I'm a big fan of playing our best players. I'm also a fan of strikers who score goals. I think the best front 6 we can field is Gerrard, Lampard, Barry, Cole, Lennon, and Rooney. I also see no reason why those players couldn't grow into a formidable combination. If we're struggling to score then we also have the option of removing Barry and adding another (goalscoring) striker (Crouch or Defoe).
Of course, the main problem with not playing a big man from the start, is that England have forgotten how to pass the ball through midfield. They simply rely on getting the ball up the pitch as quickly as possible and hoping it sticks long enough for the midfield to join them. I think the inclusion of Heskey in the squad (and the decision to start with him) largely supports Beckenbauer's claim that we have reverted to kick and run. Let's call a spade a spade. That's what we do.
Now, we could simply embrace the idea and do what we know best, or we could take offence and try and prove him wrong. As I said above, I would like to see our best players on the pitch. My only concern is that we could be out of the competition before they've learned how to play together. They're all capable of it, they've just had the safety net of a big guy to boot it up to for so long that it's become the easy option.
That said, I would steadfastly stick to the scenario presented in my first paragraph, come what may. If we have to use a big man, we use Crouch as he a)scores goals and b)can play football too. Having Heskey in the squad (never mind the starting line-up) is embarrassing and regressive as far as I'm concerned.
