England watch - Nigel Reo-Coker
Reo-Coker set for England role
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Wednesday, 13, Sep 2006 04:54
Steve McClaren's England era is off and running. Two wins and six goals from the opening two Euro 2008 qualifiers have left optimism high but there is, as the school report reads, room for improvement.
Here we take a look at some of the promising young talents in the English game who could develop and make the grade at international level, be it in Austria and Switzerland in two years' time or in South Africa in 2010. Sooner rather than later, we hope. Soho Square take note.
Fourth round: a young Hammer who gained more than a few enthusiasts by skippering West Ham to the FA Cup final last season.
Name: Nigel Reo-Coker
Position: Midfielder
Club: West Ham United
Age at start of South Africa 2010: 26
With Frank Lampard off colour, Steven Gerrard warming the Liverpool subs bench and Joe Cole still not fully recovered from injury, the England midfield is an area still in need of much attention.
It is also the part of the side experiencing most transition from the Sven-Goran Eriksson regime. Aaron Lennon, whose development unquestionably hastened David Beckham's exit, is pushing for a starting slot on the right, Owen Hargreaves is continuing to assert himself in the holding role and Stewart Downing is threatening to reopen the old left midfield debate.
One beneficiary of this transition period could and perhaps should be Nigel Reo-Coker who since bursting onto the Premiership scene with West Ham last season has become recognised as one of the country's most consistently high-performing footballers.
Of Sierra Leonean descent, Reo-Coker announced himself to the Premiership last term by scoring one of the goals of the season - a scorching 25-yard effort in the Hammers' opening game against Blackburn at Upton Park.
He continued to impress, skippering West Ham to the FA Cup final, and in doing so earning the attention of Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, both of whom are reported to have made transfer deadline day approaches for the combative star.
England chief Eriksson also took note of his talent, promoting him from the under-21s to his stand-by list for this summer's World Cup. An untimely back injury eventually forced him to withdraw from the reserve list but the recognition was there.
Now, back to full health and impressing once again, Reo-Coker is continuing to earn plaudits and another call-up to the full England team surely beckons.
The main issue he faces is the wealth of central midfielders on offer to McClaren. Aside from Hargreaves, Gerrard and Lampard, England also have options in Michael Carrick and Jermaine Jenas, both of whom have more exposure to the senior set-up.
Added to this, is McClaren's safety-conscious desire to see "evolution not revolution" during his stay in charge of the national team and questions have been raised as to whether the former Boro man is bold enough to hand an uncapped midfielder from outside of Teesside a chance. If sense prevails, he will.
England's 2010 World Cup squad
*Players in bold - tickets to South Africa booked already
Goalkeepers
Paul Robinson
Possibles: Chris Kirkland, Ben Foster, Rob Green, Scott Carson
Defenders
John Terry, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher
Possibles: Glen Johnson, Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, Ledley King, Michael Dawson, Anton Ferdinand, Leighton Baines, Justin Hoyte, Curtis Davies, Wes Brown, Phil Bardsley, Michael Mancienne
Midfielders
Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Owen Hargreaves, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick
Possibles: Aaron Lennon, Tom Huddlestone, Nigel Reo-Coker, Lee Cattermole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stewart Downing, Giles Barnes, James Morrison, Kieran Richardson
Forwards
Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen
Possibles: David Nugent, Theo Walcott, James Vaughan, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Darren Bent, Dean Ashton, Cameron Jerome