England need to do Wilshere’s talent justice
358 comments February 10th, 2011
Typical: we give England the next Cesc Fabregas, and they try to turn him in to Denilson.
Jack Wilshere made his first start in an England shirt last night. Whilst he acquitted himself well enough, there were signs that he’s not exactly the ‘Makelele’ figure Capello is hoping for. Denmark’s own teenage star, Christian Eriksen, was able to exploit the space between the midfield and back four that Wilshere was intended to guard.
This is no criticism of Jack. He’s a playmaker, not a water carrier. You wouldn’t ask Cesc to play the ‘Gareth Barry’ role. Wilshere is no different.
Yes, he plays deep for Arsenal. But he does so alongside Alex Song – a far more defensive player than his partner last night, Frank Lampard. He also does so as part of a midfield three, where he is granted freedom to roam. The one moment last night when he looked most like himself was when he played a one-two and burst through midfield before almost playing in Darren Bent. It was a flash of the dynamism, flair and creativity he can offer. And almost immediately, England were caught on the break.
As an England fan, I’m pleading with Capello to forget this idea of fielding Wilshere as a defensive player. He’s a square-cut diamond in a grubby round hole. Give him the freedom he needs to show his talent.
Anyway, all that said, Wilshere did typically well to handle the hype and put in an assured 45-minute display – you can catch a brief interview with Jack here. Theo Walcott also put in a good hour shift, managing to provide an assist for Darren Bent despite receiving a cut eye in the process.
It seems that everyone else also came through unscathed – praise be. Hopefully that’ll be confirmed in Arsene’s press conference tomorrow. Till then…
