Man to replace: Wilshere could be the man to take over from Gerrard Another World Cup, another inquest. And now we must wonder what the driving force of the side will be as England try to move on from this failure. Before this tournament, I suggested that Steven Gerrard would play on after Brazil in a bid to become England’s outfield record caps holder. Yet, as we look back on those first two matches, I would not blame him one bit if he decides to retire from international football. Some have blamed Gerrard for the defeat to Uruguay but there are far bigger problems in this side. He has been my favourite player over the past 10 years and I think he has done everything in his power to help us. He has been at the centre of so many sides and must be so frustrated that we have never fulfilled our potential. He deserved more. There will undoubtedly be part of him wondering if he should now step aside, focus on Liverpool’s next Champions League campaign, and leave England’s masterplan to the next generation. If he does, we will all wish him well. But it will also leave us wondering who on earth takes his place. There are too many players happy to give it the ‘I love playing for England’ chat – but then they mouth the national anthem and produce a performance that does not have enough heart. For me, Gerrard’s international retirement would have to mean Jack Wilshere makes the position his own. Is he up to the job? Only time will tell. Wilshere took a bashing from Paul Scholes recently and says he is willing to learn from the criticism. There is no doubt that he is a fantastic player with great natural ability but does he have it in him to become the heartbeat of our national side? Jack will probably be selected for the Costa Rica game – maybe even alongside Stevie Gerrard – as Hodgson ushers him in. Getty Nightmare tournament: And Roy Hodgson will have to decide who takes on Gerrards role This next game is a gimme. We are in the rare and unwanted scenario of playing a pointless World Cup match. If Jack can rise to the occasion at least we might be able to take a positive from it and have a platform to build on. Maybe even some optimism. The bigger issue then arrives in the form of his midfield partner. Hodgson is likely to continue with a 4-2-3-1 formation as we move forward but I am not convinced that Jordan Henderson is entitled to a spot in the side. For years we moaned about whether Gerrard and Frank Lampard could play in the same team but when you look back now it was a rather nice problem to have. I wonder whether Jack can build an international midfield partnership with Arsenal pal Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as we look to progress. The next domestic campaign is a huge one for both players and I imagine The Ox will continue to be used as an attacking player by Arsene Wenger. But for England perhaps Oxlade-Chamberlain could end up playing a more withdrawn role. I have seen him there before and he is very intelligent. We tend to look at him as a player with pure pace but there is more to him than that so maybe this Arsenal duo can forge some kind of understanding in midfield and give us hope.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 14:15:36 +0000
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