Rooney, Rio and Terry out of the World Cup: An Alternative England

It’s the morning of Saturday, 22nd May and Fabio Capello is within a week of naming the definitive England party of 23 which he will lead to the much-anticipated World Cup finals in South Africa in just a few days time. Yet, with typically ghastly timing, his best-laid plans are laid to waste.

Wayne Rooney provokes eerily-familiar frenzied tabloid headlines (“Roo-Knee Wrecked”; “Wayne’s Sprain Pain in Spain”) by tweaking his right knee in the process of grabbing Manchester United’s opening goal in the Champions League final in Madrid. A Roo-less United go on to lose 8-1 to an unexpectedly rampant CSKA Moscow side and England’s premier striker is ruled out of action for more than a month.

It gets worse. Within hours of Rooney’s misfortune, recently-installed captain Rio Ferdinand stages a remarkable eve-of-tournament walkout; following his dream career in TV production by accepting a lucrative offer from ITV to oversee the resurrected 80s telly ‘classic’ Beadle’s About (starring former Bristol Rovers striker Peter Beadle as prankster-in-chief).

The grieving nation is sent into a state of sheer apoplexy when it is later announced that the remaining members of the England squad (including deposed skipper John Terry) are kidnapped and held captive by an extremist faction of Fathers 4 Justice, headed by a masked man known only to the authorities as ‘W. Bridge'.

So, facing such a (vastly improbable) scenario, what’s an England manager to do?

Here’s an alternative 23 for Signor Capello, a notoriously avid reader of footballingworld.com, to peruse. Included are a number of the disregarded or unheralded English players that have performed with distinction this season, without even a sniff of international recognition.

Goalkeepers

Steve Harper (Newcastle United). Definitive one-club man, benefitting from his longest first-team run in years. A paragon of consistency with top-class reactions; Harper is currently revelling in a new club clean-sheet record.

Lee Camp (Nottingham Forest). Undoubted star of Forest’s charge up the Championship table; recently handed the skipper’s armband.

Scott Loach (Watford). Under-21s no.1, sensibly gaining invaluable experience in the Championship rather than rotting in Premier League reserves.

Defenders

Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur). If there can be such a thing as a defensive lynchpin at White Hart Lane – a renowned graveyard for central defenders – this season Dawson has been it. Certainly less error-prone than previously, his improved authority and consistency has led to the Spurs captaincy and plaudits from the press and fans alike.

Roger Johnson (Birmingham City). Has, along with defensive partner Scott Dann, surpassed all expectation during his first season at the elite level. Blues’ recent success has been built on the bedrock of his calmness on the ball and relentless appetite for headed clearances.

Sol Campbell (Arsenal). Notwithstanding the fact that the erstwhile Notts County employee cannot cut it for more than 90 minutes per week, he brings a wealth of experience and is regarded by no less than Arsene Wenger as a model professional. Emergency back-up.

Gary Neville (Manchester United). Injury has quickened the apparent decline of this England stalwart, but his vintage performance in the Champions League home tie with Milan reminded us of his long-underrated talents. Perfect captain material.

Danny Fox (Burnley). A short-lived stay at Parkhead brought mixed reviews and the Clarets’ form since his January arrival has hardly provided a ringing endorsement of his defensive talents. However, offensively able left-footed left-backs are a rare enough breed and he is a talented set-piece specialist.

Chris Smalling (Fulham). The 20-year-old is Old Trafford-bound and has impressed on his intermittent appearances for Fulham this season. The new Rio?

Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace). Should be commended not only for his loyalty to Palace in their hour of need, but also his confidence, pace and progressive play. Can cover either full-back position.

Midfielders

Michael Mancienne (Wolves). Permanently out on loan from Chelsea while he awaits the decline of the immovable incumbents at centre-half, this has proved to be something of a breakthrough season for the versatile starlet. It seems that a deep-lying midfield role has brought out his best qualities.

Phil Neville (Everton). Accredited with much of the praise for the Toffees’ meteoric post-Christmas rise by David Moyes. Glossing over his occasionally inglorious international past; Gary’s younger brother is a true Mr Consistency, is versatile, and, like big bro, is perfect captain material.

