Hoddle's chance to turn the tide

Glenn Hoddle will hope to gain enough from England's friendly against the Czech Republic at Wembley on Wednesday to keep his prospects warm for the winter. While he has been repeatedly roasted by the critics since the World Cup they are unlikely to give him socks for Christmas.

Hoddle is in urgent need of a decisive victory and a performance to go with it. England's faltering start in the European Championship qualifiers, following their early return home from France, has been accompanied by newspaper demands for him to be replaced. Even Noel White, the chairman of the Football Association's international committee, has conceded that England could eventually be coached by a foreigner.

For the moment, however, the FA has given Hoddle a £100,000 rise with the promise of a £250,000 bonus if England qualify for Euro 2000 plus a similar amount should they go on to win the tournament. But these rewards will become mere pies in the sky if Poland and Sweden are not beaten at Wembley in March and June next year.

The friendly against France, the World Cup holders, on February 10th will offer a clearer picture of England's form and mood as they approach the Poland game. Wednesday's match is Hoddle's chance to turn the tide of mounting criticism which has accompanied the 2-1 defeat in Sweden, the glum goalless draw at home to Bulgaria and last month's vapid 30 win in Luxembourg.

Yet the value of the Czech exercise will depend largely on Hoddle being able to field a team of recognisable strength. The squad the England coach announced yesterday includes three freshmen from the Under-21s - Richard Wright, the Ipswich goalkeeper, Aston Villa's Lee Hendrie and Emile Heskey, the strong and athletic Leicester City striker - but they are there primarily to gain experience working with the seniors and Heskey is doubtful anyway with an ankle injury.

With Michael Owen, Tony Adams, Robert Lee, Teddy Sheringham and Steve McManaman all unavailable, Hoddle may be more inclined to use the occasion as an opportunity to play some of the fringe players in the senior squad. Dion Dublin and Paul Merson come into this category and it is hard to believe that Hoddle will pass up the chance to use Rio Ferdinand, an attacking right-back in Luxembourg, in his normal sweeper's role.

Not that this match is likely to provide much in the way of midfield alternatives to Paul Ince, who could have played on Wednesday but will be completing a three-match suspension in the qualifiers when the Poles come to Wembley, let alone reveal another Paul Gascoigne.

Ince also learned yesterday that he had picked up another three-game suspension after being dismissed during the UEFA Cup tie against Valencia in Spain 11 days ago. He is also struggling to curb his temper in the domestic arena having being booked four times this season.

Hoddle had words of encouragement for both recalcitrants yesterday. He had had a chat with Ince, he said, and received a good response. "Paul needs a rest anyway," he added, "mentally as much as anything." The referees of Europe probably feel the same way about having a rest from Ince.

Gascoigne, dropped by Hoddle from the World Cup squad amid tears and tantrums, was never likely to be recalled so soon after spending a period in a rehabilitation clinic to combat alcohol problems. Nevertheless, Hoddle has been impressed by the player's form in his two appearances for Middlesbrough since then and yesterday offered the possibility of Gazza being included for the France game provided he was fully match fit.

"No, I haven't spoken to him yet," said Hoddle, "but I will when the time is right." Presumably he needs to check the adjacency of the surrounding furniture first.

That Gascoigne should be mentioned at all at this stage is some measure of the thinness of Hoddle's hand, especially in midfield where not a lot has changed since the countries' last meeting in Prague in 1992. Graham Taylor's side forced a 2-2 draw with the Czechs, the goals coming from Merson and Martin Keown, but England were frequently overrun in midfield by Lubos Kubik and Vaclav Nemecek.

They could experience similar problems on Wednesday against a Czech team which has won its opening three European Championship qualifiers and will break quickly from a tight-marking defence.

Hoddle will be unable to think seriously about his line-up until his squad report for duty tomorrow night. Eight of the players will be involved in Champions League games with Manchester United or Arsenal on Wednesday week and Liverpool have a UEFA Cup match the night before, so some withdrawals seem inevitable.