When Fabio Capello arrived in English football at the beginning of 2008, one of his most crucial mission statements was to pick his squad and sides on form – reputation, he said, would not be a substitute for form.
The former Real Madrid coach, at that point the darling of the English media, took a tough stance on the misfiring Michael Owen, consigning the striker to the international scrap heap after a poor run of performances and injuries with club side Newcastle.
It is then with some interest that I have followed the recent form of two of England’s premier strikers. Both Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe have found themselves short of goals despite recent runs of good results for their club teams.
Rooney’s lack of goals is particularly concerning. For a man hailed as England’s single great white hope for World Cup glory as recently as last March, Rooney’s solitary goal in open play so far this term has become one of the statistical anomalies of the season. Remarkable considering Manchester United’s unbeaten start to the season and commanding position built up at the top of the Premier League.
Rooney has hardly had a low key season, regardless of his sometimes anonymous performances on the pitch. The furore surrounding his desire to leave Old Trafford and resultant new contract was extraordinary, and with further accusations in the tabloid press about his extra-marital activities surfacing, the one time Everton striker has hardly had much chance to work on his game.
Jermain Defoe’s lack of goals has been more excusable. The former Portsmouth striker’s year has been blighted by an early season ankle injury and whilst he is yet to hit the heights (or a league goal) thus far, Harry Redknapp has not relied heavily on the diminutive striker due to the deluge of goals coming from other sources.
Capello’s charges looked toothless, at best, during their damaging stalemate with Macedonia at Wembley in the autumn, and the much maligned coach will not want his strike force to go into an important clash against Wales with only a handful of league goals between them.
There are, however, several factors likely to ease Capello’s selection worries. England’s next competitive fixture is not until March, plenty of time for both men to re-discover some form. Should neither player show signs of improvement, the Italian’s mettle might be tested, however, the English media have learnt to run a sceptical eye over Capello’s selection guidelines – he has been known to break them for certain big name players.
Furthermore, Capello has shown a pathological reluctance to select Peter Crouch, England’s most prolific striker over the last four years, in any capacity other than an occasional substitute appearance. Many of England’s other striking options are beset by injury or form problems, and the immediate international futures of Kevin Davies, Jay Bothroyd and Andy Carroll are not clear.
It must be pointed out that Defoe is by no means guaranteed a berth in Capello’s starting XI, regardless of how he plays at this stage. For a man that has had his international career dogged by misfortune and crucial omissions, this recent goal drought will no doubt damage his aims of making himself indispensible to the national team ahead of Euro 2012.
If dropping Defoe would not be a major shock, omitting Rooney would be a big step for any England manager, particularly one under the level of scrutiny that Capello finds himself.
With the Champions League restarting in a few weeks time, any sign of an improvement in performance will surely be enough to dispel doubts about the suitability of Manchester United’s star man when it comes to selecting the side to face Gary Speed’s men. Even with an under-par Rooney, if England fail to beat a Wales side without a point in qualification thus far, the England manager will have more questions to answer than just about his choice of striker.
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