Jack Wilshere blind spot gives Roy Hodgson England midfield conundrum

FOOTBALL MATTERS

Jack Wilshere scores for England (Getty Images)

England’s victory in Germany was not good news for everybody connected with Roy Hodgson’s squad.

Despite the England manager’s insistence to the contrary, it was not a night which ended with Wayne Rooney feeling confident about his starting prospects at Euro 2016, while Michael Carrick can now plan for a summer holiday in June following Eric Dier’s hugely impressive performance in central midfield.

And only time will tell what the 3-2 win will mean for Jack Wilshere when, or if, the Arsenal midfielder returns to action from the shin injury that has denied him the chance to kick a ball in anger for club or country this season.

​Wilshere is apparently close to a return to action and the 24-year-old will be given every opportunity to prove his fitness in order to sneak into Hodgson’s 23-man squad for France.

Hodgson made that abundantly clear last Friday by claiming that three players – Wilshere, Dier and Danny Drinkwater – are now fighting for the two holding midfield positions in his squad.

And by suggesting that Dier and Drinkwater were still in Wilshere’s ‘shadow,’ Hodgson also dropped a heavy hint that he regarded the injury-ravaged midfielder as his first pick should he prove himself ready, willing and able before Arsenal’s campaign draws to a close.

Placing so much faith in Wilshere is a risky move, however, despite his obvious qualities.

He has not played a competitive fixture since scoring twice in England’s 3-2 qualification victory against Slovenia in Ljubljana – the performance which has done so much to earn Hodgson’s admiration – and that outing was only his 30th of an injury-hit 2014-15 campaign.

So since August 2014, Wilshere has made just 30 appearances for Arsenal and England, but Hodgson remains determined to take him to France.

Arsenal have just seven games left to play this season, with England facing three friendlies after the campaign draws to a close, and Wilshere will be lucky to make six appearances in total before the Euro 2016 opener against Russia on June 11.

So why take the risk? Perhaps it was a risk worth taking last Friday, but Hodgson’s mind should have been changed by the events in the Olympiastadion, not just by Dier’s performance, but also Dele Alli’s.

Dier was immense in the defensive midfield role, while Alli was equally impressive further forward.

If Wilshere plays, his desire to break forward would see him clash with Alli, yet his defensive game is not as honed as Dier’s. He also lacks the physical presence of Dier, and the versatility to plug a gap at centre-half if required.

Roy Hodgson will have to decide whether Wilshere is worth the risk (Getty)

All of a sudden, attempting to accommodate Wilshere and Alli would leave England with a new Steven Gerrard-Frank Lampard conundrum – shoe-horning two players into the same team, despite their shared determination to find space in the hole between the midfield and forward lines

Playing Wilshere at the base of a midfield diamond would also be a mistake with Dier, and potentially Drinkwater, offering much more defensive discipline in that role.

A year ago, Carrick at the base of the diamond with Wilshere at its tip would have given England quality and experience in both positions, but this season has thrown up unexpected new options in Dier, Drinkwater and Alli.

Carrick is clearly the biggest loser, with the Manchester United player’s 14-year England career now seemingly over after just 34 caps.

His assuredness and reliability has always been under-estimated, with four England managers lacking true faith in his qualities, but he is also a realist who knows what the future holds and it is not one with Euro 2016 in it.

Wilshere will play again for England and he will be a central figure, but Berlin proved that there is no need to rush him back for Euro 2016.

Even if he returns to fitness in the coming weeks, the likelihood of a secondary injury after such a long lay-off is high and England cannot afford to have fitness doubts in France.

And Dier and Alli have now given Hodgson ample justification to tell Wilshere to forget about the summer and simply focus on getting fit for a long and successful career.

Netherlands need to turn back the clock for Cruyff

Wembley will pay its tribute to Johan Cruyff on Tuesday, with a minutes’ applause in the fourteenth minute for one of football’s most iconic figures following his passing last Friday.

The man himself would undoubtedly wish for a performance of style, risk and flair from Danny Blind’s team, perhaps even a throwback to the days when Cruyff led the Total Football revolution in the 1970s.

But Cruyff was as blunt off the pitch as he was brilliant on it and his accusation, during the failed Euro 2016 qualification campaign, that "Holland is the world champion of passing sideways and back," summed up his opinion of the once mighty Oranje, so it would be timely for the Dutch to turn the clock back for Cruyff.

O'Neill in hot water

Martin O’Neill has found himself in hot water for suggesting that only "really attractive" WAGs will be allowed to accompany his Republic of Ireland squad to Euro 2016 this summer, but if he thinks the backlash from that misguided comment has been bad, let’s just hope he gets everything right on the training pitch.

If the balls are not sufficiently inflated or the playing surfaces not as smooth as a billiard table, he will have his assistant, Roy Keane, to answer to and that is surely one problem O’Neill can do without.