THE KOP has a famous song about a Liverpool team containing 11 ‘Jamie Carraghers’ but Fabio Capello admits he’d like to clone the defender’s Anfield team-mate Steven Gerrard.
In the absence of a cloning machine, Fabio Capello will hand Ashley Young a chance to impress for England in their friendly with Holland tomorrow.
If Capello’s dreams were to become reality, he would simply have replaced Steven Gerrard with an exact replica when the Liverpool skipper pulled out with a minor groin injury.
Real life is not so simple, which is why Young will get another chance to face top quality opposition in the Amsterdam Arena after failing to impress against Germany last November.
The Aston Villa man has been picked since becoming the only negative point from an otherwise memorable evening in Berlin. But since Andorra provided the opposition in a six-goal rout in June, that doesn’t really count.
“I cannot clone Stevie,” observed the Italian.
“Every player has a different style and Ashley Young is really important because he is one of the English players who can dribble and take people on one-on-one.
“He has only played twice for me. The first time it was so-so. The second he played very well.
“Now he needs the confidence to perform against one of the best national sides in the world.”
As Capello seems to have mastered the art of generating the most from his players, confidence is the one thing Young should not be lacking as England face the only European side to have already qualified for next summer’s World Cup.
Not that such an impressive performance allows them to be rated alongside Euro 2008 winners Spain, the team Capello still regards as number one in the world despite their untimely Confederations Cup exit at the hands of the USA.
Still, Oranje represent a significant test for an England side whose only defeats under their impressive manager have come away from Wembley, against France and Spain.
“Holland do not have the same quality as Spain but they have had some really good results, so it is a really important test,” said Capello.
“It gives us an opportunity to understand what we will have to do if we play against a team with the same style in South Africa.”
The exit of Theo Walcott from training having played no meaningful part suggests he will not play in a match that takes place before the Premier League starts.
In the absence of a cloning machine, Fabio Capello will hand Ashley Young a chance to impress for England in their friendly with Holland tomorrow.
If Capello’s dreams were to become reality, he would simply have replaced Steven Gerrard with an exact replica when the Liverpool skipper pulled out with a minor groin injury.
Real life is not so simple, which is why Young will get another chance to face top quality opposition in the Amsterdam Arena after failing to impress against Germany last November.
The Aston Villa man has been picked since becoming the only negative point from an otherwise memorable evening in Berlin. But since Andorra provided the opposition in a six-goal rout in June, that doesn’t really count.
“I cannot clone Stevie,” observed the Italian.
“Every player has a different style and Ashley Young is really important because he is one of the English players who can dribble and take people on one-on-one.
“He has only played twice for me. The first time it was so-so. The second he played very well.
“Now he needs the confidence to perform against one of the best national sides in the world.”
As Capello seems to have mastered the art of generating the most from his players, confidence is the one thing Young should not be lacking as England face the only European side to have already qualified for next summer’s World Cup.
Not that such an impressive performance allows them to be rated alongside Euro 2008 winners Spain, the team Capello still regards as number one in the world despite their untimely Confederations Cup exit at the hands of the USA.
Still, Oranje represent a significant test for an England side whose only defeats under their impressive manager have come away from Wembley, against France and Spain.
“Holland do not have the same quality as Spain but they have had some really good results, so it is a really important test,” said Capello.
“It gives us an opportunity to understand what we will have to do if we play against a team with the same style in South Africa.”
The exit of Theo Walcott from training having played no meaningful part suggests he will not play in a match that takes place before the Premier League starts.
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