It’s always difficult to look at England objectively, especially when many of the players they are up against are seen playing so rarely by the majority of us. If you take away the likes of Messi and Kaka, whose reputations precede them, then you are left with international opponents full of players that we know very little of. Taking a look at the current Brazil squad, there are the likes of Grafite, Nilmar, Kleberson and Ramires whom many of us will have only seen play in the occasional European fixture or international friendly. So the average fan comes into a World Cup not really knowing exactly what their team is up against.

This is, of course, one of the greatest aspects of any World Cup. Who can forget the likes of Henry, Zidane and Ronaldo lighting up France ’98? It is the greatest of stages upon which a relatively unknown player can become a worldwide star overnight.

Moving back to the current situation and this has a different effect. Seeing the England squad play week-in week-out for their clubs often leads us to overrate members of our national team. James Milner, Gareth Barry, Peter Crouch and Glen Johnson are just some of a number of players in the current squad who have had good seasons without being outstanding. Milner and Barry, in particular, build their trade on consistency and provide the focal point of their teams’ midfield. This is not to say they are not excellent footballers, but rather that there are players like this in every country.

Take Spain’s Marcos Senna, who was outstanding in the European Championships two years ago but has not even made it into the 23-man squad this time around. Obviously the Spanish midfield is unfathomably strong this year, but it is hard to argue that a player of Senna’s quality would not have at least made it into the English squad. Add to that the omissions of Ronaldinho, Pato, Cambiasso, Fernando Gago and Javier Zanetti from the Brazilian and Argentinian squads and you start to see the kind of quality and depth that England lack.

Another look at the USA game highlights some of England’s deficiencies. Emile Heskey did well for Steven Gerrard’s opener but his ineffectiveness in front of goal was brought to the fore when he missed a one-on-one chance with Tim Howard.  That kind of profligacy cannot be tolerated against the better sides who may only offer up one or two chances over 90 minutes.

Likewise, Jamie Carragher’s lack of pace was exposed by Jozy Altidore, who has failed to make any significant impact in the Premiership this season. He may have got away without any real problems on Saturday but one has to wonder how Carragher would deal with the pace and skill of Arjen Robben, Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria in the latter stages.

Furthermore, Jamie Carragher’s yellow card for a late challenge highlights yet another problem his lack of pace brings and England cannot afford to go a man down again in a knock-out game. On top of this, Glen Johnson, one of the best performers on the night, is stifled by Carragher’s tiring legs, having to track back and help out his team mate rather than pushing forward as he does best.

All of this is overshadowed by the oldest and largest problem that England have with this generation; how to accommodate Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. Alan Shearer and Alan Hansen have been singing the virtues of a 4-5-1 over the last few days and I agree with them. The formation essentially solves two of our largest problems in one fell swoop.

Firstly, our lack of a quality striker to partner Wayne Rooney is solved by allowing Gerrard to play off the lone front man, leaving both men in their favoured club positions and allowing Rooney the freedom to operate in the most dangerous positions.

On top of that, with Gareth Barry holding the midfield and having the discipline to sit back and cover the defence, Frank Lampard finds himself in a more familiar role in the centre, dictating the tempo of the game and making his renowned surges into the area at just the right moment.

I, like many England fans I have spoken to recently, would like to see Joe Cole operating from the left hand side to provide the imagination and unpredictability that is so often lacking in our attack. But this is an issue of selection rather than formation and with the 4-5-1 not only would we find that our 3 best attacking players are in their favoured positions but also that there is more of a link between midfield and attack.

This has been one of England’s biggest problems for a long time now and Saturday highlighted it once more. With the midfield dropping back the gap between the strikers and the midfielders widened, prompting Rooney to start coming deeper to get the ball and subsequently lessening his effect in the final third. With Barry covering the defence, Lampard dictating the centre and Gerrard in more of a free-role, there is a continuity running through defence, midfield and attack that is so often lacking.

So there are undoubtedly a few kinks to iron out before we enter the knock-out stages, which, after watching the abysmal Slovenia vs. Algeria game, we surely cannot fail to do.

