England have won all nine points from their first three qualifying games for the European Soccer Championships in 2016, but some questions remain following a laboured performance in Eastern Europe against Estonia.
What are the prospects for a team which scrapes to a 1-0 win over the world's 81st-ranked footballing nation that played with ten men for nearly half the match?
How does a 19-year-old become so tired after playing for 45 minutes against what was little more than a pub team that he needs to be rested for the start of the next match?
And is Wayne Rooney, heading as he must surely be for the accolade of being England's all-time top scorer, the Real Deal?
One can look at the Rooney question either way. He was anonymous for most of the match, and squandered at least one open goal as he also did against San Marino. But, as one could equally point out, he was the only player on the pitch to put the ball in the net. What is more, 43 goals don't lie. In fact his goals per game ratio is fairly similar to that of Bobby Charlton, whose all-time record of 49 England goals he is chasing.
Of course it is considerably inferior to that of Jimmy Greaves or Gary Lineker. The latter scored five more goals in 19 fewer games. What is more, the strikers of old did not enjoy many opportunities to fill their boots against the likes of San Marino, Andorra and the Faroe Islands (and now Gibraltar).
All-time great or just the best of a mediocre bunch? You decide.
No comments:
Post a Comment