It is to be hoped that England enjoy better luck in the World Cup than Jamie Redknapp has experienced during the preparations. Yesterday the Liverpool player became Glenn Hoddle's first casualty when a knee injury forced him out of the squad from whom the coach will choose his final 22 for France.
Redknapp, always on the fringes because of recurring fitness problems, damaged knee ligaments at Coventry five weeks ago but had hoped they would mend in time. On Thursday night, however, he had to tell Hoddle the worst.
"He gave it everything he could," Hoddle explained yesterday. "He hasn't damaged the knee further and passing is not a problem. It's just that when he checks and twists he doesn't feel comfortable. He's had bad luck all the way."
The loss of Redknapp, while not dealing England's hopes a mortal blow, has still deprived Hoddle of an option in an area where his scope was already limited. England's midfield is strong on workrate but often lacks imagination, and the match fitness of Paul Gascoigne will now come under even closer scrutiny, possibly starting today.
Gascoigne is not the only England player with worries. Yesterday David Batty was charged with misconduct by the FA. The Newcastle player is alleged to have pushed referee David Elleray after being sent off for the third time last season at Blackburn on May 10th.
Batty is already sidelined for the first five matches of next term for three dismissals, and he now faces the possibility of an additional one-match suspension if found guilty of misconduct.
This afternoon Wembley will be filled with goodwill as England meet Saudi Arabia in their last home game before France. Next week the players will fly to La Manga in Spain to complete their build-up, crossing the Mediterranean on Wednesday and Friday for the Hassan II international Cup and matches in Casablanca against Morocco and Belgium.
In essence, the World Cup begins now. Or at least the Saudi game will initiate a process which, on Tuesday week, will end with seven names being deleted from a party now reduced to 29. Seven names, seven heartaches, and as Hoddle said yesterday: "Having to let five kids go at Swindon is the hardest thing I've done as a manager, and I'll never do anything harder than that in the matter of dropping players. That experience has given me good experience for this."
Obviously Hoddle is not going to offer any clues as to who the sad seven will be, and his media relations would not be improved by a repeat of what happened before the 1970 World Cup, when a Sunday newspaper scooped its rivals, not to mention Sir Alf Ramsey, by gleaning similar information through a transatlantic phone call to the wife of one of the unlucky players.
At a rough guess, Dion Dublin, Nicky Butt, Robert Lee, and Rio and Les Ferdinand will miss the cut. Three reserve goalkeepers - Tim Flowers, Nigel Martyn and Ian Walker - are vying for one or two places behind David Seaman. Most intriguingly, a midfield vacancy could rest between Steve McManaman and Paul Merson.
It probably did not mean much but when Hoddle was asked if Redknapp's withdrawal had left him with a dangerously thin choice in the creative positions the England coach, curtly rejecting the proposition, reeled off a list of alternatives like a man who had never had it so good. "We've still got Batty, Ince, Butt, Lee, Anderton, Scholes and Beckham," he said. Maybe a lack of time, or breath, prevented Hoddle throwing in McManaman and Merson for good measure.
Of those mentioned, only Darren Anderton and Paul Scholes would be likely to give regular inspiration in central midfield. David Beckham's overriding strength lies in the quality of the centres England hope he will provide for Alan Shearer from the right wing.
Not that Hoddle included Gascoigne in his instant list of options either, although with each day that passes it becomes increasingly clear that the mood, form and fitness of England's only link with Italia 90 are central to their chances of making serious progress.
Yesterday the Gazza barometer was set at "fair", which was at least an improvement on the player's stormy start to the week, when the newspapers claimed to have caught him eating the wrong things at the wrong time with the wrong people. Even Hoddle, who normally defends Gascoigne against media criticism, declared that he was only 60 per cent match fit.
Presumably the balance is now more favourable to Gascoigne's chances, percentage-wise. "On the training pitch Gascoigne's been fine," Hoddle said. "He's looking sharper and sharper with every session. The good thing is that he is now training totally free of injuries. Now he needs more training, more sharpness and over the next three games he'll get more football."
Whether or not Gascoigne appears today will depend how urgently Hoddle wants to see him in action. Certainly he has to check on Anderton, whose last significant act in an England shirt was to hit a German post in suddendeath extra-time in the semi-finals of Euro '96. He may also use this game to have a look at Ian Wright, another who needs matches.
With neither Paul Ince nor Graeme Le Saux fully fit, Hoddle will be unable to field the complete spine of his World Cup side, around which he intends making variations according to circumstance. But he can still play Seaman in goal, Tony Adams in defence and Shearer up front, which will go some way towards reassuring Wembley that the backbone is intact.
"This game will be a balancing act between getting part of my spine together and shaping things up, as well as the little challenges that are still going on for places," Hoddle explained. "The most important thing is to get the spine of the team correct and build around that. I can do this because the quality is there in depth."
For England's sake it has to be hoped that Hoddle is right. In a tournament where Italy feel they can afford to leave out Gianfranco Zola it takes considerable faith to extol the creative virtues of David Batty.
England (possible): Seaman; G Neville, Adams, Campbell; Beckham, Anderton, Batty, Hinchcliffe; Gascoigne; Shearer, Wright.
