Peter Taylor, the Leicester City manager and stand-in England boss has already had his first taste of disappointment on the international stage after a number of late withdrawals left him with restricted options for the friendly in Turin.
Michael Owen and Paul Scholes joined Alan Smith and Wes Brown on the absentees’ list after failing to overcome minor injuries during the England squad’s training session yesterday.
Their unfortunate withdrawal leaves Taylor with few choices as regards his forward line, with only Liverpool duo Emile Heskey and Robbie Fowler and Sunderland’s Kevin Phillips the remaining recognised strikers in the squad.
Taylor refused to be downcast though, despite seeing the attacking potential of his side weakened. He explained that he could not push any of the players to risk themselves for the sake of a friendly if they were not 100% fit, as was the case with Michael Owen and Paul Scholes. He said:
“Owen and Scholes had a go on the training ground but it wasn’t worth the risk. Michael has a stiff back and he wouldn’t have started because he’s not played a lot in recent weeks. Paul would have played though.”
Speaking further about the loss of his strikers he continued:
“I didn’t want to over-push Alan [Smith] when David O’Leary said he was shattered.
“It’s a bit of a blow of course but it will only change the players I use, not the way we’ll play.
“I’m happy with the team I’m going with. I can’t change what I felt was right when I named the squad.
“You can never tell who is going to be fit and I’m still happy with what I’ve done.”
Taylor has opted to play Emile Heskey alone upfront with Liverpool colleague Nick Barmby playing just behind him and the former England under-21 manager knows all about the abilities of the bustling Liverpool hitman having selected him for the under-21s not long ago.
“When he was with the under-21s I always said he could be an amazing player and he is beginning to show it,” Taylor said of the ex-Leicester favourite.
Heskey has been criticised in the past for not scoring enough goals and eyebrows were raised when Gerrard Houllier splashed out £11million to take the youngster to Anfield from Filbert Street. However, his recent form has been outstanding, scoring ten goals for Liverpool this season, prompting his manager to label him a “goal machine”.
Heskey himself is relishing the prospect of playing in Turin, especially with Taylor at the helm, as he explained:
"It is everyone's dream to play against teams like Italy, and I'd like to think I am in the form to be given a crack at them.
"Peter Taylor knows my strengths after being my boss with the England under-21s. He was brilliant and I learned a lot with him. He taught me a lot and brought me through, really.
"He's a very good manager, one to one with players he's excellent and he talks to you an awful lot,” Heskey added.
Taylor’s opposite number, Italian coach Giovanni Trappatoni, is taking the match seriously, as he declared:
“We are going to consider this as a big test, and not a friendly. It will be good for us to beat England.”
Howard Wilkinson, Chairman of the League Managers Association and current manager of England’s under-21s agreed that the fixture holds great importance, saying:
“Italy are a good yardstick. If we want to succeed on the international stage, we need to be able to beat teams like Italy.”
The under-21s play the European under-21 Champions Italy in Monza tonight and will be hungry for revenge having lost 2-0 to the eventual winners of the tournament in Slovakia in the summer.
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