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Wednesday June 10, 2009; World Cup Qualifier. England 6 Andorra 0 England: R.Green, G.Johnson, A.Cole (W.Bridge 65), S.Gerrard (A.Young 45), J.Lescott, J.Terry, D.Beckham, F.Lampard, P.Crouch, W.Rooney (J.Defoe 45), T.Walcott. Andorra: Alvarez (Gomez 88), Ayala, I.Lima, Sonejee, A.Lima (Vales 48), T.Garcia, Jimenez, Andorra, Vieira, Moreno, Silva (Fernandez 79). There were a couple of surprising selections from Fabio Capello for this probable World Cup qualifying walkover against the minnows of Andorra. It had been suggested that Glen Johnson, one booking away from a suspension, would be rested in favour of Gary Neville at right back but Johnson retained his place after an uncomfortable performance in Kazakhstan. Instead Emile Heskey, also one yellow away from a ban, was left out and Peter Crouch came in to lead the attack. Capello perhaps felt this was a game in which a forward might be more likely to pick up a booking than a defender and this was how it worked out as England's defence was virtually redundant throughout. Previous meetings with Andorra had been marked by a frustrating inability to register an early goal and England came out apparently determined to put that record straight on this occasion. Their positive start was rewarded with a goal on four minutes after a series of attacks. Wayne Rooney provided the spark with a wonderful piece of footwork just inside the box and a clever chip which was well saved by Alvarez and the Andorra keeper was quickly in action again as he managed to parry a fierce close range effort from Theo Walcott. The ball flew out towards Rooney who dramatically flung himself sideways but could only direct his header against the angle of post and bar with the goal gaping. England's in form striker was not to be denied, however, and duly broke the deadlock with a header back across goal after Glen Johnson curled a good ball to the far post from the right hand side. England continued to pour forward with Johnson particularly keen to support the attack and inventive when he did so. Crouch sent a poor header over the bar from a David Beckham free kick and Steven Gerrard failed with several attempts of varying difficulty, his best effort being tipped behind as he cut in off the left wing. After fifteen minutes or so England began to lose some of their impetus although they remained completely in control. A sure measure of their dominance came in the raucous cheering that accompanied the sporadic touches of goalkeeper Robert Green as he occasionally took the opportunity of coming outside his area to mop up a punt out of defence from the Andorrans. It was important that England got a second goal to keep their attacking momentum going and this arrived just before the half hour. Johnson again did well down the right and released Walcott clear to the byeline. The winger cut back an intelligent ball towards the penalty spot and there was Frank Lampard, in his best Chelsea manner, arriving right on cue to score with a low shot. England's biggest failing in their half hour of complete domination had been their inability to get to the dead ball line and this goal emphasised the point, coming as it did from their first venture into such territory. Andorra then sent in their first, and just about only, attempt on goal. Moreno's shot from thirty yards was certainly ambitious but it had Green worried for a moment as it drifted past the angle. There was only one team going to score, however, and England did so again on thirty nine minutes when Johnson clipped in another decent centre from the right and Rooney cushioned a sweet volley high into the net from ten yards out. Beckham then had the chance to claim his first ever England goal at Wembley with a free kick in prime territory but the effort was not his best and Alvarez collected well low down. Half Time: England 3 Andorra 0 England made two changes at the break with Jermain Defoe and Ashley Young replacing Rooney and Gerrard and the substitutes quickly combined as England came out on the attack. Defoe did well to centre from the right but Young's attempted curler from beyond the far post did not threaten goal. Despite the efforts of England's substitutes to make an impression the performance lapsed into mediocrity for long spells immediately after half time. Young quickly showed that he had the ability to beat his man down the left but consistently let himself down as he attempted to centre with his weaker foot. On the other flank Walcott's threat was irregular and Defoe, playing alongside the completely ineffectual Crouch, was struggling to find the support to get himself into the game. Beckham and Lampard continued to completely dominate the midfield but neither was busting a gut to get forward and the performance was in danger of petering out. Just past the hour mark England seemed to sense this danger and increased their intensity once again to put the Andorran goal under real pressure. There should have been a goal when Alvarez punched out a fierce drive by Lampard straight to Walcott and the wingers' controlled first time effort was heading for the empty net only for the hapless Crouch to block as he presumably tried to jump out of the way. Then John Terry got on the end of an inswinging Beckham corner at the near post only to see his header fizz narrowly wide. Alvarez had done well in goal for Andorra and produced a magnificent save from Defoe's vicious point blank drive although the flag was already up for offside. The next incident of note came when Crouch risked a red card by pushing Ildefons Lima in the face after a slight coming together off the ball. The defender fell theatrically but Crouch escaped as the referee and other officials were all following the ball. Crouch would have had no excuses had the incident, soft as it was, resulted in a dismissal and that might have been the appropriate way to end one of the most inept performances ever given by an England centre forward. Now that England were pushing forward with more purpose Defoe was looking lively and he got his reward with a simple header from yet another Johnson cross and the striker was soon collecting his second as he reacted sharply to convert the rebound after Alvarez had parried a Beckham free kick. Then came a goal for Peter Crouch, scarcely deserved but fitting in the ragged way it came about and its execution. Defoe made a strong run into the box but was then crowded out and there should have been no danger with two defenders in position to clear but each one left it to the other and as the ball continued to roll gently across goal Crouch got in a toe to scuff the ball past the exposed Alvarez. Everyone was probably content with six nil although Defoe remained hungry with the possibility of a hat trick to be had and was close with a late header before the referee signalled the end of as one sided an international as we are ever likely to see. Seven wins out of seven then and England are all but mathematically certain of being one of the party in South Africa next summer. Hallelujah! Full Time: England 6 Andorra 0 England: R.Green 6, G.Johnson 9, A.Cole 7 (W.Bridge 6), S.Gerrard 7 (A.Young 6), J.Lescott 6, J.Terry 7, D.Beckham 8, F.Lampard 8, P.Crouch 0, W.Rooney 8 (J.Defoe 8), T.Walcott 7. Star Man: Glen Johnson After suffering a somewhat torrid time in Kazakhstan Johnson may have been happy to come up against a side with no attackers at all and he certainly took the opportunity to impress with his own excursions forward.
Saturday June 6, 2009; World Cup Qualifier. Kazakhstan 0 England 4 Kazakhstan: Mokin, Kirov, Abdulin, Kislitcin, Karpovich, Nusrbayev, Skorykh, Ostapenko (Ibrayev 27), Kukeyev, Averchenko (Erbes 74), Logvinenko. England: R.Green, G.Johnson (D.Beckham 76), J.Terry, M.Upson, A Cole, T.Walcott (S.Wright-Phillips 45), G.Barry, F.Lampard, S.Gerrard, W.Rooney, E.Heskey (J.Defoe 81). This was undoubtedly a trip into the unknown and this was emphasised as the game kicked off, at four o'clock our time, under floodlights. The state of the pitch was a concern for England but they almost had more serious things to worry about as Kazakhstan should have scored in the opening seconds. The home team actually surrendered possession straight from the kick off but Theo Walcott played Glen Johnson into trouble with a thoughtless pass and the full back was immediately robbed by Kukeyev who raced away down the left before placing an inviting low centre in front of Ostapenko who kicked fresh air with glory beckoning. This was the signal for an uncomfortable opening for England who were unable to put any passes together and were frequently unsettled by the bustling approach of their hosts. Kazakhstan also had genuine class in the form of Kukeyev who continued to petrify Johnson. England registered goal attempts through Lampard, who was high from distance, and Upson, wide with a header, but were totally unable to put together any fluent moves or even basic passes. The unthinkable then seemed to have happened when Ostapenko guided a header past the poorly positioned Robert Green following a superbly flighted free kick by Kukeyev but the forward had moved needlessly early and was correctly flagged for offside. Despite being clearly illegal you could not help thinking that Kazakhstan actually deserved to have the goal stand. Ostapenko looked basically useless up front but his willingness to charge about had unsettled England on several occasions and it was undoubtedly a blow for his side when he had to leave the pitch after injuring himself in a collision before the half hour mark. Immediately after his departure England put together their first slick passing move which ended with Heskey drilling in a low effort that Mokin did well to touch onto his near post and the keeper deserved to see the ball bounce out to safety. John Terry would have been disappointed to head straight at Mokin when unchallenged at a set piece but this did suggest that England might profit from dead ball situations and this proved to be the case five minutes before half time. Kazakhstan were sleeping as Gerrard accepted a short corner on the left and were just as sloppy in the penalty area where Gareth Barry ghosted in at the far post and headed back across goal to give England a scarcely deserved lead. England still had time to double their lead and completely settle the issue before the interval. Gerrard's deep cross from the left took a deflection which caught out the advancing Mokin who ended up slapping the ball down into the box and Heskey was on hand to claim a rare international goal. This had been a generally poor forty five minutes but England were still able to boast a two goal lead and with Kazakhstan noted for tiring in the second half there was little doubt that Capello's men had already done enough to take another step towards next summers' finals. Half Time: Kazakhstan 0 England 2 Theo Walcott had made little impression on the right hand side and was replaced at the break by Shaun Wright-Phillips with no discernible improvement of quality. In fact the second half was even less inspiring than the first. England were never in danger against opponents who had already spent themselves but they remained unable to put anything meaningful together in midfield and their play was still extremely disjointed. Terry saw a fierce drive blocked and Gerrard shot too high after turning smartly on the edge of the box but that was about it until England finally extended their lead on 73 minutes. Johnson made his one confident and positive contribution with a surging run that carried him to the byeline and although Mokin was able to make a fine save to keep out Rooney's first effort he was powerless to intervene as the striker reacted brilliantly to hook home a scissor kick as the ball rebounded out behind him. Capello decided that Johnson could now be replaced having done something right at last with Beckham on and Wright-Phillips dropping back into defence. Moments later England were four up as Heskey was hauled to the ground as he moved onto the rebound after Mokin saved from Ashley Cole and a penalty was immediately awarded. Frank Lampard stepped forward to hammer the ball high into the net and prove that England have no problem with penalties whatsoever unless it's actually a shootout. The game petered out from this point with the only interest coming in the shape of a one man pitch invasion, a low drive from Kukeyev which flashed just wide and a smart save by Mokin from a Rooney effort. So England remain on maximum points after six qualifiers but this was not a performance they will remember with any great fondness. Full Time: Kazakhstan 0 England 4
England: R.Green 4, G.Johnson 4 (D.Beckham 6), J.Terry 7, M.Upson 6, A Cole 7, T.Walcott 4 (S.Wright-Phillips 4), G.Barry 6, F.Lampard 7, S.Gerrard 6, W.Rooney 6, E.Heskey 6. Star Player: Ashley Cole Tough to pick a star man after such a turgid display but Cole didn't do much wrong and ended the game attacking with increased confidence. His task was made easier by the fact that Kazakhstan concentrated on attacking Glen Johnson.
