By Philip Cornwall SO JUST who are England's best strikers when it comes to taking chances? With the help of Carling Opta, Football365 has examined one of the week's talking points and come up with an awkward conclusion for the man who started the debate. At the weekend Glenn Hoddle justified his decision to pick Ian Wright ahead of Andy Cole for his provisional World Cup squad on the grounds that the United striker didn't score often enough bearing in mind how many chances he had. Unsurprisingly Cole has defended himself, and been backed up by his manager albeit without contradicting the main point. Hoddle claimed that Cole often needed four or five chances to score a goal, whereas at international level you would only get one or two. Ferguson replied: Some strikers can, because of their ability, create chances from nothing, but as they create a lot of chances sometimes they convert only one in five of them. Other strikers only get one chance in a game but can take it. You have to decide which type you prefer. Cole's response, in the Sun, was a more general one: I was disappointed to hear the comments. There always seems to be someone who wants to criticise me. But for me, as long as Alex Ferguson is happy, I know I am doing my job correctly. Obviously I was hoping to be a part of the World Cup. That is not to be. I've scored goals throughout my career and my record stands up to scrutiny. Whether Ferguson's claim that Cole creates more chances for himself than other strikers is hard to measure but what of Hoddle's basic thesis? Is Cole less likely to score than his rivals when the target appears in front of him? We asked Opta to look at ten potential England forwards' goals-to-shots ratio in the Premiership this season: Shots Goals Ratio 1 Michael Owen 102 18 17.6% 2 Dion Dublin 113 18 15.9% 3 Ian Wright 64 10 15.6% 4 Matt Le Tissier 71 11 15.5% 5 Chris Sutton 133 18 13.5% 6 Andy Cole 122 15 12.2% 7 Teddy Sheringham 81 9 11.1% 8 Paul Scholes 75 8 10.7% 9 Les Ferdinand 52 5 9.6% 10 Alan Shearer 54 2 3.7% Well, there's bad news, good news and food for thought for Glenn here. Firstly, none of his strikers scores as frequently as one every four or five shots. However, three strikers he chose ahead of two contentious omissions are clearly better bets on this front. It took Sutton 31 more shots than Owen and 20 more than Dublin to score the same number of league goals. Cole's record is still more inferior and to make matters worse, only four of his league goals came after Christmas. While we haven't got how many shots he has had since January, the number is unlikely to have dried up sufficiently to explain this drop in scoring. But what of his senior players? Sheringham's role is arguably a support one and his ratio is respectably close to that of Cole; Ferdinand has missed much of the season, has played in a team providing poor service and is doubtful to make the final squad; but Alan Shearer's inability to find the net, albeit in an injury-hit season, must be causing Glenn a great deal of worry. He can feel vindicated when it comes to Cole but that thump against the post on Saturday will have left him still hoping that Shearer can keep on upping his game in the national side, as he did last month against Portugal.

‘YOU'RE A DISGRACE', GAZZA TELLS JOURNALISTS   Report by Harry Pratt PAUL GASCOIGNE turned the tables on his critics yesterday, pouring scorn on the tabloid press who have been piling on the pressure over his alleged piling on of the pounds. The kebab-eating, pint-swigging, fag-puffing image that has swamped the newspapers over the last few days was nowhere in sight as the England midfield maestro set about proving to worried manager Glenn Hoddle that he is fine fettle both physically and mentally. After completing the first of two strenuous sessions at Bisham Abbey in stifling 90 degree heat - the tracksuit top never coming off - Gascoigne took a break to let rip at those he feels are undermining the country's bid for World Cup glory next month. Shrugging aside suggestions he might struggle to reach peak condition for the big kick-off, the Middlesbrough man went on the attack - seemingly unrepentant for having enjoyed one or two nights out in the capital last week in the company of celebrity pals Danny Baker, Rod Stewart and Chris Evans. "I'm paying no attention to all the fuss," said the 30-year-old. "I'm used to it - I've had it all before. If they're not having a go at me, it's the manager. The England players all get it, especially with a big tournament coming up. These so-called ‘journalists who want England to win the World Cup' are a disgrace. There is no problem going out 28 days before our first World Cup game. Last time before Euro 96 there were nine days to go when we had that situation on the way back from Hong Kong. This time there are weeks." Despite fears on his fitness, Gascoigne seems certain to start at Wembley on Saturday when Hoddle's side face Saudi Arabia, and again in the two away internationals next week against Morocco and Belgium. He added: I'm being given extra sessions of training and if I keep working like I am doing then I will be ready for France. Meanwhile fellow midfielder Jamie Redknapp has been given a Friday deadline to prove his fitness after his recent knee injury. Hoddle said: "He has had his first 'hit' with us and will have another on Tuesday. If gets through both it will give him the green light."

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