Ledley King is a better option in the centre of England's midfield than Gareth Barry or Michael Carrick, while the 'unadaptable' Darren Bent should be spending the summer on the beach, according to Les Ferdinand.
FourFourTwo caught up with the former the former Newcastle, Tottenham, QPR and England striker at a West London watering hole last week aiming to pick his brain with regards to some of the selection dilemmas still facing Don Fabio.
With little over a week to go before the Italian picks the seven members of his 30-man squad who will be sent home from the party early without so much as a goody bag or a slice of Ben 10 cake, there are still big decisions to be made.
Happily several of those quandaries involve the very same players he works with on a part time basis as a Harry RedknappâÂÂs striker âÂÂconsultantâ at Tottenham Hotspur, making Sir Les a pretty good authority on some of the key selection battles ahead.
Sir Les fancied a drink, so left the helicopter at home
Whereas once the order of England's centrebacks had appeared set in stone, a combination of poor form (Matthew Upson) and injuries (Rio Ferdinand) have lead to Jamie Carragher and Ledley King both returning to the fore at the last, with Michael Dawson â astonishingly perhaps the most in-form of the bunch â making up CapelloâÂÂs quota.
Spurs skipper Ledley KingâÂÂs ongoing knee complaint has restricted him to just 20 appearances for the White Hart Lane club this season, and has led some to speculate that he may be one of the not-so-magnificent seven to be cut. But Les is adamant King will be part of CapelloâÂÂs plans, unless there is a sudden and substantial deterioration in his condition over the next seven days.
âÂÂThe only way Ledley doesnâÂÂt go is if he breaks down,â Ferdinand insists. âÂÂThereâÂÂs two friendlies coming up and if he comes through them and is still fit then he will go. Anybody that knows football and knows defenders will tell you that Ledley is one of the best defenders weâÂÂve got in this country.
DEFENSIVE DILEMMA
âÂÂCapello might not be thinking about him playing every game, but what heâÂÂs proven this season is that he is capable of coming into a team without having played much football in the run up to a game and perform brilliantly straight away âÂÂthatâÂÂs an asset to a manager and itâÂÂs something the England coaches will certainly look on favourably.âÂÂ
But while Ferdinand is confident in KingâÂÂs chances, he doesnâÂÂt share the same optimism for some of Tottenham's other stars.
âÂÂI tend to believe that boys that havenâÂÂt been in the squad regularly through the qualifying campaign, like Michael Dawson and Tom Huddlestone, are the ones you fear for most as far as not making the final squad is concerned,â he explained.
Will Dawson and Huddlestone still be celebrating on 1 June?
This newfound defensive dliemma has eclipsed the previous hot topic â which strikers will be left at home, and which will spend 10 hours sat alongside Wayne Rooney eating peanuts and watching awful Nicolas Cage movies.
The Italian has left himself with four options, five if you include the possibility of a lone role for Rooney.
There's Emile Heskey â a proven foil for the Manchester United striker, but one who has scored just three Premier League goals this season; Peter Crouch â a regular goal scorer at international level, but unable to nail down a regular starting berth at club level; Jermain Defoe â a player who has enjoyed his best ever Premier League season, but has yet to shown any tangible sign of forging a threatening partnership with Rooney; and Darren Bent â the Premier LeagueâÂÂs top English goal scorer, but one still largely untried at international level.
STRIKER POSER
Ferdinand believes that Peter CrouchâÂÂs international record will see him selected, despite the former Liverpool and Portsmouth striker starting just five of Spursâ last 13 Premier League matches.