Wednesday April 1, 2009; World Cup Qualifier. England v. Ukraine England: D.James, G.Johnson, A.Cole, G.Barry, R.Ferdinand (P.Jagielka 88), J.Terry, A.Lennon (D.Beckham 58), F.Lampard, P.Crouch (S.Wright-Phillips 79), W.Rooney, S.Gerrard. Ukraine: A.Piatov, V.Shevchuk, T.Mykhalyk, D.Chygrynsky, G.Yarmash, A.Tymoschuk, S.Valyayev (S.Nazarenko 61), V.Sliusar (M.Kalinichenko 88), O.Aliiev, A.Milevskyy, A.Voronin (A.Shevchenko 55). This game marked the halfway point of England's World Cup qualifying campaign and the victory means that they still have a perfect record thus far. This was the least impressive performance yet under Fabio Capello in a competitive fixture, however, and England could count themselves very fortunate to have another three points to their name at the end of the night. Not only could the result have been different but there could easily have been other areas of concern to address. From the start England struggled to find any fluency as Ukraine took a stranglehold on possession and were reduced to intermittent attacks on the break. It was also obvious, however, that England's greater urgency in their attacking play made them more of a threat than the measured, overly patient approach play, of Ukraine. The first moment of excitement came after seven minutes when Wayne Rooney reacted sharply to a cross from Steven Gerrard to send in a brilliant overhead kick from outside the box but the ball dipped marginally over the bar. The next action was not so inspiring as Gareth Barry earned himself a booking for a cynical trip as the visitors threatened danger on the counter attack. Aaron Lennon again offered a consistent outlet but not a consistent delivery. One testing centre was well defended but on too many occasions there was no real conviction in the wingers' final ball. Rooney, again England's liveliest attacker, was prevented from breaking clean through the defence by a crude challenge from Valyayev, another booking, and Gerrard was only a foot or so wide of the far post with the resultant free kick. England's first really impressive move then saw Frank Lampard feed Rooney on the left and his wonderful crossfield ball released Lennon but the centre was hopeful and Ukraine were able to smother the danger. Despite enjoying lots of possession there had been no real danger to the England goal until Ashley Cole hesitated on the edge of his own box under the impression that David James was coming to collect an attempted through ball and John Terry had to act hurriedly to mop up the situation, inadvertantly bloodying Voronin's nose in the process. Terry's next involvement saw England taking the lead just about on the half hour mark. Lennon saw another centre blocked by the defence but at the expense of a corner and when Terry then headed the ball back across goal Peter Crouch had been left unmarked to volley home from six yards out. Without having really imposed themselves on the game England could argue that this was a deserved lead as they were the team looking capable of scoring when they did get forward. There was almost a superb second goal minutes later when Rooney speared another fine ball from left to right to Lennon and then charged forward to meet the centre only to volley too high. Ukraine's first effort on goal was a worrying moment as James found it necessary to knock Tymoschuk's ambitious 35 yard effort away from goal with his chest, for no apparent reason, and England were lucky that there was nobody on the Ukraine side following up. Given the visitors' general reluctance to get forward, however, this was hardly a surprise. The last action of the half saw Rooney tee up Gerrard on the edge of the box with a cleverly disguised pass but the sidefooted shot lacked real power and was comfortably saved by Piatov. Without ever playing really well England went in at the break with the advantage against a side scarcely hinting at a fightback. Half Time: England 1 Ukraine 0 If the first half had been disjointed the second half became an exercise in tedium as England began to merely go through the motions and Ukraine remained incapable of really testing the England defence. Rooney smacked in a fierce shot that flashed wide but was hit from such a distance that it never really offered any danger. The only other things to note in the first twenty minutes of this half were the introduction of Andriy Shevchenko for Ukraine and David Beckham for England. The decision to bring on Schevchenko was a no brainer as the visitors had been completely punchless in attack but the choice of Beckham for Lennon seemed less obvious. You might have thought, with Ukraine needing to seek an equaliser, that Lennon would have had more chances to exploit his pace on the counter attack and the change came across as pre-determined. As it was Beckham found himself completely unable to get himself into the game as England's performance stuttered towards a complete halt. Rooney forced his way forward to win a free kick that Beckham put over the bar but then launched himself into a ridiculous challenge which could easily have brought him another red card. Rooney jumped to his feet motioning that he had played the ball and found the referee making exactly the same gesture back to him. He was exceptionally lucky. This website is very supportive of Rooney, we basically love him, but we have to hope that he will think back about this incident and realise he was out of order. It is not justifiable to say you have played the ball when your challenge simply skids across the top of it and carries on towards the opponent. Rooney ended up flying two footed at his opponent in a violent manner and, had he made proper contact with him, the consequences could have been very nasty. Rooney should also take on board that if this challenge had been made anywhere other than at Wembley then he would almost certainly have been staring at a red card. This challenge was very possibly a reaction to England's disturbing lethargy and the team had certainly fallen into a rut. Maybe the equally tepid efforts of their opponents had lulled them into a false sense of security but, looking on, the danger signs were obvious. When Ukraine then equalised on 74 minutes the goal was simultaneously out of the blue but hardly surprising. England conceded a free kick on their left hand side and when they failed to clear the centre properly Schevchenko was on hand to rifle a drive past James in fine style. With England unnerved the visitors pressed again and Tymoshchuk should have done better than shoot over the bar after excellent work by the invigorated Schevchenko. At this stage the visitors might well have been able to press on for a victory but they seemed to decide that a draw would do and this allowed England, in a mainly scrappy manner, to apply some pressure of their own. Rooney wasted one promising situation by shooting from an impossible angle tight to the goalline but victory was then secured following another set piece. Beckham won England a free kick and then took it to the far post where Gerrard headed back across goal to Terry who calmly turned the ball home from close range. England had to survive four minutes of added time but the only task James faced in that time was a Schevchenko free kick which he grabbed without alarm and England had their victory and another three points. This was a game in which few, if any, players really enhanced their reputations, however. The best of the bunch were probably Johnson and Rooney but they had moments to forget like everyone else. James was a source of unease in goal throughout and Ashley Cole, whose distribution was poor, was the weakest link in a defence that never suggested real authority. Barry and Lampard were okay but never dominant and neither of these players consistently bring their attacking colleagues into the game in the manner that Michael Carrick can. This partly explained the fitful performances of Gerrard and Lennon, who both did good things but then disappeared for lengthy spells, while Crouch continues to prove a poor targetman despite grabbing another goal. All in all plenty for Capello to ponder. Let's hope he has more up his sleeve than his predecessors who would no doubt have recognised this performance as one they'd seen before. Full Time: England 2 Ukraine 1
England: D.James 4, G.Johnson 7, A.Cole 4, G.Barry 6, R.Ferdinand 6, J.Terry 6, A.Lennon 6 (D.Beckham 5), F.Lampard 6, P.Crouch 5 (S.Wright-Phillips 5), W.Rooney 7, S.Gerrard 6. Star Player: Wayne Rooney Yet again, and this time Rooney was easily our most impressive performer. I had to knock at least one mark off for that scary challenge, however. It might be a fact that Rooney needs to have aggression in his game but if he isn't able to channel it properly you can rest assured that he will get sent off for England again in the future.
Saturday March 28, 2009; International Friendly. England 4 Slovakia 0 England: D.James (B.Foster 45), G.Johnson, A.Cole, G.Barry, M.Upson, J.Terry, A.Lennon (D.Beckham 45), F.Lampard, E.Heskey (C.Cole 15) (P.Crouch 35) (M.Carrick 74) W.Rooney, S.Gerrard (S.Downing 45). Slovakia: S.Senecky, P.Pekarik, J.Valachovic, M.Skrtel, M.Cech (E.Jendrisik 45) M.Karhan (Z.Strba 83) R.Zabanik, S.Sestak (M.Jakubko 72) J.Kozak (M.Sapara 62) M.Hamsik (M.Mintal 79) R.Vittek (F.Holosko 45). The first thing to mention about this friendly is obviously the new shirt. Apparently it's a proper England shirt that we're going to play in for the next two years and not just a one off for this game. It's supposed to be more sophisticated than your common or garden football shirt and maybe it is because it doesn't really look like a football shirt. It looks more like a tennis shirt and while it may not improve our ability to score goals I'm pretty sure our boys will soon be sending down some pretty mean aces. I've just checked out a picture from the game to remind me of the outfit and it actually looks pretty good but it's a picture of David Beckham and, as someone once said about Marilyn Monroe, he'd probably look good in a sack. As for the game England came out in forceful style with the recalled Aaron Lennon getting away down the right in the first minute to put over a decent centre and Wayne Rooney putting in the first shot, blocked by a defender, a couple of minutes later. This was to set the tone for the afternoon with England carrying virtually all the threat despite Slovakia enjoying decent periods of possession. England were soon ahead as Rooney combined well with Steven Gerrard down the left flank, a feature of the first half performance, and Emile Heskey was able to bundle the ball home at the near post from Gerrard's low centre. The early stages suggested there might be a landslide victory in store for England and this might have materialised had Heskey not contrived to head a sitter over the bar from a pin point left wing centre by Rooney. This would be Heskey's last involvement as he soon withdrew with an injury which saw Carlton Cole entering the fray. This seemed to upset England's rhythm somewhat and another spike in the attacking intentions was the wasteful delivery of Lennon from wide areas, although the wingers' contribution as a whole was encouraging. One aimless cut back following a lovely ball inside the full back by Rooney was particularly frustrating. Slovakia then created one of their few chances as Pekarik got behind Ashley Cole to set up Sestak for a volley which flew over from a good position. Frank Lampard also had an opportunity on the volley from a similar position but, despite forcing a save from the keeper, he could not make the best contact. The next incident saw Carlton Cole joining Heskey on the Wembley treatment table as he limped off with a strain suffered when sending in a weak effort on goal. Peter Crouch came on to make it three centre forwards in just over half an hour. David James was forced into a diving, but routine, save by Karhan, who bore a disturbing likeness to Iain Dowie, before there were some real fun and games at the other end after Martin Skrtel missed a lunging interception on the left wing to set his Liverpool teammate Gerrard racing onto Rooney's pass. The ball then ran loose from Gerrard's centre and Lennon got there ahead of the Slovakian keeper near the byeline. This time the winger took the right option to find Rooney, backing up the attack he had started, but his attempted chip drifted harmlessy wide of the target. Lennon's next chance came when Lampard set him free inside the box with a smart half tackle, half pass but the winger seemed to suffer a bobble and what might have been intended as a cross ended up a shot to the near post. The keeper parried and then parried again as Garrard came flying in for a header at goal from a narrow angle. Matthew Upson committed England's one real defensive blunder of the game when he let a ball run away from him on the edge of the box and it needed a sharp reflex save from James to tip Vittek's rising drive over the bar. England's failure to confirm their overall superiority with a second goal was becoming increasingly irritating and the general profligacy remained until half time. Gerrard spoiled slick work between Johnson and Lennon with a weak finish and then Rooney, cutting inside after a magnificent reverse ball from Gerrard, blazed wildly beyond the far post. There was reason to be disappointed at a one goal lead at the interval but I suppose there are worse things to be disappointed about at half time. Half Time: England 1 Slovakia 0 England's half time changes saw Ben Foster replacing James in goal and David Beckham and Stewart Downing coming on in place of Lennon