For quite a while, the England manager has been able to name his first choice defence without any concerns whatsoever. Glen Johnson, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole are as good as any in world football. However, following the turn of the year, England’s defensive options looked to be in ruins.
Ashley Cole suffered a broken ankle in Chelsea’s fixture against Everton and Glen Johnson was already unavailable with a knee problem. John Terry was caught up in allegations in his private life which led to Wayne Bridge declaring himself unavailable for selection and Fabio Capello stripping Terry of the skipper’s armband. Bridge was thought by many as the obvious successor to Ashley Cole and that meant Capello had to kick off to hunt for a third choice left back.
Capello also offered the England captain’s armband to Rio Ferdinand but injury has seriously disrupted his season which means Ferdinand has played out simply a small number of fixtures. John Terry moreover endured a spectacular drop in form and was blamed for goals as Chelsea were put out of the Champions League to Inter Milan.
In the space of a couple of weeks, Capello’s reliable back four was looking anything but stable. Happily, Johnson and Cole seem to have recovered from their problems and should be fit. However, there are still issues with Terry and Ferdinand. Matthew Upson has routinely been deemed to be the next best alternative but yet he has suffered indifferent games for England and West Ham.
More and more supporters are convinced that Fabio Capello could do a good deal worse than consider the Tottenham Hotspurs central defenders 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 a few time, Ledley King has suffered with a condition in his knee meaning he is unable to train and frequently has to have treatment to minimize inflammation after fixtures. All the same, he is certainly, a world class defender and putting Dawson and King together is the clear solution. Taking King is regarded as a chance by many but he is not recuperating from an problem such as a torn hamstring. It is an on going ailment that the medical team know about and can manage. King has played more games than Rio Ferdinand this season so to discount him on fitness terms does not make sense.
Not to mention the fact that both Dawson and King are in exceptional form, they are already a partnership playing most weeks alongside each other at Tottenham. Putting them together in England’s first match versus the United States in Rustenburg shouldn’t be judged as a chance, it is the exact thing to do.
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