Do they appeal his three game ban and risk it being longer? One would have to say probably not. Rooney may be our best player, but if we are so reliant on him that we can’t qualify from the group stage without him, we won’t win the tournament anyway.
The biggest problem is for Fabio Capello. How to replace Rooney? Clearly our best striker, but more problematically, he is our only top class striker capable of performing at the highest level. Daniel Sturridge and or Danny Welbeck may soon change that, but at this moment, we are reliant upon him.
It could be an opportunity though, in another respect, giving us an opportunity to asses alternatives and find a balanced system. Ashley Young on the left and Theo Walcott have been our two central wingers, but we have omitted another, Adam Johnson, who has been shamefully sidelined at Manchester City in favour of a far inferior player, James Milner.
Could there be a space for him in the hole, floating behind the striker? This could be a great system for England, giving us a trio who can rotate with ease; Young, Johnson and Walcott could all drift into any of the three positions behind the central forward. Walcott is dangerous making forward runs in central positions, and this would give him more license to that, making more use of his finishing ability and goalscoring prowess. But then who to play up front?
The problem with playing Andy Carroll or Peter Crouch ahead of them is that English players are too quick to play long balls into tall players. The problem with a player like Darren Bent is that English players tend to play long balls for him to chase. What could be revolutionary is using either Jermaine Defoe or Sturridge, players with pace, skill, finishing ability but also technique. They are the players who would force England to play the ball on the floor. With Jack Wilshere and Scott Parker in central midfield, England would have a duo with technique but also tenacity. Who would close down their opponents and dominate the midfield with typical English energy, but bring it away and pass it with Spanish poise and accuracy.
This is a wonderful opportunity which Capello must take. Defensively, it is also a time of change. John Terry is coming to the end of his England career, as is Rio Ferdinand. Manchester United duo Phil Jones and Chris Smalling represent an intriguing future, along with Gary Cahill at Bolton. Joe Hart has solved a problem in goal for England, whilst Ashley Cole provides reassurance and quality at left back. Right back remains a question mark, but all great teams have such questions – even Spain winning the World Cup did so with Joan Capdevila, hardly considered a world beater.
Not that England are Spain, far from it. But this is a great opportunity for Capello to show what England can do without Rooney. We have good young players playing for top teams; Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. Giving them this opportunity would be a chance for Capello to show that England can be more than long ball merchants.