and Gerrard to play on either flank. This appearance gave Beckham his 109th cap and thereby allowed him to overtake Bobby Moore's all time record for an outfield player. It's a bit pointless trying to estimate the relative value of these two achievements but you can't argue with Beckham's dedication, skill and his contribution to the national team. Fair play to him. One early break by Slovakia spelled danger to England but the final ball in ended up in the side netting and thereafter Ben Foster was able to amuse himself with the daily papers, magazines, cigars, slippers, pipe, ceefax, loose women, jeremy kyle, the theory of relativity and the meaning of life. I think he even nipped out for a packet of fags and another box of cleenex at one point. Incredibly England were still unable to emphasise their control of the game with another goal as Rooney, on several occasions, and Lampard could not convert reasonable openings. John Terry slid in to push home a Peter Crouch header from an offside position when the ball might have been already net bound. There was an apology from the skipper but surely also a little snigger behind the hand when nobody was looking. Finally, with twenty minutes remaining, England managed to put the game to bed with a second goal. Ashley Cole sent in the initial cross from the left but the telling ball came from Beckham on the right with a chip that picked out Rooney perfectly for a simple header from six yards. Four minutes later Skrtel managed to rake a stud down Crouch's thigh as they challenged for a high ball and England's third centre forward had to depart injured. Fabio Capello had now run out of forwards and had to send Michael Carrick on. This was obviously to England's benefit anyway as Carrick began pulling a few strings from deep and the other midfielders bombed forward to support Rooney. In fact Lampard and Carrick conjured a third England goal between them following a quickly taken free kick midway inside Slovakian territory. Both were involved twice in the move which ended with Lampard finishing Carrick's pass in emphatic style. Foster had to switch off Trisha long enough to keep out Sapara's free kick before England added a gloss to their victory with another goal in stoppage time. Lampard sent in a first time centre from the left after possession had been smuggled from the Slovakians and Rooney took two perfect touches to kill the ball and then deposit it into the roof of the net. This was a speedy, slick interchange which caught out the linesman as well as the Slovakians as the official failed to notice that Rooney had been in an offside position. No matter, the 4-0 scoreline with two goals for Rooney seemed the most appropriate conclusion to a game that England had dominated with the tone mainly set by the Manchester United man. Full Time: England 4 Slovakia 0 England: D.James 7 (B.Foster 6), G.Johnson 8, A.Cole 7, G.Barry 6, M.Upson 5, J.Terry 7, A.Lennon 7 (D.Beckham 7), F.Lampard 8, E.Heskey 6 (C.Cole 4) (P.Crouch 5) (M.Carrick 7) W.Rooney 8, S.Gerrard 8 (S.Downing 4). Star Player: Wayne Rooney Rooney was again outstanding for England and eventually crowned a fine all round display with two goals. He might well have been pushed for the award had Gerrard stayed on for the whole game, however, and the best moment of the game was Gerrard's brilliant reverse pass to his fellow Scouser in the first half.
Spain 1 England 0; Reaction. What is there to say about England's defeat in their latest friendly international with Spain? Obviously the performance was disappointing but it was only a friendly and it was, possibly, an experimental team. I suppose it is best not to get too upset about it but the possible lessons must not be ignored either. The first thing that needs to be addressed is the question of what exactly our best side is at the moment. Capello has had his hands forced by injury withdrawals into spreading the caps around a bit of late although he had declared previously that he would be using the friendly games to have a look at various players anyway. That's great in principle but there are potential drawbacks to this approach as well. Most obviously any degree of rotation in the friendlies prevents the manager from allowing his preferred starting line up from honing an understanding. There is another possible downside as well. In blooding new players the manager might actually make things more complicated and confusing for himself. If the new men do well the manager might actually find that his job becomes more difficult rather than more easy. The obvious position where complications may arise is in midfield. Gareth Barry and Michael Carrick have started the last two internationals together in central midfield and done ok. Will this be enough to earn them a place, assuming Gerrard and Lampard are also available, when the proper games start up again or will the old favourites simply walk back into their accustomed positions? And has Capello been seriously looking at Barry and Carrick as a possible midfield partnership or pitting them against each other as rivals for one position alongside one of the established duo? Or has he just been teasing the pair of them? We have always looked hard for the possible relevence of England friendlies and it is still not overly obvious. The best thing about the recent friendlies is that the England team, despite the comprehensive defeat in Spain, do seem to be growing in confidence and belief under Capello and appear more together as a group than under the previous manager. Question marks still hover over several area of the team, however. David James was anything but reassuring in goal and we learnt little about Robert Green who came on for the second half but had little to do despite the precise passing of the Spaniards. The whole of the midfield is presently a conundrum. Will we play a winger (Walcott, SWP, Lennon) on the right in the qualifiers or will we have a midfield player there (Beckham, Gerrard)? Will Gerrard and Lampard be paired together in the centre or will one of them play alongside a holding player (Barry, Carrick)? Or will we play three in the centre with both Lampard and Gerrard ahead of a holding player? Will Stewart Downing be trusted with the left sided role in a game with something riding on it or will Capello fill in with a right footer or a more solid option such as Gareth Barry? It's all very well looking at players and having options in personnel and tactics but the best sides, Spain are currently a good example, are generally settled in who they pick and how they play. Injuries haven't helped Capello to shed too much light on England's current conundrums but it would be nice to see a recognisable England eleven emerge over the next few months with the back up players trusted but basically there in case of emergencies. One quick thought about Spain. Obviously they won the European Championships, which they would do seeing as we didn't qualify, and are currently on a good run of form but are they really that good? They looked ok against us but surely they can't be that clever as half their team seems to play for Liverpool and we all know that Liverpool are crap. And would be really crap if it wasn't for Steven Gerrard. And he's English. Wednesday February 11, 2009; International Friendly. Spain 2 England 0 Spain: I.Casillas (P.Reina 45), R.Albiol, G.Piqué, A.Iniesta, D.Villa (David Silva 56), Xavi (D.Guiza 85), F.Torres (F.Llorente 64), J.Capdevilla (Á.Arbeloa 45), Xabi Alonso, S.Ramos, M.Senna. England: D.James (R.Green 45), G.Johnson, A.Cole, M.Carrick, P.Jagielka (M.Upson 45), J.Terry, S.Wright-Phillips, G.Barry (F.Lampard 45), E.Heskey (P.Crouch 45), S.Downing (D.Beckham 45), G.Agbonlahor (C.Cole 75).
England's run of good results under Fabio Capello came to an end somewhat abruptly in Spain tonight. Against the European Champions England were unable to cope with a below strength team. It is debatable how much better they would have fared at full strength. England tried to match their opponents in a technical, passing game but were seldom able to impose any authority on proceedings and found themselves trying to play football under pressure in their own half of the field. Often possession was given away in dangerous areas and this fault was fully punished when Spain took a first half lead. Capello stuck pretty closely to the team that had played so well to win in Germany three months earlier with the only changes being Phil Jagielka for Matthew Upson, Ashley Cole for Wayne Bridge and Emile Heskey for Jermain Defoe. This always looked like a much tougher proposition for England, however, and so it duly proved. After John Terry had produced a good block to snuff out Fernando Torres as danger threatened early on England enjoyed their best spell of the game around the quarter hour mark as Spain struggled to cope with the physical presence of Emile Heskey. Gareth Barry broke forward for a left wing centre that Gabby Agbonlahor came close to converting despite scuffing his volley and then Barry was just wide of the post with a header from Stewart Downing's corner. Heskey momentarily looked to be through on goal before tumbling under some pressure from Pique. Nothing was given and there was some confusion as to whether Heskey had been pulled up for offside, which he certainly wasn't, or whether the referee had simply deemed there to have been no foul by the Spaniard. Spain quickly began to exert more control in the midfield and, with England constantly giving the ball away in their own half, the action became concentrated at the other end of the field. Glen Johnson and John Terry produced good blocks to deny Spain but for every good block or tackle the England defence managed there was at least one wayward pass that simply encouraged Spain to attack again. Johnson and Ashley Cole were guilty in quick succession as the England goal came under more threat. David James added to the growing feeling of unease when he somehow spilled a dolly catch and, after Spain had seen a goal correctly chalked off for offside, they duly took the lead on 36 minutes after more wasteful England distribution. Jagielka played a woeful ball into midfield straight to Xabi Alonso who fed it into David Villa on the edge of the box and the striker wriggled away from Jagielka before stroking a calm, low finish into the bottom corner. Heskey was narrowly wide with a header from a Downing centre before James stood and watched a 30 yarder from Senna whistle an inch past his upright. With England continuing to gift Spain quality possession deep inside their own half the home side continued to press right up to the interval with Villa seeing a goalbound effort blocked, Alonso firing inches wide from distance and Sergio Ramos belting an ambitious cross shot straight at James from way out on the right. The England keeper just about held on and the same could be said about the whole team as they went in at the interval just the one goal behind. Half Time: Spain 1 England 0 England made five changes at half time with Robert Green, Matthew Upson, Frank Lampard, David Beckham and Peter Crouch coming on for James, Jagielka, Barry, Downing and Heskey. This change of personnel did nothing to alter the overall balance of play, however. Beckham put an early free kick into the mixer which Reina just about punched away from his goalmouth but the sight of Shaun Wright-Phillips, possibly England's brightest attacker on the night, chasing back to desperately cover the overlapping Ramos twice in quick succession amply demonstrated which team was in charge of proceedings. Agbonlahor, Lampard, Johnson and Ashley Cole were all culpable of giving the ball away inside their own half as the pattern of the first half was repeated and Upson did well to get a toe in as Torres looked to profit from one of these aberrations having been fed by the influential Xavi. England managed the occasional threat but when they did get half a sight of goal their finishing was as tepid as the display in general had been. Johnson sent in a deep centre which Crouch headed straight at Reina and then Wright-Phillips shot meekly at the keeper having stepped inside Ramos following a magnificent 70 yard arrow of a pass from Beckham. Lampard could also only head straight at the keeper following a decent move although he wasn't helped by the floated centre put in by Agbonlahor from the right hand side. Bravery from Beckham allowed England to mount another attack but Carlton Cole, just on as a sub, made poor contact with his volleyed effort from a Johnson centre. Suddenly Spain moved forward to win a free kick 40 yards from goal and when Xavi lobbed it into the box Upson lost his bearings to allow Llorente to head conclusively beyond Green. Beckham produced England's best moment of quality when he showed quick feet to make himself a yard of space before threading a gorgeous ball through to Cole who managed to sidestep Reina but then saw his unconvincing left footed finish cleared off the line by a covering defender. These late moments did nothing to hide the fact that England had spent most of the night chasing shadows and had been a very clear second best. Full Time: Spain 2 England 0 England: D.James 3 (R.Green 5), G.Johnson 6, A.Cole 6, M.Carrick 4, P.Jagielka 3 (M.Upson 5), J.Terry 5, S.Wright-Phillips 6, G.Barry 4 (F.Lampard 4), E.Heskey 5 (P.Crouch 2), S.Downing 3 (D.Beckham 6), G.Agbonlahor 3 (C.Cole 4). Star Player: Glen Johnson Not an easy choice and Johnson hardly covered himself in glory but he stuck to his guns defensively and got forward whenever possible, linking to some effect with Beckham in the second half.
