By Myles Palmer
Machlas versus Keown? Machlas versus Seaman?
I wonder because I’ve always fancied Nikos Machlas as a Tony Cottee-type poacher. He is short, tidy, skilful and prolific, the type Thierry Henry calls a fox in the box.
When Machlas was with Vitesse Arnhem three years ago I always wondered whether he would make it in England.
England’s new defence of Phil Neville, Keown, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole would get found out by a good team, but Greece are not a good team.
It is, of course,far too soon to start calling Scholes, Gerrard and Beckham the best midfield in the world.
Sven has not seen France recently! Or Argentina!
Everyone would love to see Robbie Fowler come good in this game.
Fowler might benefit from having his mate McManaman back in the side. But Macca has never convinced me as an England player, even in Euro 96.
I never believe that Macca will score a goal or make a goal.But if England are winning maybe he can hang on to the ball long enough to give the defence a break.
So it’s a big, big game for Keown, for Fowler and for 37-year old ponytailed keeper David Dolittle.
Dolittle spent six years playing behind the best defence in the world, and he was brilliant when called upon. But for five years he has been in decline.
Luckily for him, in 1997, Wenger signed Petit, so he had a great back four in front of him, plus a giant anchorman in Vieira, plus a fine strategic defender in Petit, plus hard-tackling flank grafter in Ray Parlour.
So David Dolittle had seven of the world’s best defenders in front of him. No wonder he had very little to do. He has had very little to do for years now. And he loves that. And I doubt if he will have much to do in Athens tonight.
But you never know when a striker as sharp as Machlas is around.
Seaman is under the spotlight as never before. He is 37 and Dudek is 28 and Seaman has not signed a new deal yet
because he is waiting to see if Dudek is signed by Arsenal.
Dudek himself is in his first season in the Polish team and was more nervous than my Polish correspondent has ever seen him in Cardiff, where Poland won 2-1. Blake’s goal was no fault of Dudek’s. He did well to almost save it.
I’m really looking forward to Greece v England. I’ve been waiting 30 years for an England manager to create a team that is more than the sum of its parts.
Bobby couldn’t do that, Tel couldn’t.Clough was never given the chance.
Sven-Goran Eriksson might create a team that is England’s best since 1966.
That is a lot to ask (since nobody in the team is a good as Banks, Moore or Bobby Charlton) but it is possible.
Athens will tell us something. And it might tell us a lot.
June 5th 2001.