Amidst all the hype surrounding Wayne Rooney over the past few weeks one important consideration has been almost entirely forgotten – England are not a one man team.

Don’t get me wrong, Rooney is world class and would be sorely missed. But he is not the only star in the England team and he IS replaceable.

Let’s look at the squad in a bit more detail. In goal Robinson is solid and dependable. Not the world’s best but reliable enough. In defence England have Ferdinand, Campbell and Terry, three of the best centre backs in the world. Add to that the experience of Gary Neville and the ever-improving Ashley Cole and the back four becomes pretty formidable.

In midfield, England are equally blessed. In Beckham they have the best crosser of the ball in Europe and one of the top players when it comes to set pieces. And Lampard and Gerrard are certainly in the top five attacking midfielders. Even Joe Cole looks ready for the biggest stage.

If there is a weakness in the team it is up front where the loss of Rooney means there will be too much pressure on Owen to produce the goods. Apart from him there is only the unknown quantity which is Walcott and the lofty awkwardness of “good-touch-for-a-big-man” Crouch. A pretty bare cupboard.

Yet there is enough strength in depth elsewhere in the team for the loss of Rooney to be overcome. I honestly believe that.

The news that Wayne’s scan has been brought forward by a week to 7 June is widely seen as bad news for the player’s chances. It has been done to give Sven the chance to replace him before the 9 June deadline should the scan show it is not likely he will play much of a part in the tournament.

But, even if he is left behind, I genuinely believe it is not all doom and gloom. England can still go all the way without him. Keep the faith. There is more to England than Wayne. We would miss him, but it doesn’t mean it’s all over if he is not there. Trust me.

Robert Pires

While all the attention over the past few months has been on Henry and the endless speculation over whether on not he would stay at Arsenal, there was another player also making up his mind over his future.

And last week Robert Pires decided to leave.

After six seasons with the London club the midfielder decided it was time to move and signed for Villarreal from next season. But because of the euphoria over Henry’s decision to stay, Robert’s decision to go went almost entirely unnoticed.

And that’s a shame.

He may not have been as glamorous or even as talented as Thierry, but Robert has been an excellent servant of the club and one of the most consistent midfielders in England for a number of years.

Sadly, being over 30, Arsenal were only prepared to offer him a one-year deal in line with the club’s policy of discriminating against the elderly. The man himself preferred the additional security of the two-year deal that was on offer in Spain.

So he left amidst a huge wave of indifference.

Well I believe Arsenal will miss him more than they think. He was a player with a fantastic eye for goal, a tireless determination and a passion for the club. Even his poor decisions on the facial hair front shouldn’t detract from what he did for Arsenal.

Irreplaceable? Absolutely not. But still a loss for Arsenal and the English game.

Ruud van Nistelrooy

It now looks absolutely certain that Ruud van Nistelrooy will leave Manchester United over the course of the summer with Milan the latest club linked to the Dutch ace.

And, like it or not, that is a poor decision by Sir Alex.

The striker’s track record in England is absolutely phenomenal. Since joining the club five years ago he has scored 150 goals in 200 starts and that makes him one of the most prolific marksmen in Europe, not just the Premier League.

United do have Rooney, of course, and Louis Saha and young Rossi on his way through to the first team. But I believe they will really suffer in front of goal should Ruud be forced out of the club.

Maybe Sir Alex has something else up his sleeve, another striker he intends buying. But you have to ask whether anybody he brings in would be as good as the one he is letting go.

I very much doubt it.

Talking of clubs losing strikers it looks like Liverpool are determined to stay one step ahead of Manchester United even in this self-defeating race.

Not content with flogging misfit Morientes it now looks like Cisse will also be on his bike after he launched a scathing attack on boss Rafael Benitez.

If he does go back to France as he seems to want, that would leave Liverpool with just Crouch and Fowler up front. Not the most potent attacking force in world football but certainly one of the strangest looking.

The World Cup

An important part of preparing for the World Cup is bonding.

Coaches love to have their squads together for weeks so they can train with each other, play together, have fun together and generally get to know each other better in the build up to the biggest tournament on earth.

So spare a thought for Otto Pfister, the man with a name like a cheap porno website who has been appointed coach of Togo but only met the players for the first time last week.

A replacement for the sacked Stephen Keshi, who lost his job despite leading Togo to their first World Cup, Pfister remains optimistic that he can guide his new team to success.

“Brazil may be number 1 and Togo number 59 but it doesn’t matter. On their day anyone can beat anyone,” he said optimistically.

Probably helps though if you actually know the names of your own players, which he has admitted he doesn’t. Or at least recognise which one is which, something he has also admitted he is struggling with.

Could make for some interesting substitutions when Togo kick off their campaign…

Patrick Vieira

Patrick Vieira last weekend hinted that he could be about to make a sensational return to English football and, even more sensationally, back to Arsenal.

One of the consequences of Juventus’ probable relegation is that the stars will be on their way and Vieira is one of those players who would abandon ship quicker than it takes Moggi to speed dial a referee.

The question is, will Arsenal want him back? I would very much doubt it unless they can get him on the cheap and that is one thing Patrick has never been.

More likely would be a move to Manchester United who desperately need a leader in the middle of the park to replace the long-departed Roy Keane.

And that would make for some pretty entertaining clashes between the two teams next season, like they needed any additional spice.

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