It was ironic that the name on everybody’s lips after the England Under-21s’ 7-0 drubbing of Azerbaijan was a player who did not even feature in the game.
Theo Walcott was holed-up with the Senior squad preparing for Wednesday’s clash with Andorra as Stuart Pearce’s side strolled to victory in their final warm-up game before jetting out to Sweden. He was not missed. His pace and direct running were not required to humble a frankly shocking Azeri side.
The serious business of winning the European Championships begins in earnest next week when England take on Finland in their Group B opener. Spain and Germany follow and all three are certain to pose a sterner test than Monday’s beleaguered opposition whose fate was effectively sealed when Michael Mancienne put England ahead after 48 seconds.
Pearce would have been forgiven for thinking it more than a little perverse that the main topic for debate in the post-match press conference following such a comprehensive display was his widely reported disagreement with Arsene Wenger over Walcott’s inclusion in both the Senior and Under-21 squads.
The youngster, who is now firmly established in Fabio Capello’s plans, was deemed at risk of burn-out by the Arsenal boss who is understandably keen to wrap him up in bundles of cotton wool.
Such a concept is surely anathema to Pearce, who heralds from a time when players would hide injuries in order to lace up their boots and step out at Wembley for their country. Woe betide the club boss who would have tried to stop Pearce representing England. Even Brian Clough may have had second thoughts about that one.
Times have certainly changed, but refreshingly it seems Walcott retains the spirit of the old guard.
“My first conversation was Theo and I told him I wanted him with the Under 21s,” Pearce explained to the assembled press pack at stadium:mk.
“He thought this tournament with the Under 21s would be fantastic for him. He has never actually played in a major tournament at any age yet.”
Walcott bucks the emerging trend of players who put their club careers and the contingent wage packets ahead of the prestige of playing for their country at any level.
Everybody remembers David Bentley. Tipped as the heir apparent to David Beckham, DB7 mkII, he used tiredness as an excuse to pull out of the last European Under-21 Championship assuming better things were round the corner.
A big-money move to Spurs was followed by a loss of form and fitness and the England caps dried up. The midfielder was greeted with a chorus of boos when he next represented England and is now well down the pecking order for those vying for the right-sided slot in Capello’s side, well behind the current incumbent Walcott. Perhaps the best chance he will have of representing his country at a major tournament has already passed.
As much as Wenger may want to protect his player, he has already missed four months of the last campaign through injury. It was a long, drawn-out season for many players currently in the Under-21 squad for Sweden, but having only returned to the Arsenal line-up in March, Walcott must be relatively fresh.
This was certainly the argument of Pearce, who added: “When you talk about training time and match practice together he has played 45 minutes so far. He would have played 90 minutes against Azerbaijan, so the biggest exposure he would have got all summer would have been 90 minutes more than he would have done had he just played for the Under-21s.
“In that respect, and coupled with the fact he has missed the four months of the season through injury and he missed the last Under-21 tournament, we had a valid case.”
So perhaps when Walcott is writing his postcards home from Sweden, he should send one to Bentley with a simple message: ‘Wish you were here?’