Fabio Capello’s track record speaks for itself and he has certainly instilled the kind of authority and discipline necessary to win tournaments. Yet this does not hide the fact that as a 23-man squad we lack the kind of quality that Spain, Brazil and Argentina have at their disposal. The most feared scenario amongst English football fans is not that Saturday’s performance was a great team monumentally under-performing but rather an average one slightly off form. Every below par performance is vociferously attacked to help us believe that England really are that much better. But whilst great may be excessive, England are certainly good, and sometimes in a World Cup that is enough, just look at the defending champions if you don’t believe me.

I forgave England their nervous start and put that down to it being the last home game in front of a large, expecting crowd, and that some of the players were obviously attempting to play themselves into the final 23 man squad.

Fortunately it wasn’t too long before a Wayne Rooney corner was headed back across goal by Peter Crouch and Ledley King scored, what was clearly, a training ground set-piece.

Goals aside, England once again didn’t look comfortable on the ball.  Sloppy first touches, goalkeepers hoofing the ball as far up field as possible, and, until they scored a goal, the ‘headless chicken’ syndrome.

Peter Crouch once again played a good game in this a rare England start Fabio Capello, and I also think Robert Green done as much as he could to make a bid to start against the United States next month in South Africa.

But I was shocked to hear post-match analysis suggesting Ledley King had a good game!

Several times I saw Ledley King dip out of a tackle or look completed stranded. I can understand none of the England players wanted to pick up an injury, but with Ledley King playing for England against world class players in the World Cup, I see one of two things happening.  He will not want to go into a crunching tackle with the same commitment as John Terry or Jamie Carragher and that could easily be enough for England to lose 1-0; or if he does go into a solid challenge 23 players will become 22.

Furthermore, I thought Theo Walcott looked less than convincing, nervous and so many times attempting to take on one too many defenders or making the wrong decision. And I can only assume that Fabio Capello played James Milner in the centre of midfield and Steven Gerrard on the left because he already knows the reverse would work.

Other good performances included Wayne Rooney, Glen Johnson and Aaron Lennon

On this performance, I think England will make it through to the quarter or semi finals before any weaknesses will be highlighted by a Spain, Germany, Brazil or Argentina.

On the brighter side, England was without five possible first team players (John Terry, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard and David James.  They will play one more friendly game against Japan next week before Fabio Capello has to tell seven players they will not be going to the World Cup.

So for next week’s final game before the World Cup I would expect Capello to start with his strongest 11 and then through the second half make some substitutes to have a final look at the odd player he may still not have made a final decision on.

Harry Redknapp said that the achievement is a massive step forward for Spurs, who could yet usurp North London rivals Arsenal for third place in the league.

It was a deserved win for Spurs who arrived at Eastlands with only a win in mind, with two strikers and the likes of Aaron Lennon in their starting line up.

Given the strike power on show fans would be forgiven if they expected something more akin to the 6-6 draw that was going on simultaneously in the Scottish Premier League between Hibernian and Motherwell.

But in the end it was a simple headed goal from Peter Crouch that seperated the two Premier League teams, coming in the 82nd minute of a an enthralling match.

A proud Harry Redknapp said, “We came here to a hot atmosphere and got at them and we deserved the win. Crouchy was top class and led the line and he deserved the goal. I also think Jermain Defoe had his best performance away from home for some time.”

A pat on the back from Spurs chairman Daniel Levy followed for Redknapp for what he called an amazing achievement, adding; “Harry’s done a great job and we’re very proud of him and the whole team.”

Things were surely much different in the Manchester City boardroom where the least that was expected at the start of the season was to claim fourth place.

I am sure there would have been a wry smile on the face of former manager Mark Hughes on hearing the result following the manner of his dismissal earlier in the season.

Given his credentials Hughes’ replacement Roberto Mancini is obviously a decent football manager, but whether it is down to his command of the English language or not, he has never come across as being the most confident of Premier League coaches.

His substitution of, perhaps City’s only hope of a goal, in Craig Bellamy for a rusty Roque Santa Cruz last night was nothing less than bewildering and he does not convey the passion that Hughes has shown an abundance of in the past.

