Sir Bobby Charlton: My worry that Fabio Capello will gamble with Wayne Rooney in lone striker role

By Sir Bobby Charlton

Wayne man: England's Wayne Rooney in action


If I have one nagging anxiety about the way England manager Fabio Capello will tackle this World Cup, it is in his use of Wayne Rooney.

I love Wayne to bits, as a player and as a lad. And obviously I have a special interest in him because he plays for my club, Manchester United.

Wayne has it in him to become one of the greatest England players of all time and a World Cup star for years to come.

People could mention him in the same breath as Pele, Eusebio or any of the legends. But I worry that Wayne may be asked by Capello to play up front on his own for much of this World Cup.

That would be asking a lot of him and, quite frankly, I don't think he could sustain it.

True, Wayne carried out what was virtually a lone striker's role for United this season - and he did it brilliantly. But if England are to win in South Africa, they will have to overcome the best defences in world football.

And asking any player - no matter how good they are - to do that without having others around to share the attacking responsibilities would be expecting too much.

With the right sort of support, Wayne can undoubtedly be England's World Cup match-winner.

The question is: Who should provide that support?


Working it out: Emile Heskey, Michael Dawson, Matthew Upson and Darren Bent tussel for the ball during an England training session on May 19, 2010 in Irdning, Austria.


Capello has taken two big front-men, Emile Heskey and Peter Crouch, to South Africa, which seems to suggest that at some stage he is prepared to adopt a more direct route to goal.

Physically, Heskey is the stronger of the two but Crouch has the better touch and scores far more often. But, without wishing to appear disparaging about either player, we're not talking about taking on defences in the Premier League.

This is the highest level now and while playing Heskey or Crouch alongside Wayne would be better than giving him no support at all, it is even more important that Wayne reaps the benefit of a powerhouse midfield, with the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard bombing forward whenever they can.

Wayne's a fantastic player but the folly of expecting him to be England's lone front man was exposed against Portugal in the last World Cup in Germany four years ago, when he ended up being sent off.

This time I am very confident that Wayne's temperament will stand up to the pressures. He has matured a lot and he probably looks back on the Portugal game now and tells himself:'That was stupid'.

When he's wearing a United shirt, I never worry about his temperament. But I've noticed that he has shown flashes of temper recently when he has played for England. He lost his rag a bit in the match against Japan.

Sir Alex Ferguson has told him to count to 10; maybe Capello should make it 20. Wayne is always receptive to advice.

A couple of times I've mentioned to him things he should think came at Wembley on that July afternoon in 1966 when Bobby Moore lifted the World Cup; for Capello, I believe it will come in Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium on July 11 when Gerrard emulates the late, great ex-England skipper.

How awful for Rio Ferdinand that, as a result of being injured in England's very first training session, it will not be him in what would surely have been his World Cup farewell.

Without question, losing Ferdinand is a serious setback for Capello. He will be missed, as his influence and ability was by United last season. With a fully fit Rio, I believe we would have won the league once again.


Out of action: Rio Ferdinand leaves hospital in South Africa


I know how much he was looking forward to going to South Africa as captain of England.

He believed his bad luck was behind him and better times lay ahead. His absence will test the strength of our back-up squad and not many central defenders had a better Premier League season than Dawson, one of the main reasons Harry Redknapp managed to guide Spurs into next season's Champions League.

It also gives Gerrard the chance to transmit the authority and example he showed as Liverpool skipper to the England side. Such responsibility will not weigh heavily on his shoulders. And it will not affect my faith in the team's chances.

Sometimes when I've been asked my opinion about our chances in a top international tournament, I've tended to be positive because I didn't want to appear disloyal.

While I've been talking the team up, I've thought to myself: 'Do I really believe it?'

But I am convinced that this World Cup is the best opportunity we have had since 1966. I believe that as a whole unit - manager, back-room staff and players - we are good enough to beat the best of the rest. And in Capello, England have a manager capable, like Sir Alf, of getting the very best out of very good players.


Chance of a lifetime: England boss Fabio Capello welcomes Michael Dawson to camp.


That's why I firmly believe England can go all the way. I sense a belief, especially in the public's expectations, we can be good enough to beat any opposition - Brazil, Spain, Argentina, anybody.

We have good players, a good manager and, hopefully, the right system. Capello seems content with a formation that accommodates four midfield players with at least one winger and that's fair enough.

