So England drew and collectively, a country groaned. Surprisingly the spark amongst the rubbish on show was Emile Heskey and not Wayne Rooney. I will argue that Heskey should not start England’s next game. I am no scout, I know very little about how Algeria play and therefore I am not considering that they may have a 4ft centre back who Heskey would dominate. I am writing this purely as an England fan who wants to see the England team do as well as possible and believes that in order to achieve this, Wayne Rooney is central to English plans.
Heskey had one of his best games for England on Saturday. He cleverly assisted Gerrard’s goal; lead the line; held the ball up well; linked up play; and put himself about – unsettling the American defenders.
Apart from the fact he missed a one on one, on the face of things, it would be hard to criticise Heskey. What’s more, Heskey during the World Cup qualifiers linked up well with Wayne Rooney and appeared to help Rooney become more dangerous.
Wayne Rooney however has just had his most prolific season in football. He played primarily on his own. Furthermore he admitted prior to the World Cup that he prefers to play on his own. Arguably, right now, Rooney plays the lone striker’s role better than anyone else in the world.
England lined up against the USA with two up front – Heskey and Rooney. Heskey lead the line, and allowed players to run off him. Rooney played deeper and struggled to get involved in the game. Rooney only broke forward sparingly as he looked to get onto the ball. His three most influential moments in the first half came from playing his teammates in, not from having chances himself.
As the second half wore on Rooney pushed higher up the pitch where he has become accustomed to playing for Manchester United. He started to influence the game more – setting the tempo and making things happen for England. Frequently he made very good runs in the box, often losing his marker.
Rooney is England’s most important player. He is the one player other nations say they fear more than any other in this England team. Rooney has the ability to inspire those around him and change a game in a few seconds. Rooney also flourishes when playing alone. Whilst Heskey stood out today, in my opinion he hindered the performance of Rooney.
I know that given the choice I would rather Rooney stood out than Heskey stood out. As we saw today, Heskey standing out does not equal goals. Rooney standing out generally does equal goals. In my opinion, Rooney must play up front on his own. He must be the man leading the line, getting into dangerous positions where he can score or have chances. Rooney is as good as Heskey at holding up the ball. If Gerrard, Lampard or maybe Joe Cole are running off him, they too will have chances. England must utilise the fact they have an outstanding player who plays best when alone.
Part of the success of Rooney this season at Manchester United has been down to the quality of the crosses put in for him – England must focus on improving the delivery of their crosses. Should England not be capable of putting in good crosses then fair enough, play a bigger man like Heskey or Crouch who can deal with a poorer ball in and make the most of it.
England must go to a 4-5-1, 4-3-3 or the currently popular 4-2-3-1. Essentially each formation lines up in a very similar way, to call it a 4-2-3-1 seems fashionable at the moment. Rooney must lead the line, and be supported by a three man midfield or someone floating behind him. It is a better option to revert to a 4-4-2 mid-game and bring someone like Heskey on than to revert to just one up top mid-game.
Heskey’s contribution should not be overlooked. He was excellent at the weekend, but I just wonder if that game would have panned out better had Rooney been up top alone.
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Tags: Doron, Emile Heskey, England, Heskey, Rooney, SA 2010, South Africa 2010, Wayne Rooney, WC 2010, World Cup
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