Crouching tiger, hidden Striker - the best England partnerships

Internationals / Mike Norman / 16 October 2007 / Leave a comment

"Mystical" Mike Norman looks into his crystal ball to recall great England partnerships of the past and compares them to those of the present

When it comes to partnerships, our great nation can be very proud of what we have produced. Though we might cringe at the musical ability of Robson & Jerome, we can hold our heads high when discussing the comedy genius that is Morecambe & Wise, ice-skating legends Torvill & Dean, or our national take-away Fish & Chips. But when it comes to football, just who represents England best? Does Owen really play better when partnered with Heskey, and can any of our recent pairings be spoken about in the same breath as Lineker & Beardsley or Shearer & Sheringham?

English football has, in the main, always adopted a traditional 4-4-2 formation - it's what we know best, and quite frankly, it's the formation that the majority of players are most familiar with. The difference between winning and losing a game can well depend on whether or not the two strikers can form a good relationship on the field. England have had some very successful partnerships in attack over the last 20 years, with arguably the pick being Gary Lineker and Peter Beardsley.

Beardsley was brought in to partner Lineker for a must win game against Poland during the 1986 World Cup. The pair would go on to have an excellent game, with Beardsley being the architect of a 3-0 win and Lineker scoring a hat-trick. Beardsley was a diminutive player, who had a low centre of gravity and the most wonderful ball control. His attacks on the opposition defence regularly caused havoc, allowing Lineker to lose his marker, before more often than not, slotting home a perfectly weighted pass from close range. In total, they played together (both starting) 39 times, scoring a very impressive 33 goals.

Whereas Lineker was a typical goal poacher, with the majority of his goals coming from inside the box, Alan Shearer was the complete opposite. He was brilliant in the air, could score with both feet, use power or precision, and he was just as good at scoring 30 yard volleys as he was at scoring tap-ins. Teddy Sheringham was an ideal partner, who would link the play from midfield to attack superbly. Shearer and Sheringham played together on 26 occasions, bagging 21 goals in the process.

Michael Owen will no doubt go on to be England's all time leading goal-scorer. Ever since he burst onto the scene during the 1998 World Cup he has been the focal point of England's attack, and often the biggest problem has been who to play with him. I am a massive fan of Owen, but I worry so much about his injury problems. If he does stay fit, then I have no doubt that he and Wayne Rooney have the quality to lead England to success.

Owen has openly admitted that he likes partnering Emile Heskey, and the stats make interesting reading. On the 20 occasions that they have started together for their country, they have scored 16 times, with Owen getting 13 of those goals. But out of the 21 times that Owen and Rooney have started together, England have profited more, with the partnership scoring 20 times - though it's worth pointing out that the goals have been shared, 10 for Owen and 10 for Rooney.

To throw a spanner in the works, a partnership that is surely worth another try at some point is Owen and Peter Crouch. Because of Rooney's now famous foot injury leading up to last year's World Cup, Crouch was asked to do a job alongside Owen. He duly obliged, and out of the 6 times they played together, they scored a very impressive-looking 10 times, albeit against weak opposition in friendlies. If Owen & Crouch were a match made in heaven, then surely Rooney & Crouch were made in Taiwan, as it fell apart after just 2 starts together, with England failing to score in both games.

So to England v Russia tomorrow, on an artificial pitch in freezing cold Moscow. Four weeks ago I wrote that England would be 5 points ahead of their rivals when this game kicks off, and that a draw would be seen as a great result. I have no reason to change my mind, and the draw can currently be backed at 3.3. A more speculative selection could be to back the 0-0 at 8.6 or the 1-1 at 7.4. However, one bet I would certainly go for is to lay the 'over 2.5 goals' at odds of 2.52, as I expect this to be a very tight game with chances kept to a minimum.

I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Moscow a few years ago, and I can certainly vouch for how cold it gets. I stayed in a little B&B where the family pet was a penguin and the kitchen fridge was used to defrost food and drink. I've always wondered about one thing though - instead of Russia playing their games during the day to avoid an avalanche of snow, frozen pitches, and freezing temperatures, why don't they just put a roof over their stadium - or is that being over critical?

To read more about past england partnerships go to:

www.englandfootballonline.com