THE RIGHT WINGER SERIES PT8: CONCLUSION
So we have taken 7 weeks to get to this point: Who is England’s best Right Winger? After profiling 5 men; Beckham, Walcott, Bentley, Lennon, Wright-Phillips and Milner what conclusion have we come to?
England currently have some pretty good options in the midfield. Gerrard, Lampard, Carrick, Barry etc. Owen Hargreaves is returning to full fitness…
Capello seems to have settled on Lampard and Barry as his first choice partnership in the middle – although a fit Hargreaves could change that. This means that Gerrard has been used in a fluid left wing position. He drifts in and out and links up play. Therefore the only place left to debate really is the right wing.
Joe Cole and Ashley Young would be my back-up left wingers, so that means we only have 2 or 3 places left in the squad.
In a squad you want a couple of options. With that in mind I would pick Lennon, Walcott and Beckham.
Lennon should be England’s first choice winger. He is an out and out winger. He’s fast, tricky, a good crosser and possesses decent goal scoring ability. He can create space and goal scoring opportunities and that’s what being a winger is all about.
Beckham still has one of the best right foots in the game. His leadership and calm, mature head is a valuable asset to the team. And if plan A isn’t working, throw on Beckham and Crouch and I can guarantee you a goal.
Walcott is a good winger. He is lightening fast and has a good eye for a gap. He can also double-up as a striker.
A midfield with Gerrard, Lampard and Lennon sounds very dangerous. And looking across to the bench and seeing J.Cole, Young, Beckham and Walcott instills belief that England could just have the squad to challenge for top honors.
Read ‘Part 1-7′ here:
THE RIGHT WINGER SERIES PT7: MILNER
Leeds United have produced many great players. The list of past Leeds players is a long and interesting one. Rio Ferdinand, Jonathan Woodgate, Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell, Alan Smith and many more. We have already had a look at one of their past wingers. Aaron Lennon made is debut for Leeds at just 16 years old. Today we look at another player who made his Leeds debut at just 16 – James Milner.
James Milner wouldn’t be described as a ‘typical winger’. He certainly possesses the ability to beat defenders – more because of clever play than speed and trickery however.
Milner has made an amazing 46 England U21 appearances! So what does James add to the team?
Milner is a great all-round player who is comfortable on the right or left wing. He has decent pace, a good eye for a pass and is happy to get stuck in and make some tackles. He reminds me a little of Park Ji Sung or Dirk Kuyt. He isn’t a prolific scorer (9 goals in his 46 appearances) but his ability to launch himself up the pitch and deliver a clever through ball, creates opportunities for others to score.
In my opinion wingers are in the side to create goal scoring opportunities. They hang wide to create space, they cut in to make use of that space or they use the channel to draw defenders away so attackers can utilize the created space. Yes, the more they can score the better but their main purpose – for me – is to create goal scoring opportunities. Be it a clever pass, a pin-point cross, a shot that gets parried…
James Milner does that job. His ability to read the game makes him a very dangerous player to have on the field. He can slot happily into the middle of the field as well as right or left back. England have a pretty good starting 11 and I don’t think Milner is good enough to be pushing his way in there yet but his adaptability could be an invaluable asset to the squad. Milner has been used mainly on the left for England of late. He probably finds himself behind Beckham, Lennon and Walcott. With the right so full of options, Joe Cole returning to full fitness and Ashley Young finding good form his place on the plane is far from guaranteed.
Read ‘Part 1-6′ here:
THE RIGHT WINGER PT6 – WRIGHT-PHILLIPS
Shaun Wright-Phillips is an interesting case. The former Chelsea player has always been there or there about when it comes to the England squad. He doesn’t seem to be Cappelo’s first choice right winger but how far down the pecking order is he? Beckham seems to have secured a place in the squad. Walcott has been injured for a while so hasn’t been picked. Aaron Lennon has been starting the last couple of games. So does that leave SWP only fourth? And therefore without a plane ticket…
There are certain players who when they get the ball, fear is visibly installed in defenders. Spectators want them to get the ball because they are exciting to watch. Their job is to run at defenders, whip in crosses, and cause chaos.
SWP doesn’t really do that for me. I sometimes think the defender should just let him run to the byline because when he tries to cross the ball, it will go out for a goal kick.
He does have ability; there is no doubt about that. I feel that his final ball however isn’t great. Sometimes his first touch can let him down and being small he can be easily pushed off the ball. I think many teams in the premier league would like to have him on their books because he is a talent. Perhaps, for me, just not world class.
Read ‘Part 1-5′ here:
THE RIGHT WINGER PT5 – LENNON
Possibly the hardest thing about being a writer who has decided to remain neutral, is to in fact remain neutral!
Now I don’t want to be too harsh on anybody. Neither do I want to over sing someone’s praise.
I do however find it very hard not to sing the praise of Aaron Lennon!
