AMID Wayne Rooney’s red card, Cristiano Ronaldo’s theatrics and the departures of Messrs Eriksson and Beckham, the mediocre form of Paul Robinson was one of the least scrutinised aspects of England’s World Cup failure.
Yet, with Chris Kirkland finally free of injury and hoping for regular football, the goalkeeping issue becomes a valid one. Kirkland made an assured debut in the second half of Wednesday’s 4-0 win over Greece — in the process, netting his father, Eddie, £10,000 for a bet he placed when Chris was 13 — and he is approaching his six-month loan move from Liverpool to Wigan Athletic as a chance to push Robinson for his place. “I have to believe I can challenge Paul now,” Kirkland said.
Provided that he can avoid injury — his unfortunate record in that department does not provoke optimism — Kirkland will complete a permanent transfer in the January transfer window. “I have to push on at club level now and repay Wigan for the faith they have shown in me,” he said. “They came in for me when nobody else would go near me because of my injury record.”
Another to show faith was Eddie. “I’m delighted my dad finally got his money,” Kirkland said. “I’ve also given him and my mum the shirt from the game because they deserve it. They put £100 on at 100-1 that I would play for England. They couldn’t afford that at the time, so they put £30 each in and a few of us put a tenner in, including myself.”
David James, who was omitted from Steve McClaren’s first squad, retains international ambitions. “Coming here puts me in the best position to attack the England spot,” the 36-year-old, who has joined Portsmouth on a three-year contract, said. “Steve rang me and said that he wanted to have a look at the younger keepers and I’ve no problems with that.”