Maybe if Mancini stays he will improve things at City, possibly get rid of some of the players he has inherited for others that he would choose himself, but last nights defeat will make recruitment of new players a little more difficult than if City had qualified for the Champions League.

It has to be remembered that Manchester City are still relative newcomers to having massive financial backing, and while Spurs may not have such an enormous luxury they have been among the most prolific clubs in the transfer market for three or four seasons now.

There is a massive squad at Redknapp’s disposal and it is worth bearing in mind that Robbie Keane, Jamie O’Hara and Alan Hutton are all still Spurs players who are currently out on loan.

Overall it is great to see the ‘top four’ dominance broken down and maybe a top six emerging making for an even more competitive and entertaining season to come in August.

world cup qualifying

Last night I had the dubious pleasure of watching two of the teams who are among the favourites to win the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, both had already qualified and both through injuries or manager choice started their respective games without some of their best players. Both were facing lesser opposition and were expected to win, but there the similarities stop.

The earlier of the two games featured Spain away to Bosnia-Herzegovina in Zenica. Spain started the game without either of their favoured strikers David Villa and Fernando Torres although the latter did warm the bench – where he stayed throughout the game.

Other notable absentees included Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez and Cesc Fabregas, while Marco Senna came off the bench for the final 25 minutes by which time the game was over.

Bosnia had the best chances in the opening ten minutes, Spain could thank Casillas for two world class saves and a glaring miss from Bosnia’s Vedad Ibisevic which kept the score at 0-0.

Within three minutes of that miss Spain were two up and in cruise control with goals from Gerard Pique and the man of the match for me David Silva. While Bosnia continued to mount pressure the Spanish controlled the game with their usual fluid passing and movement, a real joy to watch.

After 90 minutes the score was 5-0 to Spain but a barmy few minutes of injury time saw the brave Bosnian team deservedly pull two goals back to lose the game 5-2.

Sevilla striker Alvero Negredo making his first start for Spain had an awesome game, scoring twice in the second half as well as setting up two of the other goals, he really epitomises the depth quality in this current Spanish team and this on his debut!

And frankly that is exactly the problem with England, there really is no depth of quality at all in the squad.

I already knew what to expect for the England v Belarus game and so it came as no surprise that despite the scoreline England were dreadful. Missing Rooney and Gerrard and with Joe Cole not match fit England have no creativity, despite the inclusion of pacey little wingers Wright-Phillips and Lennon.

Capello may just as well have started with Beckham feeding Crouch from the half way line- it always ends up that way – which at least would have saved a lot of headless chicken activity from the two wingers.

There was not a great deal of viewing pleasure to be had from the later game, other than the fact that England won the game with a convincing scoreline. What did Capello learn? I imagine he learned that two head down and run wingers are no better than one and while they are both top players at club level on their day, they are simply not good enough at this level, despite SWP scoring a goal.

He would also have learnt as England coaches before him, that while Crouch is not the most elegant of players he will score goals and make things more difficult for defenders than Emile Heskey manages to.

He will also have seen like all of us that Glen Johnson needs urgent coaching in his defensive play and that Wayne Bridge is suddenly nowhere near the class of Ashley Cole.

One thing that I learnt from the game was that wouldn’t it be great to have eleven James Milners in the side, an honest hard working and quality player who came on as sub for Bridge and covered not only the left back position but every where in between, a shame his beautifully created chance near the end of the game hit the post and didn’t reward him with a goal.

world cup qualifying

England will start the game against Belarus with the unusual strike partnership of Peter Crouch and Gabriel Agbonlahor as Fabio Capello switches to ‘plan b’ following the injuries to England regulars Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.

Spurs’ Crouch has appeared for England on 34 occasions scoring 16 goals for the team, while Aston Villa’s Agbonlahor has so far only appeared twice for the national side although he has also played at Under 21 level for England.

The Aston Villa striker was called into the squad following injuries to the first choice strikers Emile Heskey, Carlton Cole and most recently Darren Bent.

Fabio Capello will make the most of the opportunity by changing the style of football that England have generally stuck to under his brief reign, he said;

“We need to play other styles, style A, B, C.  We played always more or less the same style in all the games we’ve played. Sometimes, during the friendly games, we’ve changed it. But we need to practise other styles. I want to see some players in different positions.