Wednesday November 19, 2008; International Friendly. Germany 1 England 2 Germany: Adler (Wiese 45), Friedrich (Tasci 68), Mertesacker, Westermann, Compper (Schafer 77), Schweinsteiger, Rolfes, Jones (Marin 45), Trochowski, Gomez (Podolski 57), Klose (Helmes 45). England: D.James (S.Carson 45), G.Johnson, J.Terry, M.Upson, W.Bridge, S.Wright-Phillips (P.Crouch 90), M.Carrick, G.Barry, S.Downing, J.Defoe (D.Bent 45), G.Agbonlahor (A.Young 77). With several of Fabio Capello's usual first choice players missing this friendly through injury the England side selected had a definite second XI look to it with Johnson, Upson and Bridge starting in defence; Wright-Phillips, Carrick and Downing joining Gareth Barry in midfield and Agbonlahor gaining his first cap up front alongside Jermain Defoe. The side was obviously brimming with pace but lacking height as well as real experience at this level. The side picked might not inspire huge confidence on paper but if it could impose itself on the game and the opposition then it certainly contained lots of attacking potential. More than anything, however, it seemed important going into this game that England, weakened side or not, kept up the momentum gained from the four successive victories in their World Cup qualifying group. The early signs were certainly encouraging as England enjoyed most of the possession. Gareth Barry and Michael Carrick immediately looked to have control of the central areas and England were able to get the ball into their diminutive strikers with decent frequency. There was a hint of an opening in the second minute but Defoe was offside as he ran onto Agbonlahor's pass. It was not just Carrick and Barry who were showing good composure on the ball either as Matthew Upson fed Agbonlahor twice with quality passes out of defence. Such confidence quickly spread throughout the team with England looking by far the more assured side. The first real threat came from the Germans, however, as David James plunged to meet a low centre from the left wing and could only parry it out into his box. Fortunately Barry was alert to the situation and nipped ahead of two attackers to mop up the danger. In general though it was England dictating play, controlling possession and probing for openings. Glen Johnson showed himself eager to get forward down the right and Stewart Downing was looking far more confident than in any of his previous internationals down the left. Downing, sharp and direct in possession, earned his side a couple of corners which were wasted by Shaun Wright-Phillips's poor delivery and then Germany had a real let off when Agbonlahor left the keeper sprawling down the side of the penalty area as the pair chased a probing chip forward by Downing. It looked a perfectly fair shoulder charge but the linesman thought differently and flagged for a free kick with the German goal unguarded. Wright-Phillips had been the one England player looking below par in the opening stages but when he cut inside to win a corner with a deflected drive it signalled the start of a steady improvement in his performance and he would end the night as yet another England success. From the corner Matthew Upson saw a clever volley deflected wide for a corner from the other flank and when Downing whipped in a fine centre the German keeper got himself tangled up with Jermain Defoe allowing Upson to poke the ball into an empty net after a kind ricochet off Agbonlahor. Undoubtedly a scrappy goal but one England thoroughly deserved for their excellent start to the game. There was no sign of England sitting back on their one goal lead and they continued to play the better football throughout the first half. With Barry and Carrick calm, precise and occasionally inventive England remained in control while they also looked a yard or two faster down both flanks. Germany's only threat was coming from set pieces and they had the referee to thank for keeping them liberally supplied with dead ball opportunities. James had to fist one inswinging free kick from the left wing over his own bar while both Klose and Westermann might have done better with headed chances from set plays. The incisive movements were England's, however. Carrick and Downing combined in fine style to set England flowing forward but Carrick then wasted the chance with an unnecessary dummy on the edge of the box before Wright-Phillips could only locate the solitary German defender instead of either of two supporting teammates after a superb pass by Johnson had sent him racing down the right. Wright-Phillips was getting more and more involved in the action and seemed to have slipped Agbonlahor through on goal only for a very dubious offside flag to deny the Villa forward. Moments later Wright-Phillips was helping Johnson to win a corner and when this was half cleared he was offered a decent shooting chance but dragged his shot wide of the far post from 25 yards. The half ended with England's confidence at its most obvious and the German goal under real threat. Agbonlahor made a wonderful break from inside his own half but, with the German defence stretched, underhit his intended pass to Defoe when he had every excuse for continuing himself. Then Downing was bringing a flying save out of the German keeper with a piledriver from just outside the box and moments later Wright-Phillips was not far away from the angle of post and bar as the rebound fell into his path. Right on half time anothing probing pass from Carrick had Agbonlahor scampering beyond the German defence but the keeper was sweeping up well and was able to clear the danger just in time. All in all an excellent forty five minutes from Capello's men and a well deserved lead. Half Time: Germany 0 England 1 Germany made three changes at the interval while England contented themselves with two. Darren Bent came on up front to replace Defoe, who was apparently nursing a slight pull, while Scott Carson came on for David James in goal. England's passing was not quite so assured at the start of the second half as Germany looked to up the tempo but it was still the visitors looking to play the football. Some bloke called Rolfes fired an ambitious effort way over the bar as Germnay looked to test Carson but the home side were still finding it almost impossible to fashion a real chance against a diligent England defence. Carrick was instrumental as England found their passing rhythm again and when Downing then broke a challenge thirty yards out he had an inviting shooting opportunity. The effort was disappointingly wide of the far post, however. Little had happened since half time until a frantic spell of action just past the hour mark somehow ended with Germany level. Shaun Wright-Phillips set the touchpaper alight with a sizzling run from way out which took him past three challenges before his shot was blocked at the expense of a corner. The corner was cleared to Johnson and England momentarily looked in trouble as the defender slipped but he recovered magnificently to wriggle out of danger and feed Barry who instantly sent Darren Bent racing through on goal with a sweet through ball. Bent took the ball wide of the advancing keeper but could only scuff his shot wide of the gaping goal as his standing foot went from under him as he attempted to make the slight re-adjustment required in the act of shooting. Misses like that often end up being crucial and England were left really rueing this one when Germany suddenly went forward to equalise. If there was one consolation to Bent it was in the fact that the bizarre manner of Germany's goal probably made most people forget that his miss had ever taken place. There should have been no danger as a woefully overhit pass intended for Helmes dropped beyond John Terry and bounced towards the England penalty area. It was more out of a sense of duty that Helmes belatedly set off in pursuit but he ended up glad he had done so as Terry failed to clear and Carson advanced too late thereby allowing the forward to poke the ball beyond the hapless England pair and tap into an empty net. Who was at fault? I think it's only fair to say both. We don't know if Carson shouted but whether he did or not his advance was disastrously unconvincing while Terry could have taken matters into his own hands at any stage by simply booting the ball to any part of Germany. Both men ended up looking stupid in the extreme; Terry for his comedy attempted back header when the ball had actually stopped bouncing as well as his failed attempt at making his backside an impassable object and Carson for his old mans' stoop to collect which ended in him being horribly nutmegged by Helmes. All in all a moment to forget but that won't be so easy for Carson given his awful blunder against Croatia in his last game. The one thing this cock up did do was allow England, generally excellent beforehand, the chance to show that they could take a body blow and come back fighting. Capello must have been thrilled with the way they did this. Germany were unable to build momentum from their unexpected gift as England continued to call the tune. Downing whipped in a wicked centre that was punched clear unconvincingly by the German keeper who was lucky that the ball evaded the waiting England forwards and then Carrick produced a sublime pass to send Agbonlahor racing through the inside right channel for a fierce drive that the keeper did well to tip away from his near post, undetected by the referee as well. Another surging run by Wright-Phillips gained England a free kick in a dangerous position and the keeper did well to parry Downing's low drive but was still lucky that the rebound did not fall to an attacker rather than a defender. Then Carrick released Bent but the England forward was unable to nick the ball past the onrushing keeper despite just about getting the first touch. Germany finally enjoyed a spell of domination with just under twenty minutes remaining and asked some real questions of the England defence. Bridge and Downing had made a solid partnership down the left but were beaten too easily in one attack and were grateful to Upson for a barnstorming block inside the area and Carson was called upon to deal with a low drive and a testing centre in quick succession, both of which he dealt with competently to everyones' relief. England were not in the mood to remain on the back foot for long, however, and emerged from defence to strike the crucial blow. The catalyst for a spell of England pressure was a strange bit of headed juggling by Bent which kept possession for England and allowed Wright-Phillips to come charging up in support for a searing drive which cannoned back to safety from the upright, with the German keeper again possibly getting a vital touch. England were able to keep the ball in the German half and Ashley Young, on for Agbonlahor, earned his side a free kick from a typically leaden footed German defender. Downing chipped this into the far post from right to left and there was Terry, no doubt eager to erase the memory of Germany's goal from the collective memory bank, climbing above his marker to steer a splendid header in off the far post. England continued to play with purpose and precision through to the final whistle with Downing stinging the hands of the German keeper at the end of another controlled move and England ended the night worthy winners despite having conceded one of the worst goals in their history. While it would be wrong to get carried away with anything that happens in a friendly this had been just about as good as it could possibly get. Despite fielding a hugely different side to the one that had earned the four World Cup victories England looked and played like a team from the first whistle to the last. Everyone looked comfortable in the position they were playing in, everyone made sure that they had a teammates' back when it was needed and, for the good of the team, several players took on board tasks that they would probably prefer others to do. This is what we have wanted to see from England teams for a long time and, touch wood, we now have a manager who can deliver. We have now had two superb victories away from home in quick succession and both were mainly the result of a sound, well organised team effort in which the players' individual quality ended up coming to the fore as a natural consequence. Too often we have been waiting for talented individuals to simply win internationals on their own, and it looked as though the England managers in question expected this more than anyone. Now we have a manager who knows that the individuals have to function as a team first and then the rest should take care of itself. This is not to say that England will win every game they play under Capello but if they simply continue to look and play like a team then it will represent a huge improvement on what we ended up suffering under Eriksson and then MacLaren. It's also been good to see a few smiling faces around the England camp in the last few games. It's obviously easier to smile when you're winning but playing football, even at this level, should still be fun. England's sense of enjoyment from their past few results and performances has also appeared to be the genuine fulfilment experienced from the knowledge of a job well done, individually and collectively, rather than the usual prima donna style self congratualtion at even the slightest achievement. Long may it continue. Full Time: Germany 1 England 2 England: D.James 7 (S.Carson 4), G.Johnson 9, J.Terry 7, M.Upson 8, W.Bridge 7, S.Wright-Phillips 8, M.Carrick 9, G.Barry 8, S.Downing 9, J.Defoe 7 (D.Bent 5), G.Agbonlahor 8 (A.Young 5). Star Player: Glen Johnson Basically everybody did well but three players especially pressed claims for inclusion in Capello's real starting eleven. Michael Carrick was quietly authoritative in midfield and Stewart Downing played with a purpose and freedom down the left entirely missing from his previous England performances. It is unlikely that these two will get the nod when Capello picks his teams for the qualifying games, however.
