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| Steven Gerrard |
With
England’s place at EURO 2012 confirmed after an unbeaten qualification
campaign, the inevitable, hypothetical 23-man squad selection process has
begun.
Manager
Fabio Capello has a plethora of players available to him, with around 40
seemingly in with a chance of getting on the plane to Poland/Ukraine.
The
midfield, particularly, gives Capello some positive problems; there may not be a
lot of supreme talent but at least there are now a lot of options, something
that England haven’t had in the past. Players like Scott Parker and Jack
Wilshere could be replaced by Gareth Barry and James Milner – a slight drop in
quality maybe but the players are more than capable of filling in.
One
of the major talking points in these selections has involved Liverpool’s Steven
Gerrard, currently recovering
from an ankle infection and not set to return for some time. The midfielder
played 90 minutes against Manchester
United and Norwich
in October after being eased back into the side following groin surgery.
Gerrard’s
last appearance before his injury woes was the 1-0
loss away at United in January, his last international appearance coming almost
a year ago in the 2-1
friendly defeat to France. In short: it is a long time since we have seen
Steven Gerrard at his pulsating best, or even at a level even vaguely similar
to that.
It
seems slightly incongruous, then, for Gerrard himself to label EURO 2012 his “last
chance”. Gerrard is no longer a mainstay in the England side. He’s
not as vital to England’s hopes as he perhaps once was. So for Gerrard to even
politely assume that he’s going to be selected for a tournament after barely
playing for the past eleven months is a bit egotistical.
A
similar criticism could be had of anyone who argues that Gerrard should go to
EURO 2012 over X, Y or Z: how can you make that decision when he’s done very
little – a
Giggs-aided freekick aside – this year?
The
point here, though, is that you can’t say he shouldn’t go to the Euros and you
can’t say he should – because no one knows if Gerrard will return from injury
in time to build up some form ready for the summer and nobody knows whether he’ll
be at his explosive best when he does return. So what’s the point in even
discussing it, other than filling column inches?
Many
would argue that it is pointless discussing the squads now anyway because
anything could happen between now and June, be it with injuries or form. The
fact that England don’t know their best eleven, or know who is going to be in
the squad is irrelevant at the moment.
The
England side should (and the word ‘should’
is in italics for a reason there) be picked based on form; who are the best
players going into the tournament and how can Capello fit them into one cohesive
team? The side – or the squad – should not be picked on reputation.
And
that, right now, is the only way Gerrard is getting into these hypothetical
squads: his reputation.
