Pires Out - Rosicky In

Tomas Rosicky

Not saying this is a straight swap of course, as they are two quite different players (apart from both being attacking midfielders and world class players).
25 year old Rosicky should give some competition to both the strikers and wing positions, as from what I've seen and read, he is like a cross between Bergkamp, Reyes and Hleb. The man to put through the final ball to the finisher after a bit of magic to create some space. I would expect to see him have a lot more assists than goals - like the Pires or Bergkamp of a couple of years ago.

My view - great signing which I think, is to replace Bergkamp's role as a supporting forward.

Walcott In World Cup Squad

Sven has picked Theo Walcott in the England squad after a recommendation from Wenger to "take a risk on him". I guess with a squad of 23, you can afford to have one "risky" pick. Here are some of the reasons I think he picked him...

• Ran an 11.5 second 100 metres at the age of 14
• Quicker than Henry over 15 yards
• Can play striker and wing
• Excellent technique
• Likes to "run at" and beat players
• Prolific goal scorer (100 in 35 matches as an 11 YO and 5 goals in 9 games for the England U17 team)

I think thats worth a risk. SWP hasn't played enough to be much less of a risk, Defoe doesn't score enough and Bent doesn't have as much pace or technique. The key here is the second point. Anyone who has great technique and is faster than Henry over 15 yards can be extremely dangerous to an oppostion defence. If you put that with the carefree, "no fear" attitude of a 17 year old, it could just be the "Wild Card" that is needed in Sven's pack.

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