Wednesday October 15, 2008; World Cup Qualifier. Belarus 1 England 3 Belarus: Y.Zhevnov, A.Kulchy, E.Filipenko, S.Omelyanchyuk, D.Molosh, V.Bulyga, P.Sitko, V.Kutuzov, A.Putilo (V.Rodionov 67), I.Stasevich (V.Hleb 90), D.Verkhovtsov. England: D.James, W.Brown, W.Bridge, S.Gerrard, R.Ferdinand, M.Upson, 7 T.Walcott (S.Wright-Phillips 68), F.Lampard, E.Heskey (P.Crouch 70), W.Rooney (D.Beckham 88), G.Barry. England's excellent start to competitive action under Fabio Capello continued with a fine 3-1 win in Belarus. While this was by no means a consumate performance the display confirmed the growing feeling that England will at least look and play like a team under the Italian. While there were obvious points of concern there were also many real positives to take from this game and, by the final whistle, everybody with the interests of English football at heart must have been feeling pretty positive themselves. Areas to be addressed remain England's disturbing tendancy to defend too deep having gone in front, achieving the correct balance and personnel in midfield and the role to be played by Theo Walcott, who faded after a bright start as he had done against Kazakhstan four days earlier and who looked a liability when asked to do some defending. Reasons to be cheerful were an outstanding goal by Steven Gerrard, magnificent performances from Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey up front and the tremendous fighting spirit and commitment shown by the entire team. Basically this was a demonstration of how England are supposed to play football. We have never been the prettiest of footballing nations but when we play with pace, power and purpose we have no reason to be ashamed of ourselves in any company. The opening stages were lively in the extreme with both sides looking to assert themselves. Belarus impressed with their close passing from the first whistle and dominated the early possession but England looked dangerous on the occasions they were able to get forward. David James was tested by a free kick that was straight at him but arriving on the bounce and his handling was secure, as it would be on numerous other occasions in the opening forty five minutes. England were offered hope by the robust start made by Emile Heskey, who was proving too much of a handful for his markers from the word go, and the fleet footed Walcott on the right wing. Heskey would continue to be a menace right up to his substitution midway through the second half whereas Walcott would quickly fade to leave question marks over his international credentials. Twice in quick succession Walcott sent in superb crosses from the right with Rooney inches away from converting on the second occasion but the wingers' distribution and decision making would never reach these standards again. England's threat was confirmed as they then took the lead with eleven minutes on the clock. Rooney was superb in retaining possession in a tight spot and as he moved away from his marker from right to left he was met by Gerrard, moving up in support from the left, who strode onto the ball to sweep a delicious curling shot into the far corner from the best part of thirty yards. James was quickly called into action to preserve England's lead and he got the job done without looking particularly comfortable fielding an effort from distance. At the other end Gerrard tried his luck again and wasn't too far away from slightly closer quarters to which he had opened the scoring. For the next quarter of an hour, however, England endured their worst spell of the game as they dropped deeper and deeper without putting their opponents under any real pressure and Belarus began to dictate with their slick passing and movement. A poor touch by Walcott sold the overlapping Wes Brown short and left England exposed to the counter attack and the situation wasn't helped when Gareth Barry then somehow failed to intercept the resulting centre. Fortunately there was no Belarus forward in a position to take advantage and the danger was scrambled clear. England's right hand side was giving particular cause for concern. Brown looked loathe to commit himself into a challenge with Pavel Sitko and the full back was certainly getting little protection from Walcott in front of him. Another attack from this avenue ended with Sitko sending in a fierce snap shot from the edge of the box and James was happy to see the ball fly directly at him. Then the England keeper was diving low to make a good stop after a mistake by Gerrard had presented a shooting opportunity just outside the area. James was being kept uncomfortably busy at this stage as England made problems for themselves by sitting too deep and giving the ball away in dangerous areas. There was one unpleasant incident when Anton Putilo went over the top on Frank Lampard and was lucky that the referee, generfally lenient, was content to issue a yellow card instead of the red that the ugly challenge merited. England came within inches of extending their lead, against the run of play, when Heskey turned his marker inside out before chipping a centre to the far post that was headed just wide under pressure by Rooney. The real danger was being posed by Belarus at this point, however, and the home side levelled shortly before the half hour. A sustained spell of passing ended with a chip to the far post where Sitko was stealing in completely unmarked to head home from point blank range. Walcott was the man who should have been tracking the run but he had completely failed to react with disastrous consequences. Having been pegged back England began to be more positive again and came close when Heskey headed wide at the near post following a left wing corner before Lampard tested the keeper with an ambitious free kick from long range. Rooney produced a piece of sheer brilliance to send Walcott running into the box but the winger was stopped by a solid challenge. Within a minute Walcott was played into an even better position beyond his full back but chose to shoot early when it looked as though he might be able to go through on goal and the keeper had no problem in saving his low effort. All in all this had been a frustrating half with England throwing away the initiative of their early goal and failing to offer enough support to two forwards who both looked in top form. Half Time: Belarus 1 England 1 England began the second half in far more positive mood both in their attacking and defending. Wes Brown was quick to launch Sitko over the touchline with an all consuming challenge while Rooney and Heskey continued to terrorise the Belarus defence. Rooney picked his way through a crowd of defenders on the edge of the box only to shoot weakly at the keeper but then made no mistake when Heskey surged to the byeline and squared a perfect ball into his path. Brown then got away with a suspect challenge inside the area as Belarus looked to respond but this was nothing to the leniency being granted the home defenders who were taking it in turns to kick the outstanding Heskey. To his eternal credit the big man ignored the punishment and continued to torment the Belarus defence with his strength, control and vision. The referee, however, was completely out of order in not offering any punishment, beyond the award of free kicks, to the offending defenders. There was another spell when England were in danger of sitting too deep and failing to put real pressure on the ball but the home side were not as dangerous as they had been before half time with James now only being called into sporadic action. Gerrard wasted a great chance to send Heskey through on goal with a heavy pass but England's performance had become somewhat hesitant at the midway point of the second half. Capello made a couple of changes with Shaun Wright-Phillips replacing Walcott and Peter Crouch coming on to allow Heskey to nurse his manifold bumps and bruises but the urgency which England needed to rediscover was provided by an unlikely source. Wayne Bridge, replacing the injured Ashley Cole at left back, had had a relatively incident free night and suddenly decided to take the bull by the horns down the left flank. He embarked on one forceful break down the wing and made it all the way to the edge of the Belarus box only to find that none of his teammates had matched his adventure when he came to put in his cross but the incident seemed to rouse his colleagues and his next sortie paid rich dividends. Having made a swift break from halfway Bridge slipped a low ball inside to Rooney who allowed the ball to run on to Gerrard and instantly set off to receive his teammates' first time pass before sitting the last defender on his backside with a lovely feint and clipping a clinical finish beyond the exposed keeper. Magnificent stuff. It was unlikely that Belarus would be able to respond to a two goal deficit and so it proved as England saw out the remainder of the game in some comfort. Indeed the margin of victory should have been improved when Gerrard stormed through some feeble defending and strolled around the keeper before hitting the post instead of the empty net. If Gerrard had trusted his weaker left foot then he would surely have hit the target but his insistence on using his right resulted in a truly embarrassing miss. On this occasion, however, this barely seemed to matter as England registered their fourth win out of four in their qualifying group to leave themselves in a great position to put the disappointment of missing out on the European Championships behind them. Full Time: Belarus 1 England 3
England: D.James 8, W.Brown 6, W.Bridge 8, S.Gerrard 7, R.Ferdinand 8, M.Upson 6, T.Walcott 5 (S.Wright-Phillips 6), F.Lampard 7, E.Heskey 9 (P.Crouch 5), W.Rooney 9, G.Barry 6. Star Player: Emile Heskey This is a somewhat generous award given the magnificent performance of Wayne Rooney but Heskey deserves massive credit for his contribution to this victory.