But I wouldn't be unhappy if he took a leaf out of Ramsey's book by looking at a 4-3-3 set-up. Alf adopted it because he didn't have any wingers he had faith in. It benefits players who run with the ball.

Lampard and Gerrard would be perfect in such a system, with support from the likes of Gareth Barry or James Milner. It's nonsense to suggest Lampard and Gerrard cannot play together. They're talented players who are able to adapt to any role, whether defensively or attacking


Key man: Frank Lampard in action against Japan


There will be other coaches in South Africa looking at those two and wishing they had the problem of playing them in the same line-up.

When the whistle goes on Saturday to start our first match against the United States, all the negativity that sprang from the two recent, and admittedly disappointing, friendlies will disappear.

I have a lot of faith in this squad. We talk about great players in other sides but we should not undervalue the quality in the England side.

But a team will not win a World Cup without being confident in their ability to win and without having individuals who are willing to take responsibility for the team's destiny.

So, we have less than a week to go before the greatest football show in the world gets under way. I won't be satisfied if England just reach the semi-finals, which some might regard as achievement enough.

It's going to be hard going and we might need a little bit of luck. But, make no mistake, this time we can do it.

We can't lose again, can we? I have no worries about England's ability to get past the group stage, even if I have to confess that memories of Belo Horizonte and England's 1-0 defeat by the United States in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil still trouble my mind.

I remember, as a lad of 12, hearing that the United States had beaten an England side which may not have included Stanley Matthews, who was not picked for the game despite being probably the best player in the world at the time, but that still contained such great players as Tom Finney, Billy Wright and Stan Mortensen. It was simply unbelievable. And when England lost their next group game against Spain, their World Cup was over.

The Americans are in a different league now, of course. Back then they were something of a laughing stock but, as Americans do, once they began to take football seriously they have become a force to be reckoned with.

We will respect them come next Saturday in our opening game of the tournament and treat them as equals on the international stage. But I'm confident we can get off to a winning start and once we do that we'll be racing.

England can go all the way, of course, but there are others well capable of winning the trophy. Brazil can be ruthless as well as superbly talented.

Forget about them being a side with terrific individuals who combine to show off the beautiful game. Their priority is not to let the opposition near their goal. This is not just because of the influence of their current coach Dunga - a wonderful player in his day. They've always been like that.

Argentina have too much superb talent to be discounted but what about Spain, the favourites along with Brazil? The European champions fully deserve their No 2 world rating but I think teams will be ready for them this time and defeat awaits them.

Holland have good players and share a historic affinity with South Africa which can only be an advantage to them; Germany have a habit of springing new names who perform well in international competitions and Italy will defend the trophy with a determination we know they are capable of. But any team who want to win the World Cup will have to beat Brazil. And that, naturally, includes Fabio Capello's men.

My trip to the shops on the day of the final
When England finally arrived at their South African base on Thursday, security was as tight as it could be. And the gun-toting bodyguards will never be far away throughout this World Cup.

Nowadays international squads are cocooned at their training base; rarely if ever is an individual allowed to get away to do his own thing. How times have changed.

I remember how, on the morning of the 1966 World Cup final, I and England team-mate Ray Wilson were so stir-crazy that we went out shopping in London.

Ray just wanted to escape from the hotel. I used the excuse that I wanted to exchange a shirt I'd bought but what I really needed was a chance to breathe and gather up my thoughts.


Glory days: Bobby Charlton (second right) during the 1966 World Cup


I had a little chuckle when I saw all the paraphernalia England packed in their luggage to keep the players occupied between matches. This squad will fill up their free time by listening to their music, playing their computer games and watching the rest of the World Cup on television.

Back in my day, all we had were our card schools. We used to play a lot, although Sir Alf Ramsey never wasted an opportunity to take in any local colour, with excursions to events such as bull-fighting.

He was a real cinema fan, too, and on the eve of the World Cup final the whole squad trooped off to the cinema to see Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines.

Nowadays, there is far too much going on for the players to get bored. In any case, the adrenalin of just being there takes over. They'll love the training and the preparation for matches.

England will benefit from their altitude training in Austria. The difference in competing at thousands of feet above sea level should not be discounted.

I remember in Mexico in 1970 it took me about three weeks before I felt I was fully acclimatised. You couldn't breathe properly - even just lying in bed.

source: dailymail
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