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England's Midfield Woes
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<blockquote data-quote="SaintsFan_Webby" data-source="post: 104107"><p>Having spent this afternoon watching London Irish beat Newcastle, I believe I saw the solution to England's midfield worries developing before my eyes. It isn't a quick fix, but definately a plan for the future.</p><p></p><p>To be perfectly cynical, England should just write off this year's World Cup. Try their best obviously, but basically expect to get knocked out soon after the pool stages and forget about it. We don't have the write combinations midfield and with no time to work on it, the tournament is a write-off.</p><p></p><p>My first point may sound drastic, but I feel it's reached a stage where it's now necessary in order for England to progress - Jonny Wilkinson must move aside.</p><p></p><p>He was today overshadowed by his opposite number Shane Geraghty, a man who I now feel has a big future at international level. I wasn't too taken the first couple of times I saw him I admit. It seemed like Catt was carrying him to some extent, and his kicking could have been better. Now he has come into his own though. His kicking still needs work, but he has time to develop that. What he possesses is the raw pace to really worry and draw in defenders, which combined with an impressive range of passing give a team a lot of forward momentum.</p><p></p><p>The 12 shirt which has provided England for a number of years now, I believe should be handed to Toby Flood. He may have been on the losing side today, but behind a pack who took half the match to wake up he provided Newcastle's best attacking threat, with numerous line breaks and well timed passes. Just as Irish interchanged between Geraghty and Catt at stand-off, so Newcastle did with Wilkinson and Flood. It was Wilkinson's 'understudy' who was the catalyst for more of Newcastle's positive play though, and I firmly believe he would compliment Geraghty in attack while relieving pressure on important areas such as kicking.</p><p></p><p>As for the outside centre berth, since his startling rise to prominance last season I have been forever singing the praises of Jon Clarke. Many feel Matthew Tait should be given an extended run in this position, but I believe Clarke offers more as an all-round player. His may not be quite as quick, but his elusiveness, strength and slight of hand more than make up for this. Tait could be a good option on the wing, as I feel he is more dangerous being given space on the outside to put his head down and run at opposition players.</p><p></p><p>So to sum up, post World Cup I believe England should line-up:</p><p></p><p>10. Geraghty</p><p>12. Flood</p><p>13. Clarke</p><p></p><p></p><p>Thoughts?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SaintsFan_Webby, post: 104107"] Having spent this afternoon watching London Irish beat Newcastle, I believe I saw the solution to England's midfield worries developing before my eyes. It isn't a quick fix, but definately a plan for the future. To be perfectly cynical, England should just write off this year's World Cup. Try their best obviously, but basically expect to get knocked out soon after the pool stages and forget about it. We don't have the write combinations midfield and with no time to work on it, the tournament is a write-off. My first point may sound drastic, but I feel it's reached a stage where it's now necessary in order for England to progress - Jonny Wilkinson must move aside. He was today overshadowed by his opposite number Shane Geraghty, a man who I now feel has a big future at international level. I wasn't too taken the first couple of times I saw him I admit. It seemed like Catt was carrying him to some extent, and his kicking could have been better. Now he has come into his own though. His kicking still needs work, but he has time to develop that. What he possesses is the raw pace to really worry and draw in defenders, which combined with an impressive range of passing give a team a lot of forward momentum. The 12 shirt which has provided England for a number of years now, I believe should be handed to Toby Flood. He may have been on the losing side today, but behind a pack who took half the match to wake up he provided Newcastle's best attacking threat, with numerous line breaks and well timed passes. Just as Irish interchanged between Geraghty and Catt at stand-off, so Newcastle did with Wilkinson and Flood. It was Wilkinson's 'understudy' who was the catalyst for more of Newcastle's positive play though, and I firmly believe he would compliment Geraghty in attack while relieving pressure on important areas such as kicking. As for the outside centre berth, since his startling rise to prominance last season I have been forever singing the praises of Jon Clarke. Many feel Matthew Tait should be given an extended run in this position, but I believe Clarke offers more as an all-round player. His may not be quite as quick, but his elusiveness, strength and slight of hand more than make up for this. Tait could be a good option on the wing, as I feel he is more dangerous being given space on the outside to put his head down and run at opposition players. So to sum up, post World Cup I believe England should line-up: 10. Geraghty 12. Flood 13. Clarke Thoughts? [/QUOTE]
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