Has England World Cup hero lost his marbles?

World Cup 1966 hero Geoff Hurst thinks England won't win the main prize in South Africa this year. While he's not alone in holding this perfectly reasonable view, Hurst's pessimism is backed by some bizarre reasoning.

“We're a tiny bit short up front,” Hurst told BBC Radio 5 Live, a remark which suggests he has never seen Peter Crouch. “If we had a Fernando Torres up front with Wayne Rooney, then you're looking at a different proposition.”

Hurst forgets that while England won't be able to partner Torres with Rooney during this year's tournament, neither will Spain.

Apparently we're a bit light in midfield too; if only we could bring Iniesta together with Gerrard. What a formidable combination they would be. Oh no, we can't, because they play for competing teams.

OK, I'm being harsh on Hurst. He has heard of Crouch. “He's emerging as the best partner (for Rooney) because I think he can do what Emile Heskey does but, very importantly, he scores a lot more goals.”

Torres does this too, which could mean Hurst thinks Crouch is the Torres-like figure England need. Or maybe he's contemplating some other "different proposition" such as a Crouch - Torres link up. It won't work, Geoff, someone will notice.

Moving on from fantasy forward line ups, Hurst also offered some startling comments about England's rock solid defence.

“If that back four (Terry, Upson, Baines, Brown) went in against one of the leading lights in the World Cup then I think we could be in trouble.”

Earth shattering revelations like this will see Hurst in demand this summer. Few amongst us could describe the weaknesses of England's defence with such clarity. I await his thoughts on the goalkeeping situation with bated breath. That was fine the last time I heard, although of course Hurst may disagree.