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September 1,
2002 (Sunday)
Leeds pair
in England reckoning
Leeds United's
Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer are in the reckoning
for England call-ups as Sven Goran Eriksson prepares for the Euro
2004 qualifiers with next Saturday's friendly against host nation
Portugal.
The pair have been passed over since a court case that ended last
December with defender Woodgate's conviction for affray and
midfielder Bowyer being cleared of all charges following an assault
on a student in Leeds in January 2000.
'It's very good because now I'm a free man and I can pick whoever I
want,' Eriksson told reporters. 'I agreed not to pick them because I
thought it would have caused a lot of confusion around the national
team and that would not have been good.
Woodgate, who was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, has
started the season well after injury, while Bowyer has impressed the
England manager enough to be considered for inclusion in Monday's 23-
man squad for the Portugal match.
'I think that if he (Bowyer) goes on playing like he is at the moment
it's very interesting. He's done very well,' said Eriksson, adding
that he has not yet spoken to Leeds manager Terry Venables about him.
But asked about Bowyer's track record off the pitch, the Swede
said: 'I think it should be very bad of me to judge a player without
knowing him and without having him in the squad.
Bowyer, a former Under-21 international, was allowed by the Football
Association to be considered for England duty after being cleared of
all charges in the trial at Hull Crown Court last December.
Eriksson still did not pick him for the World Cup in South Korea and
Japan, but clearly feels the 25-year-old deserves a chance on the
full international stage.
'I'm not talking about Lee Bowyer now,' said Eriksson, 'but in
general in life you can change and if you've done something stupid it
doesn't mean that you necessarily have to go on doing stupid things
all your life.
But Woodgate and Bowyer are not the only Leeds players being
considered for the warm-up game at Villa Park ahead of England's
first Euro 2004 qualifier on October 12 against Slovakia.
Young goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who has kept England squad regular
Nigel Martyn out of the Leeds first team, striker Alan Smith and fit-
again midfielder Nick Barmby could all find themselves playing a part
against the Portuguese.
'I don't know if Robinson is going to continue playing (in the Leeds
first team), but he did well for the England under-21s and so it's a
normal step (up to the full squad) if you play regular football,'
said Eriksson.
'Alan Smith has the temperament. It is good almost every time,
although it can be too much sometimes. But you can see that he lives
for football, he's a winner, he hates to lose - they're very good
things in football.
'He's bold and, of course, he's a good player. He can play up front,
he can play outside right I think he could even play outside left if
you want. He could play in a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 (formation) if you want
that from him.
Barmby's form since his move to Leeds from Liverpool has also
impressed Eriksson
'I don't know how many games he played last season, but after
Christmas I don't think he ever played. But now he's playing and the
game I saw Leeds play he scored a marvellous goal. So he's another
one coming back.
Barmby made a dream start to his Leeds career by scoring one goal and
creating another in a 3-0 win over Manchester City on the opening day
of the season at Elland Road.
Eriksson has also left the door open for veterans like David Seaman,
Teddy Sheringham and even Martin Keown, who said in June that he
would retire from international football.
Seaman could start the match against Portugal in a vote of confidence
from Eriksson following the mistake that allowed a tame Ronaldinho
free-kick to float over his head and give Brazil victory in their
World Cup quarter-final.
'Seaman did well in the World Cup, he did well before the World Cup
and he's doing well now,' said Eriksson.
'I think that, especially when you're talking about a goalkeeper, you
shouldn't look so much at age. Dino Zoff was 40 when Italy won the
World Cup in 1982.
With injuries ruling out Gary Neville, Wes Brown, Paul Scholes,
Robbie Fowler and possibly Nicky Butt, Eriksson will have a chance to
assess some younger players and also those returning from injury like
Steven Gerrard and Danny Murphy.
But he insists he will not be making wholesale changes at halftime.
'It's not going to be like almost all the previous friendlies when
after 45 minutes we made nine, 10 or 11 changes, and that was part of
the agreement with the clubs where we agreed to take away three
friendly games in two years,' he said.
'That's very good for the players and for the clubs.'
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