IF England really want to do well in this World Cup then Sven Goran Eriksson and his players must forget about Wayne Rooney
By Johan Cruyff (Dutch Legend)
Sure, he's very important and everyone knows he can create a goal out of nothing.
Rooney is capable of picking the ball up in midfield and beating one, two, three even four players before scoring.
We all recognise his great talent, his amazing mentality and know that he's not a shy player.
But the guy is injured and England don't know when he will be fit — or even if he can play any part later on in the finals.
So forget him. For now, at least, England must act and prepare as if he won't make it.
The coach must adapt for the finals without him, both tactically and mentally.
Eriksson's had plenty of time to do that, so England should already have their plans in place.
If he hasn't then England run a real risk of ruining their chances of success.
DutyThat's because all this talk over Rooney's fitness can become a major distraction.
In all fairness it may be that already.
But, worse, it can become an excuse for failure.
It would be nonsense to say: "We didn't win the World Cup because we didn't have Rooney."
That's nonsense. It's not as if he was injured in the first few minutes of the opening game or anything like that.
He has been injured for some time now and everyone knows it, especially the coach.
And it's his duty to make sure England can progress without him and can cope without him.
You just can't afford to go to Germany with a negative attitude in the camp — if you do you will lose.
Why be negative anyway?
It's not as if England are a one-man team, a team that's nothing without Rooney.
Look at the names in this England side and you will see that this is the best line-up they have had in years — even without Rooney. There's Michael Owen, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.
Look through the team and you will see they are strong in every department.
They have a very good goalkeeper in Paul Robinson and in front of him there is an excellent defence — no matter who is picked from the list of Terry, Ferdinand and Sol Campbell.
Up front, there is Owen and I just love his confident attitude.
Even though he was injured earlier in the season, he has stayed positive from the start.
SmartI hear people are saying: "He's not played for most of the season — now he won't play well at the World Cup finals."
But I don't think like that — and neither does Owen.
He will be thinking he will be fresher than anyone else in the entire England team.
If you are fresher you may well give more than the others, especially those who have played a lot during the season.
Don't forget, he's so smart too, a really intelligent player.
He's first to react and he's quick off the mark — and that always makes him dangerous wherever he is on the pitch.
And in the box it makes him deadly. But the real key behind an England success is the midfield, especially Lampard and Gerrard.
To me, England's chances of success depend 100 per cent on the level of performance we see from those two.
They have the same qualities and have shown them consistently for their clubs. They arrive in attack at the perfect time to score a goal — and they have proved that this season with so many great strikes between them.
They can both make that crucial pass that opens a defence and creates a chance to win the game.
They also both want to win so much they give everything for the team.
ChanceThey attack, they defend, they drive, they tackle, they score.
If they link up with the strikers effectively — whichever strikers play — then England will be a major threat.
They will have a real chance of doing well.
Then there's Beckham. He has great technique, he's fantastic playing on the right wing, he can pass and is a real threat with corners and free-kicks. In a team which plays like England that's a huge advantage when you have the big men going forward — like Terry, Ferdinand and Campbell — for their set-pieces.
After a disastrous season with Real Madrid, he will want to show the world he is still capable of great things.
He's played in Spain for three years and won nothing and that will hurt him — so it's good news for England.
So there are a lot of positives for Sven's side, even without Rooney.
If it is announced that he is fit then it will be like a gift from above.
You don't expect it, you didn't plan for it — but it's a great bonus and a great boost.
