For a while, the England manager has been able to select his first choice defenders without any considerations whatsoever. Glen Johnson, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole are as good as any in global fooball. All the same, just after the turn of the year, England’s defensive ideas seemed to be in ruins.
Ashley Cole sustained a fractured ankle in Chelsea’s match versus Everton and Glen Johnson was already unavailable with a knee problem. John Terry was caught up in allegations in his personal life which led to Wayne Bridge declaring himself unavailable for selection and Fabio Capello stripping Terry of the captain’s armband. Bridge was seen as the natural successor to Ashley Cole and this meant Capello had to start off to try to find a third choice left back.
Capello also presented the England captain’s armband to Rio Ferdinand but injury has severely interrupted his season which means Ferdinand has enjoyed merely a small amount of matches. John Terry moreover endured a spectacular dip in form and was held accountable for goals as Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League to Inter Milan.
In just a number of weeks, Capello’s dependable back four was looking anything but dependable. Happily, Johnson and Cole look to have recovered from their problems and should be fit. However, there are still doubts with Terry and Ferdinand. Matthew Upson has commonly been looked at as the next best option and yet he has endured indifferent matches for England and West Ham.
Several fans think that Fabio Capello could do an awful lot worse than consider the Tottenham Hotspurs centre halves of Matt Dawson and Ledley King. Dawson is in the form of his life and must be a genuine contender for the England squad.
For two or three time, Ledley King has endured with a problem in his knee meaning he is unable to train and repeatedly has to have treatment to reduce inflammation after games. All the same, he is certainly, a top notch footballer and playing Dawson and King in the centre is the simple solution. Taking King is deemed a risk by many but he is not recovering from an problem such as a torn hamstring. It is an on going affliction that the medical team are familiar with and can manage. King has played more games than Rio Ferdinand this season so to discount him on fitness terms does not make sense.
As well as the fact that both Dawson and King are in fabulous form, they are already a partnership playing most weeks alongside each other at Tottenham Hotspurs. Putting them together in England’s opening game against the United States in Rustenburg should not be deemed to be a risk, it is the best move to make.