Saturday October 11, 2008; World Cup Qualifier. England 5 Kazakhstan 1 England: D.James, W.Brown, A.Cole, R.Ferdinand, M.Upson, S.Gerrard, G.Barry (S.Wright-Phillips 45), F.Lampard, T.Walcott (D.Beckham 79), E.Heskey, W.Rooney (J.Defoe 86). Kazakhstan: Mokin, Kirov (Sabalakov 85), Kuchma, Kislitsyn, Nusserbayev, Skorykh, Ostapenko (Maltsev 76), Baltiyev, Ibrayev, Kukeyev, Logvinenko. This was a slightly strange game and an erratic England performance. Despite the fact that the match was goalless at half time and ended in a 5-1 victory the England performance was probably better in the opening forty five minutes. Before half time there was early promise in the shape of Walcott and more coherence in the overall play. It is true that the attacking impetus petered out the longer the half wore on but there was a general order to proceedings with Kazakhstan rarely posing a threat on the England goal. After half time, with England set up in a more attacking formation after the withdrawal of Gareth Barry from the holding midfield role, it was sometimes difficult to tell whether England were playing with urgency or desparation. Even though five goals were scored this was mainly due to Kazakhstan's inability to defend set pieces and the fact that their players tired noticeably late on. In their efforts to force the pace England left themselves open at the back on several occasions and were lucky not to concede more than once. There was also the uncomfortable realisation that for lengthy spells in the second half Kazakhstan's passing and movement was far more intelligent and dangerous than England's. The game began with England in confident mood and looking to attack from the off. Theo Walcott was the focus of most of the early attacks and when a clever touch from Wes Brown sent him racing to the byeline his low centre seemed certain to bring a goal but Emile Heskey somehow failed to convert sliding in before an empty net. The formation did not look as natural as it had in Croatia with Steven Gerrard joining Frank Lampard in central midfield in front of Barry. Wayne Rooney was playing to the left of Heskey but was obviously allowed to wander in search of the ball. This was good in many ways as Rooney was able to orchestrate several attacking movements but it did give England a lopsided look with no real attacking outlet down the left hand side. Rooney tested Mokin with a snap shot and linked well with Walcott on a couple of occasions which ended with England winning free kicks in good positions after fouls on the Arsenal flyer. These immediately looked highly promising as the Kazakhstan defence struggled to deal with anything crossed into the goalmouth and Matthew Upson was not too far over with one header at goal. Kazakhstan's first threat came when Nusserbayev bundled his way past Ashley Cole before hitting a low cross shot uncomfortably close to David James' right hand post and the England goalkeeper was also given a worrying moment when Upson played him a ridiculous back pass from tight to the goalline which forced James to clear with a sliding tackle. The ball flew straight onto a Kazakhstan head on the edge of the box but the instinctive header, fortunately, was well wide of the target. Most of the action was at the other end, however, with Rooney producing some neat work on the right hand side before finding Lampard breaking into the box for a good effort that deflected behind off a defender. Rooney was also at the heart of a move that ended with Walcott cutting inside onto his left foot for a shot that was never troubling the keeper. Steven Gerrard had been peripheral and his lack of involvement may have explained why he passed up a perfect shooting opportunity from 25 yards out in favour of an ambitious pass that was woefully overhit. Lampard tried a couple more efforts, one deflected behind and the other not far from the angle, and Upson headed wide from another corner but England then began to lose momentum and ideas as half time approached and the final ten minutes of the half passed by without a threat on the Kazakhstan goal. This is becoming a disturbing feature of England performances with nobody apparently able to take command when the going starts to get a bit tougher. I also thought the Wembley pitch seemed somewhat narrow with the play cramped and space hard to come by. Surely the national side wants a nice wide pitch to play on, don't it? There were murmurings of discontent amongst the crowd at half time but nothing too severe. After all, it was hard to imagine that Kazakhstan would be able to hold out for another forty five minutes. Half Time: England 0 Kazakhstan 0 England made a slightly surprising substitution at half time with Shaun Wright-Phillips coming on in place of Gareth Barry. This saw the formation change to a straight 4-4-2 with Rooney moving up front alongside Heskey and Wright-Phillips playing on the left hand side. This seemed an unnecessarily premature change. It could be argued that the move was a positive one but it could also have been viewed as somewhat desperate. The result of the change, and England's manic attempts to attack, was a hugely disjointed second half performance. Little was gained from having two wingers as Walcott's distribution began to degenerate and Wright-Phillips embarked on a basically embarrassing display. The removal of Barry from a holding position also exposed the England defence to several alarming moments as Gerrard and Lampard once again struggled to forge any meaningful combination in midfield. The one big plus was that Rooney was moved into a position where his work became even more effective and he remained England's brightest player. The danger of England's frantic attacking intentions quickly became apparent as the left flank of defence was left unmanned as Ashley Cole raced forward on the overlap only for England to squander possesion and suddenly Kazakhstan were pouring forward in numbers. Having made untroubled progress to the byeline a centre to the far post saw a header at goal rebound off Wes Brown and when the ball dropped straight to a Kazakhstan attacker in the jaws of goal England should have been one down but Nusserbayev somehow failed to hit the target. Shortly afterwards England punished this miss when the Kazakhstan keeper got nowhere near a left wing corner and Rio Ferdinand was able to head in at the far post. The goal was given no questions asked as this was Kazakhstan at Wembley but it was a carbon copy of the goals we have seen Sol Campbell score time and again at major finals only to be ruled out. The decision looked sound to me and I remain convinced that Big Sol has been denied his rightful place in English folklore by piss poor refereeing decisions. The goal did nothing to inspire a more constructive England performance, however, and it was Kazakhstan catching the eye with some slick passing moves in which Kukeyev and Nusserbayev were prominent. Nusserbayev sent in a fine effort that was saved, none too convincingly, by James and the England keeper also had to be alert to stop a surging run by Kukeyev. With Kazakhstan looking increasingly confident England then scored from another set piece to apparently settle the issue. The free kick award to Ashley Cole looked extremely generous but England accepted the gift as Lampard whipped in a fine centre that glanced into the net off the head of Alexandr Kuchma. It was good to see Wayne Rooney not desperately trying to claim a goal that wasn't his (unlike certain members of the squad I could name) and he was to find the target legitimately later on in the piece. Nobody was probably expecting a response from Kazakhstan after this goal but, amazingly, they were back in the game four minutes later after a dreadful blunder by Ashley Cole. Under some pressure tight to the touchline Cole sent a woeful ball crossfield that only succeeded in putting Kukeyev clean through on goal. The Kazakhstani had all the time in the world and took it before burying his shot low past the totally stranded David James. This was unquestionably a cock up of the highest order by Cole but the angry booing that then greeted his every touch was surely unjustified. I can understand people not thinking much of Cole as a person. I can understand them thinking similarly about several other members of the squad. Plenty of them come across as spoilt, self centred, irritating arseholes who have completely lost touch with reality and the average man in the street football fan. If that is a reason for booing them, however, then they should be getting booed from the word go every time they play. To single Cole out for this error, though, was completely out of order. As an England footballer Cole has been one of our real stalwarts for the best part of a decade and, unlike many of his teammates, has always performed on the biggest stages. The goal meant that England were on edge again and with Walcott and Wright-Phillips wasting attack after attack a sense of anxiety prevailed. Gerrard created one chance for Heskey whose header was narrowly off target before a rare move of precision ended with England restoring their two goal cushion. Lampard and Walcott combined before Wes Brown was afforded time and space to cross and he picked out Rooney, all alone in the centre of goal, for a glancing header inside the far post. This time there would be no slip ups and England put a flattering gloss on the scoreline as Kazakhstan tired in the closing minutes. Rooney scored from close range following another free kick and then a sublime touch from Heskey sent Jermain Defoe, on as a late sub, through to score clinically. Once again Heskey failed to back up his sound work as a target man with a goal and this remains a worry in contemplating games against the stronger nations. He somehow failed to score after excellent play between Beckham, also on as a replacement, and Defoe despite having about five bites at the cherry and then saw his header from a Beckham centre easily saved by the keeper. The performance certainly ended on a high, however, but overall this was another typically disjointed England display which demonstrated that Capello still has his work cut out turning England into a consistent international force. A similar display would be unlikely to bring victory in Belarus next week but for now, at least, England remain on maximum points in their qualifying campaign. Full Time: England 5 Kazakhstan 1
England: D.James 6, W.Brown 7, A.Cole 4, R.Ferdinand 7, M.Upson 5, S.Gerrard 6, G.Barry 6 (S.Wright-Phillips 0), F.Lampard 7, T.Walcott 5 (D.Beckham 6), E.Heskey 7, W.Rooney 8. Star Player: Wayne Rooney Always striving to get involved he was England's most consistent creative force and also hit the target twice. Quality.
Wednesday September 10, 2008; World Cup Qualifier Croatia 1 England 4 Croatia: Pletikosa, Simunic, Robert Kovac, Corluka, Pranjic, Rakitic, Petric (Knezevic 56), Nico Kovac (Pokrivac 62), Srna, Modric, Olic (Mandzukic 73). England: D.James, W.Brown, J.Terry (M.Upson 88), R.Ferdinand, A.Cole, T.Walcott (D.Beckham 84), F.Lampard, G.Barry, J.Cole (J.Jenas 55), W.Rooney, E.Heskey. After years of waiting England finally put in a top performance in a game that mattered as they went to Croatia and smashed that nations' unbeaten home record in competitive internationals. In doing this in Fabio Capello's first real test as England manager the team have once again raised expectation levels within the country and it has to be hoped that this sort of performance will become the norm rather than the exception. There has to be optimism that this could be the case. There was nothing remarkable about this performance other than the fact that it was so unexpected. In general the display was simply an excellent team effort with each department of the team looking after its' own responsibilities and then blending into a powerful, coherent unit as confidence visibly spread throughout the ranks. With England suddenly playing as a team it came as no coincidence that players like Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard turned in their best international performances in ages. Get the balance right within the team and give them the confidence to go out and play and we can still turn out a formidable England team. The trick now is to maintain the level of performance shown here consistently. Let's hope Capello is the man who can achieve this feat. From the outset this looked an unusually well organised, efficient and confident England. Despite Croatia's daunting home record and the memory of the two defeats in the last qualifying campaign England started in noticeably positive mood. The early thrusts of the home side were resisted strongly by the England defence and then the visitors enjoyed a ten minute spell where they dominated possession and had Croatia pressed back in their own half. This impressive sequence produced one promising opening when Lampard knocked a fine ball over the home defence for Theo Walcott but the Arsenal youngster tried to pull the ball back across goal when a shot looked the better option. Croatia finally roused themselves and their first spell of real pressure saw England dropping dusturbingly deep in their efforts to keep the home side at bay, a tendancy which has cost us dear consistently over the past decade. Ashley Cole was enduring a difficult start to the game against Srna but valiant defending ensured that most efforts at David James were blocked at source. James also contributed a couple of hairy moments by dropping crosses into his box although he would have expected far more protection from a referee who was to prove himself somewhat erratic all night. In the recent past England might not have been able to ease the pressure and crumbled but on this occasion things were different. Rio Ferdinand and John Terry deserve most plaudits for this as they showed the confidence to put their foot on the ball in tight situations and play their way out of trouble. This composure quickly spread throughout the team and suddenly we were controlling possession again and playing much higher up the pitch. This is the way good teams react to difficult situations and England were certainly looking a good team as the first half reached its' midway point. Emile Heskey claimed a penalty, somewhat hopefully, when Walcott's centre went behind him but England did make the vital breakthrough shortly afterwards when Walcott lashed home a low drive after an attempted clearance by one Croatian defender cannoned into another and rebounded into his path. Once again the part played in this goal by Rio Ferdinand should not be overlooked as he started the attack by seizing on a loose ball around the half way line to come surging forward and create the confusion in the Croatia defence, another sign of England's confidence and purpose. Taking the lead presented England with another test. Under the last couple of managers taking the lead had been the signal to fall back on all out defence with disastrous consequences. The initial signs were good, however, as we attacked again instantly to present Walcott with a similar chance to the one he had just taken but this time the Croatian keeper managed to touch his drive behind for a corner. It was also encouraging to see Wayne Rooney really getting to grips with the game at this stage and he was becoming a focal point as England began moving the ball around quickly and dangerously. The threat of Walcott's pace was also obvious and Simunic went into the referees' book for cynically taking the young flyer out with a nasty bodycheck. Croatia desperately tried to respond before half time but their efforts on goal were becoming increasingly hopeful and were still being blocked, more often than not, at source. Half time arrived with England leading and looking extremely confident. Half Time: Croatia 0 England 1 The start of the second half was likely to be crucial. Would England continue in the positive vein they had shown before half time or would this now be a case of protecting what they had? Happily England came out looking to impose themselves on the game once again and were quickly calling the shots. Croatia were soon showing signs of raggedness as they struggled to cope with the unusual position of