Hodgson's choice - Harry Kane v Wayne Rooney: Who should start for England this summer?
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Updated 23/03/2016 at 12:56 GMT
Hodgson's choice. If England manager Roy Hodgson has to choose one striker between Tottenham's Harry Kane and Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney, should he place his faith in youth or experience? Should he choose the Premier League's top scorer over England's all-time leading scorer?
Harry Kane celebrates with Wayne Rooney after scoring the first goal for England
Image credit: Reuters
Rooney will miss England's friendlies with Germany on Saturday and the Netherlands on Tuesday due to a knee injury sustained at Sunderland last month, but he could return for United against Everton in the Premier League on April 3.
Of course, it is perfectly feasible Hodgson could opt to experiment with two up front in these matches and pair Kane with Jamie Vardy of Leicester City, second in the Premier League scoring charts with 19 goals, but the Tottenham forward starts as favourite to be given first crack at the lone frontman role having excelled as a single striker at his club.
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England assistant manager Gary Neville talks to Wayne Rooney as Harry Kane looks on.
Image credit: Reuters
There remains the possibility that Rooney could play in behind Kane and Vardy ahead of the European Championships, and possibly in France, but the modern game does not lend itself well to the traditional two forwards. 4-4-2 is not the favoured option to help teams dominate midfield.
England face their opening match at the Euros against Russia on June 11.
Some Premier League players past and present have been sharing their views on whether or not Prince Harry has done enough to topple King Wazza.
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England manager Roy Hodgson has held talks with Tottenham over Harry Kane
Image credit: PA Sport
Harry v Wayne: How they compare
- Harry Kane, 22, is Premier League's top scorer with 21 goals from 31 games - he scored 21 in total last season
- Wayne Rooney, 30, managed 14 goals from 32 games in all competitions before his knee injury
- Rooney is England's all-time leading scorer with 51 goals from 109 matches
- Kane has three in eight matches with the national side
- Kane has 45 goals from 79 Premier League appearances, Rooney has 192 from 492
Matthew Le Tissier (former Southampton forward with 161 goals in 443 league games) - Harry Kane
Not at the moment (choosing Rooney), based on form. You also have to take into consideration the fact that when he’s been injured he’s not been great at coming back and hitting form straight away. The spell he’s been out now is starting to be a little bit extended and you have to wonder what form he will be in? At the moment, based on what I’ve seen this season, I wouldn’t say that he does get in the side. But obviously Roy Hodgson is very loyal to his players, he is his captain. In my world he probably wouldn’t play but in Roy’s world, if he’s fit, I think he’ll play. I’d have him in the squad but he wouldn’t make the starting XI.
Charlie Adam (Stoke City and Scotland midfielder) - Wayne Rooney
I still think Wayne Rooney is still the best English striker at the moment - a fit Wayne Rooney, firing on all cylinders, I still think he’s the best centre-forward. If he was playing in the better team at the moment, he’d still be the top England striker.
Alan Shearer (Premier League's top scorer with 260 goals from 434 games with Blackburn and Newcastle) - Harry Kane
Harry Kane should be the first name on the team sheet for England. I don’t think anyone can argue with that. The questions now are who plays with him if you play two up front? If you don’t, then who plays behind him?
Our view - Harry Kane has earned the right to start
If there is a job advert for operating as a lone striker, Kane is surely England's most successful applicant.
Pace, movement, ability to press for large swathes of a match, bring others into play and, most crucially, to score a high percentage of chances, has helped Tottenham mount an unlikely bid to challenge for a first English title since 1961.
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Alan Shearer is the Premier League's all-time top scorer
Image credit: PA Sport
His raw stats would suggest the Tottenham forward is the obvious choice to start for England at the European Championships. Whether that comes at the expense of Wayne Rooney remains a moot point. If Rooney can play himself into some form for United between now and the end of the season, he could yet be handed a role playing off Kane as a supporting figure, but probably not as the main figure up front.
It was a theme picked up on by the player-turned-pundit Stan Collymore the other day when the former Liverpool and England player suggested Rooney could accompany Dele Alli and Danny Welbeck in midfield to provide support for Kane.
Vardy would also appear to be a likelier figure to job-share with Kane simply because of the running that may be involved. Hodgson's task is to get the best out of three supremely talented forwards.
It is far from an easy solution, and Hodgson has also been keen to show loyalty to figures he can trust. Barring injury problems, it is difficult to see him shedding Rooney when he brings such vast experience to the national squad.
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