Former Ryder Cup captain Bernhard Langer believes Nick Faldo is "making a mistake" by not having more helping hands at Valhalla.
Faldo originally selected Jose Maria Olazabal and Paul McGinley as his assistants, only for McGinley to step down to concentrate on trying to qualify for the team.
The Irishman subsequently failed to do so but Faldo decided not to reinstate him, preferring to "gather all the information myself, first-hand".
But Langer, 51, who captained Europe to a record nine-point victory at Oakland Hills in 2004, feels that is a mistake after using vice-captain Anders Forsbrand and assistants Joakim Haeggman and Thomas Bjorn as his eyes and ears on the course.
"I think he's making a mistake by not having someone with each group," said Langer ahead of the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Cologne.
"I don't think he necessarily needs any more input from anyone if he feels he and Olly have plenty of experience, but I think once you have the four teams on the course I know as a captain I would like to have one person with each group and give me information.
"I can't be everywhere and I need information. I need to know how they're playing, what's going on and I think he would be better off if he had somebody going with each group."
Asked if he would reinstate McGinley, Langer added: "Possibly, and I think maybe someone else as well. Why not? Paul didn't make the team and if he is available and would like to go, why not? Paul has been there a number of times and would be a great asset."
Langer also stressed the important role played by Forsbrand in reporting on the set-up of the course before he chose Colin Montgomerie and Luke Donald as his wild cards.
Faldo's choice of Ian Poulter and Paul Casey has come in for criticism with both players competing in America in the final week of qualifying and the likes of an in-form Darren Clarke and Montgomerie missing out.
"Any captain has a difficult time to pick two out of five, six or seven players," he said.
"I'm sure he (Faldo) thought about it in light of their form lately or what kind of golf course they are facing and which player might suit the course better.
"Nick is very experienced and hopefully he gave it enough thought and made the right decisions.
"You always get some kind of criticism. In my position I felt especially bad for Freddie Jacobson because he was next in line on the money list and the points list and must have thought 'I should be in'.
"And he would have been in but I was thinking about Oakland Hills. Freddie is a great putter but he's not the greatest driver and I knew how the golf course was set up because I sent Anders Forsbrand there two or three weeks prior to check it out.
"He reported back to me and I felt Luke Donald would be better off, hitting it straighter than Jacobson. I had to make that decision in light of hoping to win the Ryder Cup and not being popular with my colleagues."
Faldo and Langer appeared on several Ryder Cup teams together and won three points out of four in 1983, but it does not appear as if Europe's record points scorer has been seeking advice from one of the most successful captains.
"He's not going to ring me and I'm not going to ring him," Langer said.
"He's played in 11 Ryder Cups, he's played under five different captains, he should know most of the things he needs to know.
"If he calls me and has certain questions I would be happy to talk about it but I'm not going to push myself on him."
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