trailing on home soil. England had genuine cause for grievance that Simunic, who had been fouling Heskey with monotonous regularity, was allowed to stay on the field after a blatant foul on Rooney who was storming past him in a dangerous position and Lampard almost inflicted his own punishment with an awkward low free kick that Pletikosa parried and was grateful to his defence for scrambling away the loose ball. With 53 minutes played, however, the home side were reduced to ten men when Robert Kovac was shown a straight red for an elbow on Joey Cole who had to depart on a stretcher with blood pouring from a head wound. I seemed to be in a minority of one but I actually thought this was a very harsh decision. Kovac had got up early to put in a powerful headed clearance. It looked more a case of Cole jumping into the defender as he went for a ball he could not win and coming off worse after catching the defenders' arm flush in the face. Taking into account what Simunic had been getting away with the home side could hardly complain at being a man down, however. Once again you found yourself questioning the England team as Jermaine Jenas came on to replace Cole. Would this apparent advantage suddenly bring a note of caution to their play or would they really go on to seize the initiative? This question was quickly and emphatically answered as the visitors began to completely dominate possession but also looked to attack their reeling hosts at every opportunity. This attitude brought a swift reward. Rooney was instrumental as a swift burst of short passing just outside the Croatia penalty area involving Lampard and Heskey ended with the Manchester United forward slipping in Walcott, again lurking to the right of goal, for a truly assured finish into the far corner. Confidence was now brimming throughout the side and England continued to punish Croatia with their crisp and incisive passing. It was indicative of how the match had gone that Ashley Cole, who had started nervously, was now driving Srna back consistently down the England left and when he nicked possession away from his opponent deep inside the Croatia half England were suddenly pouring forward again. Jenas took up the attack and was able to stroll to the byeline before cutting back a perfect ball into Rooney who produced a calm, side footed finish from ten yards for a well deserved goal. England were oozing quality at this stage and Lampard, whose performance also merited a goal, was cruelly denied when he put a sweet finish to a sublime move only to find the referee penalising Heskey extremely harshly for a supposed infringement way off the ball. The referee again showed his erratic nature minutes later when he allowed Srna to carry on after the Croat won possession from John Terry with a foot raised to head height and with the England defence for once exposed Srna was able to play Mandzukic in for a simple finish past David James. On this wonderful night for English football this undeserved setback was not allowed to fester and four minutes later the three goal cushion had been restored as Rooney produced a magical touch to kill a long ball out of defence before playing an instant ball through for Walcott to race clear and complete his hat trick with a nerveless finish. This completed a wonderful night for Walcott, who was then replaced to a standing ovation from the travelling support, and England in general. There would be no fifth goal to replicate the drubbing handed out to Germany early on in Sven Goran Eriksson's tenure as England manager but that might not be a bad omen. Hopefully this victory and performance will not remain the highlight of Fabio Capello's stint as England manager. While not getting carried away and realising that results are seldom likely to be as emphatic as this it has to be hoped that the quality of this performance can be replicated on a regular basis. There is no question that the England side is better than the results it has produced of late. If Capello can keep them organised and confident then surely the England team will at least continue to look like a team while he is in charge. Here's hoping. Full Time: Croatia 1 England 4 England: D.James 6, W.Brown 7, J.Terry 8, R.Ferdinand 8, A.Cole 7, T.Walcott 9, F.Lampard 8, G.Barry 7, J.Cole 7(J.Jenas 8), W.Rooney 9, E.Heskey 7. Star Player: Theo Walcott For once this was a difficult decision for the right reasons.
Saturday September 6, 2008; World Cup Qualifier Andorra 0 England 2 Andorra: Alvarez, Ayala, Txema, Sonejee, Antoni Lima (Fernandez 90), Ildefons Lima, Pujol (Vales 90), Vieira, Silva (Toscano 65), Jimenez, Andorra. England: D.James, G.Johnson, J.Lescott, J.Terry, A.Cole, T.Walcott, G.Barry, F.Lampard (D.Beckham 79), S.Downing (J.Cole 45), W.Rooney, J.Defoe (E.Heskey 45). England's first competitive match under Fabio Capello saw them returning to Spain to take on Andorra. Not the most difficult of starts but everyone, Capello included, would have been aware of the scorn poured out at Steve MacLaren's team on the last visit when England went in at half time goalless after a particularly tepid performance. Capello chose a surprising team which seemed to suggest certain players were being rested for the much tougher test to come in Croatia on Wednesday. Time alone will tell if this was the case. One of the surprise picks, Theo Walcott, was the star of the early stages as England started with pace and purpose and looked ready to hand the minnows a thrashing. In the very first minute Walcott was streaking beyond the Andorran defence down the right hand side for a dangerous low centre which eventually bobbled through to the keeper who was caught late by the onrushing Jermain Defoe. Predictably the Andorran's would make the most of every bit of bodily contact throughout the game as they sought to frustrate and perhaps goad the England team but on this occasion Defoe had definitely been out of order and was fortunate not to receive punishment. Walcott continued to be England's obvious attacking weapon. Any decent ball knocked in behind his full back saw him speeding clear and he also showed lovely footwork on a couple of occasions to slalom out of apparent dead ends. The Arsenal flyer wasted the next opening by shooting over the bar from a narrow angle with players lined up in the centre waiting for a cut back but at least he appeared to quickly learn his lesson. Soon afterwards he was pulling the ball back from the byeline only for a defender to intercept at full stretch and then, when Frank Lampard knocked a good ball over the top, he cushioned a lovely lay off into the path of Wayne Rooney whose left footed effort flew woefully off target. Midway through the half Lampard went close with a decent hit from just outside the box but from that point on England's early promise disintegrated and there was barely a threat on the Andorran goal for the rest of the half. It was especially disappointing to see the supply of service to Walcott dry up. Here England had an obvious advantage but they were either unable or unwilling to press this home. Now there was no obvious focus to the teams' attacking play and rather than focussing on positives we were left to ponder some obvious negatives. Defoe struggled desperately to make any impression whatsoever on the packed Andorran defence while Stewart Downing was depressingly unadventurous on the left wing. Half time brought a predictable chorus of boos which were not as well merited as on our last visit but understandable given the way the performance had petered out so tamely. Half Time: Andorra 0 England 0 Capello reacted to England's tepid ending to the first half by introducing Emile Heskey and Joey Cole for Defoe and Downing at the interval. One of the replacements was to make an instant and decisive difference and there are no prizes for guessing which one it was. After four minutes of the second period England won a free kick which was lifted into the box for Joleon Lescott to produce a beautifully cushioned lay off and there was the impish Cole lashing a volley home from ten yards out. Inspired by this goal England produced another concerted spell of attacking which saw John Terry come close with a good effort from the edge of the box before Cole doubled the lead after England's sharpest move of the game. Gareth Barry linked well with Rooney who slipped a defence splitting pass through for the darting Cole to flick a low finish past the Andorran keeper. Just past the hour Glen Johnson was unlucky to see his drive from the edge of the area ruled out for offside against Cole, greedily seaking his hat trick, but then England's attacking ambitions seemed to simply peter out and the last half hour was another exercise in tedium. Overall this was a highly erratic performance but there were some positives to take out of the game and I think England will travel to Croatia in better spirits after this display. The obvious positive came in the performance of Theo Walcott although he is by no means certain of keeping David Beckham out of the side to face the Croats. One thing England have obviously been missing in the past year or two is genuine pace and Walcott certainly provides that vital ingredient. Without him we are a very pedestrian side by international standards. Full Time: Andorra 0 England 2
England: D.James 5, G.Johnson 5, J.Lescott 5, J.Terry 5, A.Cole 6, T.Walcott 7, G.Barry 5, F.Lampard 5 (D.Beckham 4), S.Downing 3 (J.Cole 8), W.Rooney 5, J.Defoe 4 (E.Heskey 5). Star Player: Joe Cole Walcott was excellent in bursts and it was not his fault that his midfield colleagues failed to give him the ball consistently but the decisive contribution was Cole's. His two goals were both expertly taken and his general eagerness to get involved and test the Andorran defence gave everybody a lift.
England v. Czech Republic; Comment Before I start slagging off England's latest uninspiring performance let me get their excuse in first. August internationals have almost always seen England playing like halfwits for as long as records exist. Rustiness, lack of match fitness and the fact that it was a friendly do offer some explanation for a lacklustre display but they do not excuse England's latest sorry showing. If England had looked like they were playing in second gear, easing themselves back into the new season and saving themselves for the bigger challenges ahead, while basically looking like a football team, then that would have been alright. That was not the case, however. England were obviously giving it their all but without showing any cohesion, understanding, teamwork or discernible tactics. These facts make our latest showing particularly disturbing. It's the lack of obvious tactics or understanding that I can't work out. We have all these coaches with all these qualifications and yet it is impossible to work out any tactical plan that England are trying to execute. If you go down to any public park on a Sunday morning and walk around the half dozen games that might be going on there you will probably be able to work out each teams' plan. It will probably be very basic but you will be able to work out what it is and you will be able to see how that team is trying to carry it out. One team might have a fast or tricky winger so most of the time they will be trying to get the ball out to him and the others will get into the box waiting for a centre. Mainly there will be a strong bloke at centre forward and the play will be aimed in and around him. If this guy is fast and strong he will be left to go it alone, if he is just strong then they will probably have a nippy player alongside him trying to take advantage. Around these obvious tactics each team will probably have a couple of players who fancy themselves as a bit of a superstar and they will try something extravagant every so often. It normally won't come off but once or twice a season they will be back in the pub basking in the glory of having done something truly magnificent. Now that might all sound pathetically basic, and very pub football, but I defy anyone to work out exactly how the England team is trying to win football matches. There is no obvious channel through which we are consistently trying to build up attacks. No consistent source of service into the front players, no obvious partnerships or understandings being built up between individuals and certainly no individual brilliance in evidence. These players have played together for years now and yet there are no established links within the team whatsoever. Basically that's an embarrassing shambles. When I was growing up the England team revolved around the Kevin Keegan/Trevor Brooking axis, two players who had an obvious understanding, and also had the ability to attack down either flank with Steve Coppell and Peter Barnes. Obviously that team wasn't the best in the world either but at least it looked and played like a team and it probably got the best out of the players involved. The present regime is not getting the best out of any of the players involved. We still seem to be just expecting things to happen because of who is on the pitch, even though nothing has happened for years now, and waiting for the odd set piece from which we continue to pose a threat. Whereas we will probably go into the World Cup qualifying campaign with the same approach, pick the established players and hope for the best, it would seem that something more proactive is required. The hub of the problem is surely in midfield. I would like to see Micah Richards in at right back instead of Wes Brown but the defence basically picks itself, unless Ledley King gets fit and then John Terry should be dumped into the nearest skip. And we know we are strugglng up front so it's going to have to be Rooney and A.N. Other for the moment, unless Capello decides to give Gabby Agbonlahor a go. Given this it is vital that we are functioning properly in midfield, an area where we should theoretically be strong. On Wednesday we were comprehensively outplayed in that department. Only Steven Gerrard came out of the game with any real credit and that was mainly based on the fact that he made a decent fist of playing out of position on the left. Gareth Barry struggled badly as the holding midfield player, Beckham gave his now customary quarter back performance while Fat Frank simply looked out to pasture. Lampard has consistently been England's poorest midfielder for several years now and it is surely time to dump him. When he has not been there we have managed a few promising performances but no partnership has been able to develop because Fat Frank has always been brought back to put a big fat spanner in the works. He also symbolises the distasteful nature of present day English football, all talk, excess and minimal achievement. Maybe if England paid him £140,000 a week he would start slamming goals in for us and start kissing the badge on a regular basis. I'm not a booer but sometimes the boos are understandable. In the case of Lampard they are easily understood. Completely self obsessed, completely removed from the realities of the average football fan, completely convinced of his own magnificence and completely shit whenever he pulls on an England shirt. What's not to boo? Despite the fact that we keep on scoring from Beckham set pieces it is now surely the moment to call time on his international career as well. He is too slow and not fit enough to influence international football beyond his set pieces nowadays and was actually responsible for several dangerous Czech attacks on Wednesday with woeful passes inside his own half. His other contribution is the odd raking pass which looks fantastic as it zooms seventy yards or so to pick out an attacker but these never come to anything because that attacker is always completely isolated against three defenders. It should also be remembered that there are other players in the England squad who can take decent set pieces as was shown when we equalised from a David Bentley corner. Difficult decisions ahead for Fabio Capello then. Will he make any or will he simply bury his head in the sand and hope for the best? Unfortunately there are no obvious answers although I would have thought that Joey Cole, busy and clever, demands inclusion.
