By Myles Palmer
Freddie is a terrific goalscorer for Arsenal – but he can’t hurt England.
I love Freddie. We all love Freddie.That’s why we sing, We love you Freddie, because you’ve got red hair….
I rated Freddie since Stockholm when he gave Hoddle’s England the runaround, after the David Davies-Glenn Hoddle diary demoralized the dresssing room and made Hod’s departure inevitable.
I loved him from his first sub appearance,that goal against Man United.
He was sparky,a good reflex player, a tiny warrior of the kind all teams need.
Yes, Freddie Ljungberg has bad games, runs down blind alleys,makes some dim pases.
But he has bottle. He is brave and I love brave players.
Just love ’em – Denis Law, Andy Gray, Jurgen Klinsmann,
Marcelo Salas.They’re not scared of anything on two legs, anything on a football field anyway.
And Freddie Ljungberg is like those guys.
For me, Freddie is a player who is far better OFF the ball than on the ball.
He’s OK on the ball, fantastic off the ball.
And you always need that blend. In 1986 England had Hoddle, Waddle and Beardlsey, so Lineker and Hodge fitted in well.
If you have three who can dribble and pass, you need two who can make runs.
Basically, Freddie can’t hurt England because Sol Campbell knows where he runs and Seaman knows where he shoots.
Sweden have been thoroughly scouted by Sven’s assistant
Stewart Baxter, the coach Wenger wanted as his No 2.
Freddie needs service. He needs world class passes. And he will miss the slide-rule defence-splitters of Bergkamp, the near-post crosses of Pires, the cushioned control of Henry.
Freddie scores from one-on-ones because that’s what Arsenal practice every day.He has the brains to go at the right time, the speed to get to the ball and the guts to finish.
He scored 17 goals for Arsenal and 11 of them were first goals.
Two of the other six were goals in games where he had
scored the first goal. Of the other four, one clinched the FA Cup Final against Chelsea.
Freddie was playing out of his skin in February when he was injured by Jason Wilcox. He missed 12 games but Arsenal kept winning.
Then he came back in March and got his match fitness back and in April and May he scored seven goals in seven games to propel Arsenal to the title.
When Pires was crocked, and Henry’s goals dried up, Freddie delivered.
But he has only scored two goals for Sweden.
That’s because Sweden have no Bergkamp, no Pires.No Brolin.
They are methodical, predictable. Dull as ditchwater. So workmanlike they should play in dungarees.
Sweden can’t pass the ball forward as well as Arsenal, or as fast.
So I don’t think Ljungberg will score on Sunday. Henrik Larsson might, but he won’t.
Larsson is also brave.
Like Raul,Larsson is great in the air for his size, very brave with headers.
So Sol,Rio and Ashley will have to watch Larsson,not the ball.
Nobody else will dare to say : Ljungberg won’t score.They will not want to tempt fate.
We shall soon see. I’ve been wrong before.If I’m wrong,and Freddie scores, I wouldn’t give fourpence for England’s chances of getting out of Group F.
28th May 2002