Jack Rodwell (Everton). Regular appearances this season have provided a platform for the powerful midfielder to shine. Has impressed in a more attacking role of late, yet many predict a great future for Rodwell at centre-half.

Lee Bowyer (Birmingham City). To build a respectable career from the ashes of such a loathsome past takes a certain amount of character, which few people would’ve credited Bowyer with in years gone by. Compensates for declining lung-power with intelligent runs from deep and canny interaction with club cohort Barry Ferguson.

Kevin Nolan (Newcastle United). Considered a Gerrard-lite in his younger years, Nolan has rediscovered his shooting boots in the second tier and revels in his newfound seniority at club level. The FourFourTwo/Coca-Cola Football League player of the year.

David Dunn (Blackburn Rovers). In a previous era, Dunn was oft-touted as the solution to England’s left-sided problem. Unfortunately for him, so was everyone else from Steve McManaman to Trevor Sinclair. Only a calf injury prevented the 30-year-old from building on a lightning start to the campaign (six goals in his first 11 games). Plus ça change.

Adam Johnson (Manchester City). Failed to make it past the provisional selection for the recent Egypt game, this delightfully old-fashioned winger should be a shoe-in.

Peter Whittingham (Cardiff City). Possessed of a left foot of wonderful dexterity, the former Villa man has been scoring relentlessly in the Championship. Can certainly handle the step up to the Prem, should the Bluebirds successfully negotiate the promotion playoffs.

Jack Wilshere (Bolton Wanderers). Every World Cup squad needs a wild-card; a callow youth with abundant talent but zero experience. Already making a significant impact at the Reebok Stadium during his first ever extended first-team run.

Forwards

Darren Bent (Sunderland). Has not impressed upon previous call-ups, but his Premier League goalscoring record is irrefutable. Possible weakness: taking penalties against giant, erratic Brazilian goalkeepers.

Bobby Zamora (Fulham). What a season. What a transformation.

Andy Carroll (Newcastle United). The big man has firmly established impeccable boxing credentials (ask Steven Taylor) and has shown similar prowess in and around Championship penalty boxes this year. Brings to mind a young (for ‘young’ in this instance please read ‘late-twenties’) Luca Toni.

Michael Chopra (Cardiff City). Like Bent, a true fox-in-the-box in the classic style. His late, late derby winner against Swansea this weekend showcased how ‘Chops’ earned an early reputation as the ‘new Michael Owen’. That billing was an over-estimation, as unhappy times in his native North East have proven, but he still sure knows how to sniff out a chance and bury it.

With this alternative squad – a rag-bag collection of gnarled veterans and not-quite-international bright young things – England might still expect to give World Cup group opponents Algeria, Slovenia and the USA, a good run for their money, but an exit in the last 16, against stiffer opposition, would surely await. It might be a nightmare scenario for some, but should Signor Capello need to resort to Plans C, D and E, then we can rest assured that the nation’s hopes will be in safe hands.

Based on club form this season, which players would you nominate for an England squad shorn of its stars?

Capello’s Choice: Beckham out, Johnson in?

The painful snapping of David Beckham’s Achilles tendon has apparently been heard around the world. Already, innumerable obituaries have been offered for Becks’ World Cup dream; some were keen to even write-off the 34-year-old’s career before a complete diagnosis was even made. What is for sure, however, is that England’s commander-in-chief, Fabio Capello, who quickly offered a message of sympathy to one of his most-valued squad members, will have already have ‘moved on’ in the re-composition of his selection for South Africa.

Beckham was, of course, due to fill a back-up slot; covering the right-wing and central midfield positions; offering technical assurance and set-piece wizardry as and when necessary. He was the ‘Plan B’ for England’s right flank, which, for all their innate talents, has yet to have been rightfully claimed as his own by any of its most recent occupants. Theo Walcott, Aaron Lennon, even Shaun Wright-Phillips, have all dazzled intermittently, while James Milner’s assiduous reliability and impressive versatility has pushed the Aston Villa midfielder to the forefront of late.

Given that Lennon’s recurrent injury woes appear likely to rule the Tottenham man out of the running, it looks as though Walcott, for all his faults, remains the favourite for the right-wing berth. Beckham’s enforced withdrawal, however, frees up space for another wide-man.

