Ciara wrote:
Most of tomorrows papers are running with the story that Rooney will make an appearance against Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday (is it Wednesday or Thursday?). If it's true, is this Eriksson panicking? England do need to step it up a couple of gears, but it's still a bit of a risk for me.
Also - Theo Walcott. Why the hell did SGE take him? He refused to put him on today, instead favouring Gerrard and Cole to play off Crouch. If he isn't ready for this game, then he'll not be ready for the QF's or SF's if England get there. Unless there are major injuries, can anyone see Walcott getting any minutes on the pitch? If the top spot is sewn up by the Sweden game then maybe, but that's unlikely. Madness!
I have no idea what Sven's playing at either, playing Rooney now is too big a risk (it's Thursday by the way, and Sweden's next Tuesday) and I don't think we need Rooney in the group stages judging by our first half performance against Paraguay yesterday.
As for Theo Walcott, I don't see any possible disadvantage of putting him on in the situation where Michael Owen came off yesterday. Alright, he might not score, but it's not going to make us concede because Owen doesn't play any defensive role....that might have been the best opportunity for Sven to play Walcott as there might not be another one with as little pressure.