A King size problem for Capello

Posted by Alex Livie on 08/05/2010

Fabio Capello has a looming problem on his hands in the shape of a certain Ledley King.

Capello names his provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup on Tuesday and King must feature. The Tottenham man has produced consistent excellence this season and in recent games has proved that his notoriously brittle knees can stand up to the rigours of games in quick succession. His display during Tottenham’s win over Manchester City was top-drawer in the way he shackled Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor, but it was no flash in the pan. He has been doing the same all season.

The problem Capello faces is that not only should King be in the squad, on current form he should be in the team.

If all defenders available to England were fit for selection, four centre-backs stand head and shoulders above the rest: Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, King and Jonathan Woodgate.

Woodgate is out of the picture due to injury, which leaves two from three and herein lies the problem for Capello. The odd one out would appear to be Ferdinand, but he is the England captain and can he drop the England captain if he is available?

King and Ferdinand are alike in terms of playing style, comfortable on the ball and great readers of the game. Terry is the no-nonsense ball winner and as such it should be either King or Ferdinand partnering Terry.

Ferdinand’s position in the team would have been guaranteed 12 months ago, but a series of injuries have blighted his season and as a consequence he has not looked as assured when he has been available for Manchester United. He is likely to play in the final game of the season and as such prove his fitness, but that alone should not guarantee him a place in the team.

Capello has to pick the best players available and on form it is King and Terry, but will he make that tough decision to axe his captain in the same way he stripped Terry of the captaincy for an off-field incident earlier in the season?

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