So, what if there was an orthodox winger available to Capello; someone with undoubted potential, the ability to drift past his marker, to easily beat a full-back with a trick, then cross onto a fivepence (even tougher than a sixpence, you’ll agree). What if such a player was so highly-regarded that both Chelsea and Real Madrid were apparently interested in securing his signature before he moved from his boyhood club in a deal worth an ample £7 million – during a depressed mid-season transfer market and in spite of having only a few months remaining on his contract. And, as if to confirm his potential for divinity, this young man is predominantly left-footed. Now, surely the astute Italian wouldn’t fail to select such a player?

Well he’s certainly considering it. Adam Johnson’s call-up to the preliminary squad for the Egypt game confirmed that Signor Capello has the Sunderland-born starlet in his thoughts.

Already it is apparent that Johnson has the raw talent to follow in the footsteps of the best British wingers of recent years. The ‘new Giggs’ labels were as premature as they were predictable, especially given his move to Manchester, but it is no surprise to discover that the Welsh wizard, whose videos Johnson studied at length while in the Middlesbrough youth ranks, was the “hero” of Johnson’s footballing youth.

Comparisons to Chris Waddle also hold a grain of authenticity – what with their North East backgrounds, willingness to attack full-backs at speed, and penchant for pinpoint left-footed crosses. The forthright former Marseille star cited Johnson’s rapid progress in the footnotes of his scathing (though fairly accurate) portrayal of Walcott earlier this month. The young Arsenal forward was, of course, himself a World Cup wildcard four years ago. Perhaps Johnson, his senior by two years, can fill that ‘role’ this time around.

His manager at Eastlands has shown great belief in Johnson’s ability – offering him an unexpected full debut against Bolton, where the winger earned the Man of the Match award, and again turning to the 22-year-old as Sunday’s game at the Stadium of Light threatened to slip away from City’s cast of stars. In front of his family, all Sunderland fans, Johnson, with stunning virtuosity, jinked to the edge of the penalty area before unleashing an unstoppable curling shot into the extreme top-left corner of the previously unbeatable Craig Gordon’s net. Salvaging a valuable point in the chase for Champions League football, Johnson enjoyed the plaudits of Roberto Mancini, who, it has frequently been reported, has had at least one in-depth discussion with Fabio Capello about his new protégé.

The praise was not unfettered by a certain degree of realism, however.

“Adam is a good player, but is a young player,” said Mancini.

He continued: “I think that in the future, he will be a good player for the national team, but now I don't know. The England national team has a good manager and he knows very well Adam Johnson and he will decide.”

The man himself acknowledges the size of his task in jumping from the Championship to the World Cup in six months. Lest this be held against the youngster, it should be noted that both Jonás Gutiérrez and Fabricio Coloccini are likely to feature for Argentina, having played second-tier football all season long. Robert Koren, in and out of favour at West Brom, will captain Slovenia at the finals.

Just last week Johnson, who has won 19 caps for the under-21s, presciently said: “Who knows? If there are a couple of injuries and I have some great form between now and the end of the season, you never know. I’ve come a long way in a short space of time.

“Somebody always comes in late, and if you know the England manager is watching, you can’t help but try a bit harder. It’s up to me to do well for City and, if we get fourth spot with me playing a big part in it, then you never know.”

Certainly, his early showings back in the Premier League have overshadowed the more prosaic form of the man he understudied at Middlesbrough, Stewart Downing, whose crossing ability is undoubted, but lacks the capacity for the unexpected that Johnson has to offer. Meanwhile, the immensely-talented Joe Cole’s return from injury has been so far underwhelming (perhaps untimely contract discussions have played their part) and Steven Gerrard has been, and always will be, an unwilling ‘narrow’ left-winger. In the negative margin, though, Capello must consider whether he can afford to include another inexperienced left-sided player, with either Stephen Warnock or Leighton Baines set to deputise for Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge.

Following that dazzling full Premier League debut against Bolton, Johnson received a standing ovation from the City faithful upon his late withdrawal, having outshone Carlos Tévez and Emmanuel Adebayor – his partners in a three-man attack (in which he figured on the right). Should the confident young product of the fruitful Boro academy continue to have such an impact on the absorbing ‘race for fourth place’, then a fairytale trip to South Africa is certainly not beyond his compass.