Player Focus: England's Options at Centre-Back

We all thought the whole Rio Ferdinand-John Terry saga might have been behind us when Terry announced his international retirement towards the beginning of the season, and yet Rio stepped in last week to open a new can of worms by rejecting his call up last week. There are still some important, unanswered questions. Who should play at the back for England now? Was it all worth the fuss? Is Steven Taylor really one of the best available central defenders in a country populated by 53 million?

There are vast differences between the centre-backs England have in their squad at the moment and statistics that range widely as well. While Roy Hodgson might be cursing his luck with the great many withdrawals he has had to deal with, he now has make do with what he has at his disposal. His opponent's striker, Mirko Vusinic has undermined the England centre-backs, saying "I don't see why the head coach invites them to join the national team" of Chris Smalling and Joleon Lescott, but Hodgson has little choice at the moment. Here we look at his options to subdue the likes of Vucinic and Stevan Jovetic in Podgorica.

Chris Smalling

The Manchester United youngster, unsurprisingly, had very little to do in the win in San Marino on Friday, but with Gary Cahill looking likely to miss out, Smalling could well be one of very few players to retain his place in the England side. Vucinic has highlighted Smalling as a potential weakness given his lack of game time this season.

He's right in that Smalling hasn't been a regular this season for United - he has only played 923 of a possible 2610 minutes in the Premier League this season - but with their growing fixture list, he has actually played the full 90 minutes in the last 2 Premier League games and could be key in the run-in. The only problem for Smalling, is that those games - as with the San Marino one - have come in games where his side have been in control and he thus hasn't really been tested; England had 83% possession on Friday, United had 65% against Norwich and 57% against Reading. In those games, Smalling's teams only faced 9 shots, none of which hit the target. On first glance, one might hope that it is Smalling who is key in quashing the threat of opponent shots, but in fact, in those 3 games he only blocked one shot. Smalling will almost certainly be needed here, but Vucinic could well be right, and Smalling's lack of match sharpness could be exposed.

Joleon Lescott

The other target of Brnovic's comments was Lescott, who has found himself down the pecking order at Manchgester City this season, despite being a regular fixture in the title-winning team last season. He has played marginally more than Smalling this season (1001 minutes), but his only 3 appearances in the last 6 weeks have been as a 90th minute substitute against Chelsea, and then in the 5-0 and 8-0 wins over Barnsley and San Marino. He too, could be severely lacking match sharpness.

What Lescott does offer, is the ball-playing option that Rio Ferdinand might have been had he accepted the call to join the squad. Lescott's 90.4% pass success rate is the 10th best in the league of players with at least 15 appearances, and only behind Mertesacker (92.2%), Carragher (91.2%) and Gallas (90.5%) of Premier League centre-backs. A cool head comes with experience, and Lescott could therefore compliment the youthful, ball-winning Smalling at the back for England. Ability, though, probably isn't the issue for these two. It could be the biggest challenge they have faced all season, and will need to be on point to cope on Tuesday.

Gary Cahill

Unavailable for the San Marino game through injury, Cahill could be the man for the job come Tuesday if he is fit to play. Rafa Benitez has preferred Cahill to John Terry in recent weeks, with the former Bolton man doing well to hold down such a spot. 

Cahill's aerial prowess is useful both in attack and defence. He is a threat from set pieces and averages 6.9 clearances per game at the back, winning 72% of the aerial duels he competes in - a better success rate in the air that any of the other centre-backs in the England squad, despite possessing a smaller build than many of them. Further, his 1.2 shot blocks per game is 3rd in the Premier League of players to make at least 10 appearances this season, behind only Ashley Williams (1.5) and Nathan Baker (1.3). Injury may stop him from doing so, but Cahill would arguably be a better bet - probably alongside Lescott - for England tomorrow.

Steven Caulker

Called up from the Under-21 squad after Ferdinand's withdrawal, this could have been the 'massive chance' Caulker was after in the senior squad, but with Hodgson keen to try out Smalling and Lescott together, Caulker is unlikely to get a chance in Podgorica. Caulker has fallen behind Michael Dawson and Jan Vertonghen at Tottenham, but he is deserving of his chance at international level, even if he might not have got it were it not for other players' withdrawals.

Whilst he is a huge threat from set pieces - he averages nearly 1 shot per game, incredible for a central defender - and is a huge and daunting figure, he actually has a worse aerial success rate than any of the other options to play at centre-back tomorrow, winning just 45.6% of his aerial battles. However, in Vucinic and Jovetic, this probably won't even be tested. However, he is quite a gangly figure, and might not be able to deal with the skills, tricks and close ball control that Montenegro's strikeforce offer. Caulker isn't the finished product by any means, and at this moment in time, he probably isn't the player that Hodgson will turn to, and arguably rightly so.

Steven Taylor

Steven Taylor is exactly the kind of defender that English fans love. Ready to put his body on the line for the cause, Newcastle fans adore their former captain and fair enough. It is also quite nice to see someone who so appreciates his call up, describing it as a dream come true, when the likes of Rio and JT turn their noses up at the FA's advances. However, as a footballer, it is hard to see how he has made it into the international squad, and he is rather unlikely to actually make it onto the pitch.

His commitment to his team is clear in his shot-blocking; over the last two Premier League seasons, he has averaged more blocks per game (1.4) than any other player. But it is there, and only there that he stands out. His 9.8 clearances per game is fairly sizeable, but his 0.4 tackles, 0.4 interceptions and 28.2 passes per game are all distinctly average tallies that will almost certainly see him, correctly, left on the bench.