When I decide the squad, I decide always different styles that I can play with it with the players who will be with me. Why wouldn’t they have that capacity?”

So be prepared for a very different England performance tonight.

Peter Crouch

The transfer fee has not been disclosed but is believed to be in the region of £10million with a five year contract for the 28 year old England striker. Crouch will once again team up with Jermain Defoe, having formed a good partnership while briefly together at Portsmouth.

Redknapp is ecstatic over the arrival of Crouch, who had turned down a move to Sunderland because he wanted to stay in the south of England. The Spurs manager says;

“We now have four top strikers which is what you need at every club and so I am delighted to have Crouchy, he is different to almost anyone else in the league in terms of his size and the way he plays the game. With Crouch, Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko we have a good strikeforce.”

Clearly Redknapp believes that Darren Bent has no future at Spurs and says that he expects the misfit to accept an offer from Sunderland over the coming days.

Portsmouth have defended the sale of Crouch with a statement that says, “His sale was necessitated by the club’s commitment to repay scheduled debts while we are in a transitional period of completing the takeover.” The statement goes on to say that Pompey will be looking to strengthen the squad with ‘fresh faces’ as soon as the takeover is finalised.

Al Fahim has confirmed that he has taken control of the club and his first bit of business involved getting manager Paul Hart to sign a two year contract, after meeting him at the club’s training ground at Eastleigh , diffusing the abundant rumours over who Portsmouth will bring in to manage the club.

The new owner Al Fahim said: “Paul did a great job keeping the team in the Premier League last season and, having previously worked as director of youth operations, he knows the club inside out. He has immense experience and a great knowledge of the game and commands the respect of the players. I’m looking forward to working with him.”

Peter Storrie has agreed to continue as Portsmouth’s Chief Executive  and says that the appointment of Al Fahim brings stability to the club and is excellent news for Portsmouth supporters.

In seperate Pompey news, Sunderland have pulled out of the running for striker Peter Crouch, the England player says he would prefer to stay in the South of England. Fulham and Spurs are now the favourites to sign the player unless Pompey can assure him a future at the club.

Fabio Capello’s near perfect reign at the helm continued, as England maintained a 100% record in world cup qualification, although question marks loom over the performance of the three lions.

It was clear from the off that patience would be a key factor. With Ukraine happy to sit back and soak up pressure, England had little to defend but also no great amount to offer up front either. The breakthrough came after 29 minutes, Peter Crouch justifying his selection with a great acrobatic finish.

Yet by the time the much maligned Andriy Shevchenko buried a bobbling, loose ball inside the England area in the 74th minute, England would need more than the rope Crouch had pulled out earlier on to drag themselves out of trouble.

David Beckham, who appears to have adopted the NFL role of punter – being brought onto the pitch purely to show his flair via set pieces – duly delivered a free-kick onto the head of Steven Gerrard, who nodded down for John Terry to score a captain’s winning goal five minutes from the end.

It wasn’t at all a fairytale result; England fans won’t be fooled that easily. Reborn Wayne Rooney flew into a needlessly violent challenge under frustration, and the team had a few spells where the simplest of passes seemed beyond the midfield quartet.

However, amidst all the doom and gloom and the negative reports, one thing is for certain: England got the result without playing their best football, and that, as the old cliché goes, is the sign of a great team. In the grand scheme of things, Fabio Capello has revolutionised the national team after this result.

Unconvincing? Perhaps.

Worrying? Not particularly.

Satisfying? You bet.

The fixture is an important one, as the three lions take on their last nation to play in group six, a team not to be turned over easily. Ranked just five places behind England in 14th spot by FIFA, the former soviet state are a transformed prospect from the weak opposition of the 90s.

Their best asset could well be their vibrant attack. The lineup tonight features former Liverpool attacker Andriy Voronin, complete with petit-esque ponytail, and ex-Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko. Although Ukraine will have resilient battlers all over the pitch, it will be the former European player of the year Shevchenko who will be causing John Terry and Rio Ferdinand problems.

