So, Capello has finally decided who his strikers will be for England’s crucial world game qualifying match tomorrow versus Ukraine. Emile Heskey, Carlton Cole and Peter Crouch were all injured in England’s friendly over the weekend, however Crouch has recovered in time to be the target man for the Ukraine match, supported by Rooney and Gerrard.

England’s fifth choice striker was also injured in training this week, and the question on the lips of many who have an interest in English football is ‘what has happened to the world-renowned English striking force of old?’; for a country who have had the likes of Alan Shearer, Sir Geoff Hurst and Gary Linekar leading the line in past years it is a disturbing thought to think that Peter Crouch is starting.

Where has Michael Owen gone? In the late 1990s Owen was meant to be the saviour of English football, but now he is not even making the England squad; his story is the indicative of English international football in general: there is the potential to go forward and be great, but without hard work, and a bit of luck you are not going to fulfill that potential.

One of the main problems for England is that strikers are not being picked on their merits – last weekend Emile Heskey scored his first international goal for six years! And he one of the first choice pairing. If you look at the statistics, since Fabio Capello was made England manager Michael Owen has scored, on average, more goals per game than any other English striker (source: The Daily Telegraph), and yet has not been picked.

Where is the new talent coming through? Wayne Rooney could be fantastic, but he won’t because he does not have the right temperament for international football; Dean Ashton could have been like the Michael Owen of old, but after so much time out injured there is no chance of that happening now.

If you look around English football there is maybe one world-class striker, in Wayne Rooney, and perhaps Gabriel Agbonlahor could one day reach the heights of a fully fledged international footballer, but apart from those two England are in a dire situation on the striking front.

The England manager, Fabio Capello has just announced his England squad as follows:

England squad to play Andorra and Croatia:
Robinson (Blackburn), James (Portsmouth), Green (West Ham); Lescott (Everton), Bridge (Chelsea), A Cole (Chelsea), Terry (Chelsea), Brown (Manchester United), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Johnson (Portsmouth), Upson (West Ham); Barry (Aston Villa), J Cole (Chelsea), Lampard (Chelsea), Bullard (Fulham), Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Downing (Middlesbrough), Bentley (Tottenham), Jenas (Tottenham); Walcott (Arsenal), Rooney (Manchester United), Defoe (Portsmouth), Heskey (Wigan).

 The notable exception is Michael Owen, which begs the question; is this move just to show he’s boss? It seems Steve McClarenesque; McClaren dropped Beckham to show everyone that he was his own man, and look what happened to him!

Leaving Owen out is a ludicrous move; he is the most prolific England striker in recent memory, and even when he is not 100% fit he still manages to score where other, less efficient, forwards would make a hash of it. This may come back to bite Capello on the backside.

David Beckham keeps his place; this continuation seems odd as Beckham is well past his best, and by 2010 it is unlikely that his fitness will allow him to play a full and active role in the World Cup. It also stops youngsters, who could be playing and gaining experience for the tournament, coming through the ranks.

Emile Heskey is another questionable choice; he seems to be at his best for England when he is working in tandem with Michael Owen, and that scenario is obviously not going to happen. Heskey has had a good solid career and he is a reliable workhorse, but is he up to the standard England expects?

By picking this squad Capello has put his neck on the line, and if England crash and burn he will be the only one accountable.