King a ‘serious option’ for Eriksson

SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON declared Ledley King was a “serious option” as a holding midfielder at the World Cup finals against certain teams - although Alan Smith and Owen Hargreaves were also leading candidates.

Eriksson’s first-choice midfield quartet remain Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the centre, with David Beckham on the right flank and, so far, Joe Cole on the left.

However, he recognises that the deployment of England’s own version of Claude Makelele - as King effectively was against Poland - allows match-winner Frank Lampard as much freedom as he enjoys at club level.

Eriksson seems more likely to use the tactic against teams such as Brazil, who play Kaka and Ronaldinho in behind Ronaldo or Adriano, rather than more cautious European opposition.

However, he revealed: “Ledley King is a very serious option. Not for all seven games at the World Cup but against certain opponents or at the end of a game if we need to defend a lead and start getting tired.

“Another option I am very curious to see in seven months’ time is Alan Smith. He is now playing as a central midfielder for Manchester United and he’s doing better and better.

“Then there is Owen Hargreaves, who is injured now but does it always for Bayern Munich. He is getting better and better, so we do have options.”

Eriksson acknowledged Scott Parker was another alternative, although there seems more chance of a recall for Nicky Butt than a call-up for the Newcastle midfielder.

Butt, after all, filled the role for some time under Eriksson, allowing Paul Scholes to roam forward, and although King does not have his passing ability, his tackling is excellent and his positional sense will improve.

“Ledley doesn’t - and shouldn’t - go forward very much. He defends in there and plays the ball very simple,” observed Eriksson.

“He’s not the same as Claude Makelele but it’s the same kind of player, winning the ball and giving it simple. When you have Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, they can win it and give a pass, make a good run or score a goal.

“That’s positive but sometimes it might be negative as we have to defend better. But we have a lot of options. Against Austria, Frank and Steven did excellently.”

Gerrard could always be sacrificed to the left in a midfield quartet, while Eriksson could deploy a three-man attacking midfield ahead of a holding player like King, with Ashley Cole and Gary Neville asked to provide extra width.

Either way, Joe Cole would miss out, although Lampard warned against abruptly breaking up his central midfield partnership with Gerrard.

“At tournaments, there might be games where you go a bit more gung-ho and games when occasionally you want someone sitting there, picking up a world class player that keeps coming in the hole, and Ledley showed he can do that,” he said.

“It’s not in Ledley’s nature to go bombing forward so it is insurance for me that he is there. But I think you shouldn’t lose sight of what a player Steven Gerrard is and he did very well the other day. Whoever we play in there, we can make it work as long as we communicate and are disciplined.”

King recognises he faces a challenge to play at club level as a central defender, with Spurs’ experiment with him in midfield having lasted only 12 games a couple of years ago, and then fill a different role for England.

“It was new again to me but I’ve always said I’ve enjoyed playing in there,” he said. “With the players I was playing with, they made my job easier. Frank is great at getting forward and scoring goals like he did. With me there, hopefully he felt he could push on and leave me to pick up the pieces.”

Argentina, whom England face in a friendly next month, are exactly the type of opposition against whom Eriksson may look for a holding midfielder. The onus is on King to stop himself being dethroned.