England - Is it worth a risk giving Bentley a go up front..

in the hole behind Owen.

With the rest of the options having continually failed to impress for England I really don't see why he just doesn't give it a go.

Yes


------------Hargreaves---------
SWP-----------------------Cole
-------------Bentley-----------
-------Owen--------Heskey----


Anything to get Gerrard off the pitch.

no RH in SG out Heskey

I don't want Gerrard to play injured. Did I mention that?

Owen needs someone else to play off, or he'll get marked out of the game. That's why he wants Heskey to partner him, not to score goals.

Gerrard as a striker definitely won't work.

I'd do this


SWP.....Hargreaves.....Gerrard......Cole J

......................Bentley

......................Owen


FFS Heskey is sh¡te, if england have to resort to playing him they may as well give up.

No this is a ridiculous idea Frank. You are going to play a winger upfront when we have strikers? add to that Owen is not good on his own, Bentley will hardly be winning the balls in the air for him.

Heskey you may not rate, but hes a better striker than Bentley would be thats for sure.

when bentley was at arsenal he played in exactly this role.

he is not a winger in the true meaning of the word, just a gifted footballer, deemed too lightweight to cut it in CM who plays wide, but comes in field a lot.

No. If you want to play J Cole, Bentley and Swp all in the same team, then -


Bentley -- Gerrard -- Hargreaves -- SWP

------------------ J Cole

------------------ Owen

Well fair enough, but i would think he would need someone like Heskey upfront himself. Owen infront of him wouldn't work for either him or Owen.

heskey should start. he ain't a pretty player, but he'll be effective. leaving owen by himself just don't work and playing cole or bentley just behind him will still result in him being isolated and ineffective.

should play:

swp-hargreaves-barry-cole
--------heskey-owen

better to rest gerrard for israel & bring him back vs russia if he's fit. he's not that important for england - or at least he shouldn't be considered that important for england.if we give him injections to force him to play it will only perpetuate the idea that he's completely essential and we have no chance without him - which i don't believe is true - and simultaneously is a kick in the face for all other english midfielders. why would he include other players in the squad if he's never going to trust them to start?

Heskey is good enough for a game against Israel. Infact, he is likely to be very useful for getting the best out of Owen, that sall anyone should think about - he can hold the ball up and let the better players around him do their stuff.

Young is better than than SWP eventhough he has not been around the senior national team the player shows way more common sense maturity plus there is more to his game. He remands me a little of Trevor Francis or a faster Joe Cole. Playing him instead of SWP adds more going forward and just because Shaun was up against Beckham for years and was not given a run of games, he still has not proved enough to hold down a regular England spot. England needs to continue the conveyer belt system of trying young players it is our simplest route forward without making dramatic changes..I like SWP but take his speed away what are you left with??