No public Eriksson rap for Beckham
Eriksson refused to publicly condemn Beckham for his two reckless clashes with Ben Thatcher, which resulted in him picking up a second booking of the campaign and sustaining a hairline rib fracture.
Early reports indicate the Real Madrid midfielder may be out for more than a month, although his condition will be reassessed in detail on his return to Spain.
That is now rather sooner than originally planned as he misses Wednesday’s qualifier in Azerbaijan following a recurrence of the hot-blooded temperament which saw him sent off at the 1998 World Cup.
Eriksson had called for calm heads from his players against Wales, especially from Beckham and Michael Owen, who were just a booking away from suspension, but his captain still lost his cool. The England coach insisted: “You must judge Beckham as you want. If I have something to tell him, I will do that. If I want to criticise my players, I will do it privately.”
Asked if he therefore did have something to say to Beckham, Eriksson added: “We’ll see. But even if I have, why should I comment about it?
“It was not a good tackle. It cost him a yellow card and he’s not available for Wednesday’s game but it happens. It’s a pity that he won’t be there. He wouldn’t have been available anyhow because of the injury, so maybe it’s a good way of ‘cleaning up’ the yellow card.”
Owen is lined up to replace Beckham as captain in Baku, effectively confirming his place in the side even if Eriksson reverts to a conventional 4-4-2 formation. Asked if Owen and Rooney would be his first-choice strike partnership, Eriksson admitted: “As they played in this game, yes.
“Defoe is an extremely good talent and he will grow and grow, but you can’t expect someone that young to be at the top level all the time.”
Defoe would, therefore, make way if Eriksson plays just two strikers, with Shaun Wright-Phillips hoping to come into the side on the right flank.
Eriksson has no worries about Wright-Phillips’ inexperience but confirmed that he would not select him and Defoe in the same line-up, believing that some added midfield steel is required.
“I wouldn’t have any hesitation in picking him. If he’s selected in the squad, then he’s ready to play or I wouldn’t have picked him,” he revealed.
Defoe’s place could still be saved if Eriksson keeps faith with the three-pronged strike-force used with relative success in the 2-0 victory against Wales.
“It is up to the manager but I thought it worked really well,” insisted the Tottenham forward.
“When it came up to us, we kept the ball and it is good when you play three up front because you can move them about and that’s what we did.”
With Wayne Bridge still ruled out through injury, Owen Hargreaves may now be set for a recall, either on the left flank in a 4-4-2 line-up or as Beckham’s replacement in a three-man midfield.
Eriksson stressed: “Everything depends on how we want to play, whether we want to keep this shape or go back to 4-4-2. To be honest, I haven’t decided yet, but we have time to make up our minds.”
The England coach is not too concerned about Rooney’s starting position, given that he believes the Manchester United forward can make his mark from virtually anywhere on the pitch.
“It doesn’t matter where he plays. First striker, second striker, wherever, he will always create problems for opponents,” he said.
Rooney’s only failing against Wales was in going alone too often when team-mates were better placed to score, but Eriksson refused to criticise his star turn. “He’s 18 and can’t be perfect all the time. I expect a lot of him, but if he takes a shot instead of passing it, he’s a striker and I’ve seen 35-year-old strikers do that,” he said.
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