His scoring record speaks for itself. Discounting his nightmare at Stamford Bridge, he bagged 127 goals in 208 appearances for AC Milan and has scored half of the Ukraine’s goals in the qualifying campaign thus far.

Anyway, less about the opposition and let’s turn our attention to the Capello revolution down at Wembley. 100 % competitive record still intact, few would bet against England triumphing yet again on home soil tonight.

Yet squad preparation hasn’t gone completely as the Don would have liked it to. With strikers dropping like flies and Fabio Capello refusing to turn to fourth-highest all-time goalscorer and professional poacher Michael Owen, Peter Crouch is England’s front man for the big clash.

Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney are expected to be let off the leash once more to wreak havoc in and around the Ukrainian box. Rooney himself was voted England player of the year for 2008 and in the form the Manchester United playmaker is in, he could produce his best in front of goal once again.

The XI almost picks itself after the comfortable victory against Slovakia at the weekend; whilst Capello shuffles the attacking pack, I expect the Italian not to tinker with the midfield and defence, giving some rigid consistency, something England fans have longed for since Euro ‘96.

One factor which could prove remarkable seems to be England’s tendency to boss the second half of qualifying games. The number crunchers at Castrol have once again compiled a preview dossier on the two squads ahead of tonight’s game, and have discovered a trend with regard to the timing of England’s goals.

86% of goals have come after half-time, with the majority coming just after the restart. With Ukraine yet to concede in any first half they have played in group six, it could well be a very quiet first 45 at Wembley tonight.

If impatient England fans can sit tight without getting on the players backs, and let England build their goals over time, the victory can surely only go one way- and football will be coming home once again.

Predicted Lineup:

David James (GK)

Glen Johnson
John Terry (C)
Rio Ferdinand
Ashley Cole

Aaron Lennon
Gareth Barry
Frank Lampard
Steven Gerrard

Wayne Rooney
Peter Crouch

Subs: Beckham, Upson, Carrick, Wright-Phillips, Lescott, Jagielka, Downing, Green, Baines, Foster, Agbonlahor.

Fabio Capello’s experimentation with the left flank was a topic of much debate over recent games, but it appeared as though he finally had it cracked at a wet and windy Wembley. Employing a 4-4-2 shape, Capello put Steven Gerrard on the left of midfield with a  completely free role when England were in possession, knowing the 28 year-old had the stamina to retreat to his position the moment his team lost the ball.

This, together with Wayne Rooney’s floating role behind the main striker, led to fantastic link-up between the two playmakers. Constantly swapping roles and popping up everywhere, the two combined to set up Emile Heskey in the 7th minute.

The first half created opportunity after opportunity for the three lions, but at a cost: Emile Heskey, and then his replacement Carlton Cole, had to be subbed off due to injury. The second half saw a very different looking England formation; even though the result was the same if not better. Ben Foster and David Beckham came on as expected, and Stewart Downing took Steven Gerrard’s berth on the left flank.

This lacked much of the creativity shown in the first 45, as Downing and Beckham stuck to the touchlines and England’s crossing game came out. The only problem seemed to be that Downing had forgotten how to cross.

The vibrant attacking flourishes we saw against Germany at the end of 2008 and disappeared and an unconfident, frustrated Downing was a ghost compared to his Middlesbrough best. Perhaps he has been given one chance too many?

One player who did live up to his club form, however, was Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, rated number 1 in the Castrol Performance Index (CPI). He was constantly looking to turn and run at players, whilst creating innovative chances for his team-mates. He got his reward after 70 minutes as David Beckham, on his 109th appearance for his country, placed a cross for Rooney to nod past the Slovakian goalkeeper.

England were in full control of the game, and the final two goals came with ease as Frank Lampard slotted the ball into the net on 82 and Rooney finished superbly from the Chelsea man’s cross with seconds to play.

There will be worries about the fitness of the England strikers – Peter Crouch also struggling with a knock – yet chances are that all three can be patched up over the next four days.

Let’s hope the nation can be positive about this result, the English love to complain, but this game showed little to moan about. We await Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier with baited breath.