âÂÂPeter showed [for Spurs] against Manchester City that heâÂÂs got all the ability in the world when it comes to holding the ball up and bringing others into play, and when you look at his goals to games ratio for England, itâÂÂs very impressive, I donâÂÂt care who youâÂÂre playing against, youâÂÂve still got to put the ball in the net â PeterâÂÂs done that and for that reason I feel heâÂÂs a definite to go.âÂÂ
Much like Crouch, Emile Heskey is expected to travel with England despite hardly setting the world alight at club level. While the quality of HeskeyâÂÂs performances in the white of England over the past 18 months cannot be doubted, the same cannot be said of those in claret and blue. Indeed, the Aston Villa front man finished 2009/10 as the 27th highest scoring English player, behind such prolific marksmen as Ashley Cole, Gary Cahill and Jody Craddock.
"I'll score some goals when I've found my bloomin' contact lens..."
Yet Les doesnâÂÂt see goals as the beginning and end of a good strikerâÂÂs work: âÂÂYour goal record is obviously something youâÂÂre judged on as a striker, but there are other aspects to the game which are just as important and help the team.
âÂÂIf youâÂÂve got somebody like Emile Heskey up front, you know you can play a long ball to him and it wonâÂÂt be coming straight back because heâÂÂs got the strength and presence to keep the ball, and the rest of the team will get a chance to catch their breath and re-group.
âÂÂBoth Rooney and Michael Owen before him have played their best football for England alongside Emile Heskey âÂÂheâÂÂll go and toil, battle, fight, win the flick-ons and bring the other players into the game, and this is just as important as goals sometimes.âÂÂ
With that in mind, what of two strikers generally considered to be purely goal scorers â Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent?
INCREASING AWARENESS
Both have also found success in front of goal this season, with Defoe scoring 24 goals in 41 matches this season, and Bent faring even better with 25 in 40. But Defoe has shown an increasing awareness of play outside the box.
âÂÂItâÂÂs something weâÂÂve been speaking to him aboutâ Les explains, âÂÂheâÂÂs always shown great sharpness and awareness around the box, but what weâÂÂve said is that the application needs to be the same when heâÂÂs in a deep position as it is when heâÂÂs near the goal â I donâÂÂt think you can get into the England side on goals alone, even as a striker.
âÂÂIt might sound harsh, because heâÂÂs had an incredible season in terms of goal-scoring, but does Darren Bent possess some of the assets that Jermain Defoe does? IâÂÂm not quite sure. You have to play a certain way with Darren Bent in the team, whereas Jermain is possibly a little bit more flexible.
âÂÂObviously itâÂÂs important to take players that are in form, but youâÂÂve also got to find the players that blend together correctly, and although heâÂÂs scored a lot of goals and had a tremendous season, you can only play one way with Darren Bent â heâÂÂll play on the shoulder of the last man and looks to get in behind, and England donâÂÂt play that way. My expectation is that Capello will take the four âÂÂregularsâ â Rooney, Crouch, Defoe and Heskey.âÂÂ
"Hush your mouth, Ferdinand!"
For Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone and Darren Bent not to make the final cut wouldnâÂÂt be such a shock, but Ferdinand believes Fabio Capello could yet have a surprise up his sleeve.
âÂÂYouâÂÂve got Michael Carrick and Gareth Barry vying for that deep midfield role, but thereeâÂÂs also Ledley King â who with the greatest of respect could probably do it better than the other two if you want a real defensive midfield player."
King has not played regularly in midfield for Tottenham since 2003/04, so for him to play there now would perhaps be the biggest selection bombshell of all.
With just eight days to go before Capello must name his final squad, it still seems there are more questions than answers. Who would be England manager, eh?
Well, perhaps one day, Les Ferdinand.
âÂÂGetting into management has always been something IâÂÂve talked aboutâ Ferdinand explains. âÂÂI couldnâÂÂt see myself being the type to chuck teacups about though. TheyâÂÂre all plastic now anyway, so it wouldnâÂÂt have quite the same effect!âÂÂ
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We spoke to Les Ferdinand over a pint of Greene King IPA. The Official Beer of England Rugby will be supporting the football boys in South Africa this summer. Get behind the team with a pint of Greene King IPA â the taste of England
