Denmark v England - Jack Wilshere is the new Messiah

Picture courtesy Ronnie Macdonald

Jack Wilshere has not yet made his England debut and people are already talking about building the team around him as if he is the new Messiah. So, no pressure then.

Nicklas Bendter, never one to lack self-confidence himself, is concerned that England might mess Jack around like he did with Theo Walcott, building him up too quickly then forgetting that he is still a youngster and knocking him down when he doesn't immediately perform in every match:

"Jack is definitely capable of playing for his country now. But young players are always put under a lot of pressure very early in England. You always throw players around really quickly. I have my own theories on how Theo Walcott was treated by England but I don’t want to get too much into that because it will probably just get me in trouble. But Theo can be a lesson for the way you treat Jack."

England coach Fabio Capello is of course trying to ease the pressure on Wilshere by not hyping him up too... oh no... wait... er, what he actually said was:

"I remember the best players that I managed – Baresi, Maldini, Raúl – and they started really young. It’s their talent. You have to wait now and let him improve more. Jack plays with confidence, never with fear. That’s incredible for someone so young."

Former England manager Graham 'do I not like that' Taylor has also expressed caution, saying:

"The big surprise to me is how much Wilshere has been praised by Fabio Capello, how flowing in praise he's been of one player before he's actually played one full game. I just hope Wilshere does have a good game tonight.

"He's a good player, there's no doubt about that, from all accounts he handles all situations very well. But at international level, we have a record of players who don't produce it at international level, that's been one of our problems.

"Let's give him a few games and then lets get talking about him instead of building him up into such a player before he's completed one international game."

For what it's worth, I think Jack will handle the pressure well. My only concern is whether people will appreciate him if he forms England's 'invisible wall' in front of the back four.

And my prediction for tonight's match? Denmark 2-2 England, with Walcott and Bendtner both to score.

Fingers crossed for no Arsenal injuries!

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Denmark v England - Jack Wilshere is the new Messiah