Welbeck can make difference against talented Scots, says pundit
Tuesday 18 November 2014 09:38, UK
Jamie Redknapp previews Scotland v England - and says Danny Welbeck could be the visitors' key man at Celtic Park...
England may not be learning much from their Euro 2016 qualifying group but they’ll face their biggest test since the World Cup against Scotland on Tuesday night.
Wins over the likes of Slovenia, Estonia and even Switzerland are fine, but it’s hard for Roy Hodgson to justifiably say his side are making progress when they’ve only been up against sides of that calibre.
England can’t underestimate this Scotland team. They've got good footballers.
There’s pressure on his team at Celtic Park this week, though, and, if they get the right result, then he can say, yes, we’re heading in the right direction.
I played at Hampden Park when we won the first of our Euro 2000 qualifying play-off legs against Scotland and it was a great atmosphere. It will be exactly the same on Tuesday.
But as well as the atmosphere, England can’t underestimate this Scotland team, which are doing well in their own European Qualifiers.
This idea they’ll be kicking lumps out of the England players, I don’t subscribe to that at all. Scotland have got the likes of Shaun Maloney and Steven Naismith, good footballers. It’s a disservice to Scottish football to say they’ll just be a physical test.
There’s no love lost between the sides, of course, but Scotland have better footballers than people are giving them credit for. They’ll be getting stuck in, make no mistake, but the game has changed since the days when you’d get 10 over-the-top tackles a weekend. There will be an intensity to the contest but it won’t be like the games Graeme Souness used to play in!
I’m pleased to see talents like Maloney and Naismith back in that Scotland team. I remember when I was a kid, Liverpool had a predominantly Scottish team and were the best side in Europe. The last 10 years have been a difficult time for Scottish football but now they seem to be going places.
Gordon Strachan is playing a big part in that, too. There are certain managers we’re very quick to discard and label as ‘old school’ but he’s a passionate, football man. He’s not a ‘laptop manager’, as I call some of the new coaches, but he’s a studious football man.
It’s great he’s having a resurgence again and people are saying, ‘you know what, he’s a very good football manager’.
I expect England to stand up to the challenge that awaits them, though. I’ve said all along, we have got good, exciting young players in the set-up now and I’d love to see the likes of Ross Barkley – who we have to build the team around – get an opportunity on this big stage.
However, Danny Welbeck could be the danger man again, after his double against Slovenia. Like Peter Crouch, Welbeck seems to be one of those players who performs even better when he’s wearing an England shirt and he’s playing with so much confidence and freedom at the moment.
That stems from playing regularly at Arsenal and he must think ‘what a good move I’ve made’. He’s gone from a bit-part player at Old Trafford to a starter at the Emirates and has given Hodgson something to think about when Daniel Sturridge is back fit.
How much of the game he plays remains to be seen and both teams will make changes, so it’s hard to predict the outcome. But I can see it being tight and England edging it 2-1.
Neither manager will want to lose this one – but if Hodgson can come away with the win then his claims England are getting better will hold more weight.
