Peter wishes England weren’t quite so crap.
So what does International week mean to everyone nowadays? It used to mean seeing your country battle it out with others countries in a bid to qualify for the next big tournament. The four years between World Cups felt so long but now it seems like it’s something to do during the summer. We’ve now got less than a year for another European Championships in which, there’s all the likelihood that most of the English squad will return demoralized an exhausted.
When your team doesn’t depend too much on English players (e.g. Arsenal and Man Utd – Scholes has retired and Rio doesn’t get fazed by anything) it’s not such a problem.
And as is so often the case with these international breaks, I spend most of it worrying that the Liverpool players will get injured. It’s worse this time round because Steven Finnan was already carrying a knock and won’t play but my main worry is Steven Gerrard. Everyone from Gordon Taylor to Rafa Benitez has had their say about what should happen with regards to Steven Gerrard’s toe. In my opinion and probably the opinion of most scousers, he is the best current English player and so it would make perfect sense for the manager of the national side to want him to play in two crucial qualifiers. But if by playing he’s putting his long term health at risk is it worth it? Considering that if he happens to have a relapse it could rule him out for a couple of months and who knows what other consequences. He could miss England’s next qualifier and crucial games for Liverpool.
I think the circumstances have led to McLaren putting all his eggs in Steven Gerrard’s basket, after losing to Croatia and generally being dire in all the friendlies. But should England really be that reliant on one player? Previous World Cups and European Championships have made us believe that is actually the case. All the hype in Germany was squarely placed on Wayne Rooney’s shoulders and we all saw how that worked out. You’d think there was enough quality to replace Gerrard and Lampard for the upcoming qualifiers but a central midfield duo of Jenas and Carrick doesn’t particularly inspire me.
So another week of internationals and all I can do is hope McLaren gets the sack and all the Liverpool players come back unscathed!