“If he is the sitting midfielder he can more or less never go forward. I’m sure in the future he will be a sitting midfielder and a great one but to have his power going forward today and not use would be a pity.” All of which suggests Butt, if he can get up to speed, could return. Two years ago all but two of the XI which started England’s World Cup campaign wore traditional 1-11 shirts and the inclusion of Owen Hargreaves (18) and Darius Vassell (20) owed much to injuries suffered by and Steven Gerrard (earmarked for No 4, before he was injured) and Robbie Fowler (9). However, Eriksson said: “I have not made up my mind for the France match yet. With Steven Gerrard at 4 and Paul Scholes at 8 the number 11 shirt was the one reserved for the fourth midfielder, the man likely to fill the holding role. Last night, as against Japan on Tuesday night, it went to Frank Lampard. Butt is No 17.Among the other ‘reserves’, Joe Cole retains 19, the number he chose at the World Cup because it was worn by Paul Gascoigne in 1990.

Lampard is not yet guaranteed a place in the starting line-up against France on 13 June but the Chelsea midfielder is now clear favourite. Darius Vassell gets 23, expected to go to a goalkeeper but, because of Michael Jordan, it is now the fashion-conscious footballers’ choice ­ Beckham chose it at Real Madrid and Sol Campbell at Arsenal. It is cruel evidence that, at the heart of their team, England still lack a clue about where they are going.. What’s in a number? Plenty according to numerologists but it was the Eriksson-ologists attempting to read the runes when England’s squad for Euro ‘2004 was confirmed last night and shirts numbers accorded. The significance for observers seeking an insight into Eriksson’s plans was in the No 11 shirt.Unlike some countries (France, for example, for whom Thierry Henry wears 12 or the alphabetically-numbered Argentinian 1978 World Cup squad with Ossie Ardiles at No 1) England tend to hand their probable team the numbers 1-11.

A lot of replica-shirt purchasers would have been out of pocket and angry had it been otherwise. He can time a run with potency and vision, as he proved in some excellent European performances in the last few months.Certainly it will be a great sadness if such a presence is sacrificed in some arid tactical discussion – which this week seemed to speak of nothing more eloquently than the fact that, despite Eriksson’s assurances to the contrary, major uncertainties still linger so near to the tournament.Lampard or Butt? In American football this would be described as a quarterback controversy Here, it is something rather less stimulating. Inevitably, a strictly shackled holding player means that you have less at precisely the moment when success demands that you have more. There were times this week when it appeared Zico’s forces outnumbered Eriksson’s by roughly two to one.Butt is prized as a holding player. So too is Roy Keane, but think of the difference; think of Keane’s willingness to go forward at the relevant moments, remember his performance in the Champions’ League semi-final in Turin five years ago, when he carried Manchester United to the final in Barcelona by nothing less than invading the psyche of Juventus Does Butt have a sliver of that potential? Of course not. Lampard may never be Keane, he may never exert that level of authority, but he does have talent and a wonderfully bold spirit.