To me Lennon is the future for England. Fast, tricky, confident, fast (yes I said that twice), he can run at and beat defenders, get crosses in and most importantly he scores goals – good ones!
On top of that he creates goals, that he and others can score. Some wingers may score the odd goal but it’s a case of right place, right time.
This boy can do all the hard work and put the ball in the net at the end.
Once again our good friend Sven, I think was on to something when he picked him to go to the 06 World Cup. Even then he was being primed as Beckham’s successor and that’s exactly what I think he should be.
Lennon had a rough season last year with a whack to his confidence, but (as with most of the Hotspur players) the arrival of Harry Redknapp has brought the best out of him again.
At still just 22 years of age, Lennon has plenty of years ahead of him to mature even more and become possibly one of the best wingers in the league and England’s main wide man.
I certainly think he has the potential to do so! Aaron Lennon could become a name and player talked about all over Europe and I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘bigger’ teams come knocking!
Let’s just hope he doesn’t go to Liverpool – it didn’t work for Crouch and Keane.
Read ‘Part 1,2,3&4′ here:
THE RIGHT WINGER PT4 – WALCOTT
Possibly the fastest winger in the premiership, Theo went from zero to “who the hell is that?” to “this boy’s got talent” to “saviour of England” to “needs to mature – but great potential!”.
My personal opinion is that he should be a striker. In a brilliant display, Walcott scored a hat trick against Croatia last September all three of which, I feel where more classic ‘striker’ goals than ‘winger’ goals.
However with his improved crossing ability and desire to run at defenders – and easily past them – this boy is a real threat out wide.
Where he ends up on the pitch for England long term remains to be seen.
Fast, attacking, full of tricks and confident – that’s what you want in a winger and Theo seems to be everyone’s first choice.
I say even if he isn’t your first choice – take him. You get a decent winger and an extra option up front for free.
Read ‘Part 1,2&3′ here:
THE RIGHT WINGER PT3 – BENTLEY
100% brilliant. 100% difficult.
Go back and take a look at the goal he scored against Arsenal last October. It’s no wonder Fifa 09 has him rated as the best English winger. This boy is good.
If David Beckham has a challenger for “Cross King” I reckon Bentley is him.
He is not so much about pace and tricks but is more in the Beckham mould. Bentley should be feared. Some poor decision making and possibly an ego, add that to a poor spell at Hotspur and Bentley has fallen out of favor in the England squad. Now South Africa seems unlikely.
But pick an England 11 on Fifa 09 and you are dumb to leave him out.
I think DB could be the next… DB. Personally, I hope so.
I do think however, that he will be catching a tan in Spain and not charging down the flanks in South Africa come World Cup time.
Read ‘Part 1&2′ here:
THE RIGHT WINGER PT2 – BECKHAM
Love him or hate him. Mock or respect him. Whatever you do, you can’t deny that David Beckham is brilliant!
If there is a player who can consistently send accurate crosses and free-kicks into dangerous areas more then Beckham, I’m not sure who it is.
Sure he is slower than he used to be. Maybe on the other side of his prime. But with his experience, tactical brilliance and leadership quality (providing he is fit and playing) Beckham, even as a squad player is a must!
He may no longer be a starter and may sit unused on the bench at times but his presence in any side is invaluable!
If for nothing else Beckham should be in the squad because he still has the ability to win you the game with a single kick. Ask the Greeks, he only needs 1 minute…
The fact is England is a better side when Beckham is around!
Pack your bags Golden Balls, I reckon you’re going to Africa.
Read ‘Part 1′ here:
THE RIGHT WINGER PT1
Who is the right winger?
The World Cup in SA draws closer every time we get out of bed in the morning, which means that competition for plane tickets is getting fiercer.
So who should be buying sun cream and packing their bags to make the trip to the tip?
This series will profile teams and players as we search for the right “Right Winger”.
We start straight away with England. And there is a good pool for Capello to choose from!
Here’s the list of the possibilities:
Beckham – LA Galaxy – 81
Bentley – Hotspur – 82
Walcott – Arsenal – 79
Lennon – Hotspur – 80
Wright-Phillips – Man City – 81
Milner – A Villa – 80
(Young – A Villa – 83)
(Cole – Chelsea – 84)
Those are the most likely candidates. The number after their club is their rating on Fifa 09.
It’s interesting to note that the two players with the highest rating (Cole and Young) are actually used mostly as left wingers for their clubs and countries. This raises a whole new debate as to whether England are producing enough –if any- world class left footed players.
Now if we went on Fifa 09 recommendations the 1st choice starter would be Bentley with Beckham and SWP warming the bench. But it just isn’t that simple is it.
Over the next few blogs I’ll look at each player, their strengths and weaknesses and whether or not they should be the ones to head south and take part in the world’s greatest show in the world’s greatest country.