes, both bringing a penchant for the unpredictable without being reliable enough for Eriksson. The only other alternative, tried for an hour in 2002, is to pair the two left backs.
Then Bridge was given the unfamiliar brief though Ashley Cole's greater pace may make him the more natural midfielder. In truth, however, both are adept at breaking from deep and a midfield role would require a different approach and a change in attitude. That both first-choice Cole and his understudy are at ease going forward outside the left-sided midfielder bodes well for either Gerrard or Scholes.
And Cole forms part of English football's most irresistible attacking force even though Arsenal invariably neglect the right flank. For all the focus on England's left, Eriksson's side could do worse than adopt a similary one-sided method and concentrate on the tried-and-tested combination of Beckham and Gary Neville down the right flank.
Nearer the touchline, the captain could re-establish himself as the most feared crosser in world football; Scholes, seeming England's best option on the left, could be the beneficiary if his mandate is to cut infield.
Our introverted preoccupation with the absence of a left-footed midfielder also ignores England's first opposition. France are certain to field four right-footed midfielders in Sunday's game. Lining up on the left will be either Robert Pires or Zinedine Zidane. Hardly a problem position.
France are the favourites to win Euro 2004. So the selection of (preferably) Scholes on the left is not necessarily an impediment to England. After all, the left-sided midfielder in the 1966 was Martin Peters. And he was right-footed.
Quite a good read IMO....and I agree with what he's saying.....Gerrard and Lampard are in such phenomenal form that they should play in the middle of a flat 4, with scholes on the left and Beckham on the right.
England's left flank fix
Norman Hubbard
Picking the strongest side is not an obvious recipe for controversy. And the notion that David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are England's four best midfielders provokes little dissent. But it invariably leads to the recurring question of the Sven-Goran Eriksson era: who plays on the left wing?
Scholes, if the Iceland game was as persuasive to Eriksson as the scoreline suggested. Gerrard, if the previous warm-up games are a better indication of the Swede's selection against France.
Five other members of the Euro 2004 squad (Wayne Bridge, Owen Hargreaves, Joe Cole, Kieron Dyer and Emile Heskey) have also taken their turn in England's problem position. All prefer to play elsewhere.
And yet, two years after starting a World Cup campaign with Heskey on the left flank, Eriksson appears equally undecided. The late rethink prompted by Nicky Butt's slump in form has allowed for Lampard's inclusion but merely complicated the make-up of the midfield.
Before the crushing of Iceland, Gerrard had become the recognised choice on the left in a diamond formation. It says much for him that he was never a weak link in an alien position. Indeed, his fierce competitiveness meant England were rarely defensively exposed on the left flank while Gerrard was enough of an attacking threat to set up Michael Owen's goal against Japan and force a penalty away in Turkey.
All the more impressive for a player with a marked aversion to using his left foot. Gerrard adopts the Paul Merson technique and cultivates the outside of his right instead.
Positionally, when England are in possession, he opts to get ahead of the ball so he can turn back infield when receiving a pass. He might be the best one-footed player in the world. The problem, thus, is not what Gerrard contributes, but what he cannot.
If the midfield holding role restricts the Liverpool captain from making his trademark driving runs, a position on the left puts half the pitch out of bounds for a midfielder increasingly accustomed to dominating games.
The partnership of Gerrard and Lampard, each with some defensive responsibility and a consuming desire to control the match, at least offers each the chance to replicate their outstanding club form on the international stage.
It is something Scholes has failed to do, especially under Eriksson. The Manchester United man has had an international career of two halves. For the first four years, the goals flowed. In the past three, he has failed to score for 26 often undistinguished games as his club contributions have dwarfed his international displays. In that, Scholes is the polar opposite of Beckham. Is it any surprise that Sir Alex Ferguson prefers the quieter man?
But if Eriksson correctly supposed that Scholes spent too much of the World Cup too far from the opposition goal, his recent role at the head of a midfield diamond has only extended that drought.
So perhaps he has been banished to the left flank in a flatter midfield four as punishment. Despite his admission that Lampard has a greater claim to a place, Scholes's honesty is unlikely to cost him. Eriksson simply refuses to drop him. He has, however, played on the left of the Manchester United midfield at times.
And while Iceland's population is less than Bournemouth's, a buoyant Scholes was a major influence in England's morale-boosting 6-1 win. A hat-trick of perceptive passes put Owen in the clear and, again unlike Beckham, Scholes delivers a better diagonal pass from left to right.
He should, too, have scored that long-awaited goal from a Gary Neville cross. Perhaps the anonymity essential for ghosting into dangerous positions is a reason why Scholes has not imposed himself upon enough England games.
At any rate, 45 minutes against a ragged Iceland side were notable for both Scholes and Lampard converging on the visitors' penalty box and combining for the opening goal.
If, inevitably, both Scholes and Gerrard cut infield, that is only to be expected. Neither is a specialist left-sided midfielder and those Eriksson has selected - Trevor Sinclair, Alan Thompson and Nick Barmby - are palpably inferior footballers now.
Joe Cole and Dyer, the other midfield options, now seem certain to be substitutes, both bringing a penchant for the unpredictable without being reliable enough for Eriksson. The only other alternative, tried for an hour in 2002, is to pair the two left backs.
Then Bridge was given the unfamiliar brief though Ashley Cole's greater pace may make him the more natural midfielder. In truth, however, both are adept at breaking from deep and a midfield role would require a different approach and a change in attitude. That both first-choice Cole and his understudy are at ease going forward outside the left-sided midfielder bodes well for either Gerrard or Scholes.
And Cole forms part of English football's most irresistible attacking force even though Arsenal invariably neglect the right flank. For all the focus on England's left, Eriksson's side could do worse than adopt a similary one-sided method and concentrate on the tried-and-tested combination of Beckham and Gary Neville down the right flank.
Nearer the touchline, the captain could re-establish himself as the most feared crosser in world football; Scholes, seeming England's best option on the left, could be the beneficiary if his mandate is to cut infield.
Our introverted preoccupation with the absence of a left-footed midfielder also ignores England's first opposition. France are certain to field four right-footed midfielders in Sunday's game. Lining up on the left will be either Robert Pires or Zinedine Zidane. Hardly a problem position.
France are the favourites to win Euro 2004. So the selection of (preferably) Scholes on the left is not necessarily an impediment to England. After all, the left-sided midfielder in the 1966 was Martin Peters. And he was right-footed.
Quite a good read IMO....and I agree with what he's saying.....Gerrard and Lampard are in such phenomenal form that they should play in the middle of a flat 4, with scholes on the left and Beckham on the right.
