It is important that we get a team to play several games together, especially in defence. Look at all the big clubs: Liverpool have the same back four every game; Valencia, the same back four You can change midfield, and up front a little bit. But in defence, having the same players, or almost, every game, is important."Continuity is also vital within the coaching ranks, and after revealing that Liverpool's Sammy Lee would be joining the staff, it was confirmed that talks were well advanced between the FA chief executive Adam Crozier and Leicester City to ensure that Peter Taylor remains with the set-up. I understand that Leicester are well disposed to Taylor retaining his England role, despite his club's poor end of season. "Of course, we have this young squad and he knows all about the young players," reflected Grip.
"It is an advantage for us to have him with us."Apart from Gary Neville and Campbell, the other definite absentees are the goalkeeper Richard Wright, who is scheduled for an operation and Andy Cole, who is suspended for the Greece qualifier, and is being omitted from the friendly. The likelihood is that Owen and Emile Heskey will start up front and the management are pleased with the way both have adapted to different roles in the side. "Perhaps it's good for Owen to go from being marked by defenders to coming through from behind sometimes," said Grip. "It makes him more difficult to mark."The signs are, however, that Steven Gerrard could be excused duty in the friendly. Captain David Beckham, who sustained a left ankle injury against Celtic, did not play for his club yesterday but I understand that he will probably start the Mexico game. His club-mate Wes Brown, who has an Achilles problem, will also be in the squad.Eriksson will have to make a very sensitive judgement of his players' physical and mental states. While Liverpool players may be fatigued, the adrenalin will also be flowing.
Conversely, there is a danger, as Grip appreciated, that Manchester United's players, after a comfortable League run-in, could have lost their edge. It will require all of Eriksson's considerable experience and expertise to produce an England team at their sharpest in the weeks ahead.. Visitors to Bayern Munich's perfectly manicured training camp and club headquarters at 51 Sabener Strasse last week will have detected a distinct air of purpose and precision as the pride of Bavaria prepared not only for yesterday's decisive visit to Hamburg in the Bundesliga a fixture which saw the German giants secure the title with a 1-1 draw but also for Wednesday night's showpiece showdown with Valencia in Milan. Visitors to Bayern Munich's perfectly manicured training camp and club headquarters at 51 Sabener Strasse last week will have detected a distinct air of purpose and precision as the pride of Bavaria prepared not only for yesterday's decisive visit to Hamburg in the Bundesliga a fixture which saw the German giants secure the title with a 1-1 draw but also for Wednesday night's showpiece showdown with Valencia in Milan. There, in the Giuseppe Meazza stadium at San Siro, Ottmar Hitzfeld's team will seek to end 25 years in the wilderness by winning the European Cup for the first time since their hat-trick of successes, inspired by Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd M?r, was completed in 1976.For Hitzfeld, it is a date with destiny. If he succeeds in claiming his second success as a European Cup-winning coach adding to his triumph with Borussia Dortmund in 1997 it will lift his image and reputation beyond the boundaries of Teutonic football.
