-First off, let's get to some Liverpool news. Jonjo Shelvey hurt his knee and his going to be out three months. I don't know what to make of this. It's clear Dalglish rated Shelvey pretty highly, he was first off the bench in a lot of matches. I know he's only 19, and probably hasn't been played in his natural central position for more than ten to 15 minutes. At the same time, I think I can count on one hand the amount of successful passes he's made. Still, it lessens options in the center of midfield, meaning Christian Poulsen could get more run-outs, and I don't know who that helps. Though he hasn't killed anyone recently.
-Gerrard may play on Saturday, but I wouldn't rush him because you shouldn't require him to beat Wigan at home, and there are more important matches coming up.
-Anyway, watching England yesterday, and I've always wondered why Ashley Young doesn't get more of a chance. Glen Johnson feeding him for a goal looked pretty good, can we make that a more often thing next season? That'd be cool. There's been a lot of talk about Jack Wilshere, and I think he'd be perfect with whatever holding midfielder you choose behind him and Ashley Young in front of him in a five-man midfield. Football 365 made the comparison to Andrea Pirlo, a deep-lying playmaker. But Pirlo always had Gennero Gattuso snapping around to protect him, and I think that's what Wilshere would need. For a while, I thought an attacking troika of Young, Adam Johnson, and Theo Walcott behind Rooney (or hopefully Andy Carroll when Rooney is hurt/drunk/tapping some hookers) would look pretty good. But does that compare to what Argentina, or Spain, or Holland, or Brazil will be tossing out at the next World Cup or Euro 2012? I doubt it. Wilshere and Young just aren't Xavi or Fabregas, or Sneijder/Van der Vaart, or Messi, or Ozil, players that are tossed out in that position that makes their international sides go. And this is England's problem.
But that's better than the US's problems, I suppose.
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