Owen fails to recover Rooney is injured, and Peter Crouch gets a higher calling from the Queen, for covert operations behind enemy lines in Iran
2 out of 3 ain't bad...you got this weeks lottery numbers handy?
Owen's plight opens door for Walcott
Michael Walker
Monday May 8, 2006
The Guardian
Sven-Goran Eriksson was at Arsenal's London Colney training ground on Saturday and had lunch with Arsène Wenger. Ostensibly the Swede was present at the training session earlier to check on Ashley Cole's fitness but in reality the England coach, for the third time in recent weeks, watched Theo Walcott train.
With Wayne Rooney almost certainly out and Michael Owen not even on Newcastle's bench yesterday, Eriksson has to think about striking alternatives. He saw Jermain Defoe score at West Ham but the news that Walcott has moved on to Eriksson's radar will stun many.
Article continues
The 17-year-old was bought from Southampton in January for £5m, rising to £12m, but he is yet to appear for Arsenal's first team. Eriksson is not regarded as a gambler but he gave Rooney a debut at 17 and has the weight of Wenger's words behind him should he choose even to place Walcott on stand-by. "If Sven calls me to ask should he take Walcott, I would not stop him," said Wenger. "Theo needs games but he has something very special. It would be a gamble but he is an option."
Eriksson names his provisional 27-man squad today and, even if Walcott is omitted, all coaches are allowed to make changes on medical grounds until June 9, the day before the World Cup starts.
That buys Eriksson time and Owen appears to need it. "Michael was not on the bench because he's not 100% happy," said Newcastle's caretaker manager Glenn Roeder after the 1-0 win over Chelsea. "There is still a dull ache but it's nothing serious. Until he's played a couple of games with no reaction it would only be natural to be concerned."