Wednesday August 20, 2008; International Friendly England 2 Czech Republic 2 England: D.James, W.Brown, A.Cole, G.Barry, R.Ferdinand (J.Woodgate 58), J.Terry, D.Beckham (J.Jenas 79), F.Lampard (D.Bentley 79), J.Defoe (E.Heskey 46), S.Gerrard (J.Cole 58), W.Rooney (S.Downing 68). Czech Republic: P.Cech, Z.Grygera (Z.Pospech 46), T.Ujfalusi, D.Rozehnal, M.Jankulovski, S.Vlcek (D.Jarolim 46), R.Kovac, (J.Rajnoch 76), J.Polak, J.Plasil (M.Papadopulos 90), R.Sirl (M.Kadlac 76), M.Baros (V.Sverkos 46). This friendly got under way on a slick, greasy surface which seemed ideally suited to good football. Indeed there would be several swift, classy passing movements displayed over the course of the game but more often than not these came from the visitors as England, short of imagination and cohesion, toiled to unlock a packed defence. The first Czech attack that threatened danger was built up down England's right and when the ball was transferred back into the middle Stanislav Vlcek had a decent sight of goal at the far post but scuffed his shot badly. Wayne Rooney, playing behind Jermain Defoe, dropped deeper to start a better England move and then transferred the point of attack with a sweeping ball out to the left to find Steven Gerrard who came inside onto his right foot to test Petr Cech with a dipping drive which the keeper parried to safety. England were looking to play one touch, passing football but this tactic saw the ball transferred back away from the danger area as often as it produced any forward movement and there were several occasions when errant passes allowed the Czech's to break dangerously. David Beckham was especially erratic with his passing and one poor ball gifted the Czech's possession and saw Gareth Barry, in a desperate attempt to snuff out the danger, piling into a poor challenge on Jaroslav Plasil to collect a merited booking. The England defence was also looking less than sound whenever the Czech's came forward with one hopeful ball over the top seeing Milan Baros, completely isolated, getting in behind Rio Ferdinand for a snap shot that David James did well to parry low down to his left. It was just as well Baros had no support as the ball ran loose across the front of the England goalmouth with Wes Brown eventually able to poke clear. Midway through the first half another poor pass by Beckham was the catalyst for England falling behind. Beckham sent a low ball forward from deep inside his own half that was easily intercepted and the Czech's immediately looked to move forward. Beckham compounded his error by setting off on a wild goose chase after the ball and when the play was eventually moved from one flank to the other by the visitors the England defence was short staffed on their right hand side. Wes Brown sold himself cheaply to increase the danger, John Terry completely failed to stop Baros turning inside the box and when his shot came in Ashley Cole stuck out a foot to deflect it past James. All in all not a great goal from an England point of view. Stung by this goal England proceeded to play their best football of the night but they remained unable to really penetrate the Czech defence or fashion clear cut chances, their attempts on goal being generally ambitious from around 25 yards out. The best moves, and chances, ended with Defoe having half a yard inside the area to test Cech but both his efforts were too close to the keeper to cause real concern. Cech was not looking altogether happy on the sodden surface, however, and looked uncomfortable when dealing with speculative efforts from both Rooney and Gerrard. The more incisive football, mainly on the break, was still coming from the visitors, however, and one dangerous break, in which England were briefly outnumbered, ended with Radoslav Kovac shooting wildly over from the edge of the box. Right on half time England levelled in an almost depressingly familiar way. Beckham swung in a free kick which was headed behind and when the same player sent over the resulting corner Brown got in front of his marker to plant a header past Cech from close range. Half Time: England 1 Czech Republic 1 England made only one change at the interval, Emile Heskey coming on for Defoe, but made a sloppy start to the second half which set the tone for an abject final forty five minutes. Wes Brown played his side into trouble with a woeful pass that saw Jan Polac firing narrowly wide from the edge of the box and when the Czech's mounted their next attack Barry conceded a free kick on the edge of the box with a clumsy foul. With three Czech's on the end of the wall and David James crouching down behind it for the worst possible view Marek Jankulovski bent a sweet drive into the top corner. It's not fair to say that James didn't move, he did actually take a pace the wrong way before turning to concrete as the ball flashed into the roof of the net. A great free kick but that was the side of goal James was supposed to be guarding and he palpably didn't. Rooney, promising when coming deeper to set up play but unable to affect the game further forward, linked with Frank Lampard to play Garrard into the penalty area but the Liverpool man wanted to get the ball back onto his right foot rather than trust his left and was promptly robbed. David Jarolim blasted miles over for the Czech's before they wasted a glorious opportunity to punish embarrassing England defending. With a Czech player standing offside the England defence stopped as a long ball went down the left wing and completely failed to react as Vaclav Sverkos ran onto the ball from a patently onside position, Beckham being the man most at fault. David James made an ill judged decision to come right out to the touchline to intervene but was beaten to the ball and rounded with ridiculous ease by Sverkos who then panicked and shot weakly into the side netting with the England defence desperately trying to recover. The Czech's then produced a quality move with Plasil feeding Sverkos for a low shot which was saved, though not convincingly, by James. England tried to muster a late rally but their efforts had little more than, well, effort to commend them. Heskey nodded down a long punt forward for Stewart Downing to drill a low shot wide of the post before a couple of centres across the face of goal won England a corner deep into stoppage time. David Bentley whipped this into the middle and after a couple of ricochets, and one blatant offside that wasn't given, Joe Cole prodded an unconvincing shot goalwards which was miraculously turned into his own goal by a Czech defender. I'm not sure which one it was but he spared England's blushes by somehow kicking the ball into his own face as he fell backwards to send the ball into his own net. Thanks pal. The rumbling of booing which met the final whistle was an understandable reaction to this performance despite the late equaliser, however. Full Time: England 2 Czech Republic 2
England: D.James 3, W.Brown 3, A.Cole 3, G.Barry 2, R.Ferdinand 4 (J.Woodgate 5), J.Terry 3, D.Beckham 2 (J.Jenas 3), F.Lampard 2 (D.Bentley 3), J.Defoe 4 (E.Heskey 2), S.Gerrard 5 (J.Cole 4), W.Rooney 5 (S.Downing 4). Star Man: Steven Gerrard He probably doesn't want to play on the left but he was still, just about, England's most effective player. Both he and Rooney showed up to advantage, sporadically, but there is no structure or pattern to England's play designed to consistently involve these players in the areas where they do most damage.
Sunday June 1, 2008; International Friendly. Trinidad & Tobago 0 England 3 England: David James (Joe Hart 45), Glen Johnson, Wayne Bridge (Stephen Warnock 84), Gareth Barry, Rio Ferdinand (Phil Jagielka 45), Jonathan Woodgate, David Beckham (David Bentley 45), Stewart Downing (Ashley Young 57), Dean Ashton (Peter Crouch 45), Steven Gerrard, Jermain Defoe (Theo Walcott 69). There was undoubtedly a carnival atmosphere inside the Haseley Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain as the teams took the field for a game helping to mark Trinidad & Tobago's centenary celebrations. Unfortunately for the hosts it was England who came out of the blocks like the famous sprinter. All the early possession was England's with the home side sitting too deep and inviting pressure while allowing too much time and space on the ball for their opponents all over the pitch. David Beckham, restored as captain for this game, whipped in a dangerous early centre that was well defended by Kern Cupid. From that moment on, however, the right back would endure a torrid first half before being withdrawn at the interval. Steven Gerrard won England a free kick just outside the box but Beckham was unable to get his shot over an extremely big defensive wall. His effort did occasion Stern John, the man who blocked it, some genuine discomfort, however. England were being allowed to knock the ball around with freedom and the midfield quartet of Beckham, Gerrard, Gareth Barry and Stewart Downing were all able to settle into the game in some style. When Gerrard sent a longer ball forward into the channel for Dean Ashton to chase the forward laid it back to the supporting Beckham who fizzed a lovely first time centre across the face of goal which Jermain Defoe should have done more with than glance wide of the far post. Then came a really disappointing moment. England had been completely untroubled in the early stages but when a long ball was suddenly sent down the middle David James made a rash decision to come beyond his area to deal with a situation that Rio Ferdinand had under control and was obliged to lunge into a 50/50 challenge with Kenwyne Jones. James' awkward challenge took just about everything and Jones was forced to leave the field on a stretcher. With him went the home sides' chief attacking threat which was the last thing the boisterous crowd wanted to see. On this occasion the referee was content to allow James' intervention to go unpunished. In a competitive match he might not have been so lucky. Having survived this scare England resumed control and soon had the lead. A nice move down the left culminated in Downing chipping a precise ball through for the overlapping Wayne Bridge who picked out the run of Barry who volleyed home comprehensively from point blank range. Five minutes later it was two as Downing pierced the centre of the Trinidad defence with a low ball into Defoe who had so much time and space that he was able to get away with two dodgy touches before bobbling a left foot shot into the far corner of the net. At this stage there was a very real danger of things turning embarrassing for the hosts who were soon standing off and watching as Defoe sauntered towards the edge of the box for a low drive straight at Clayton Ince. This was more than the keeper could take and a prolonged volley of abuse towards his teammates seemed to have the desired effect as the home side finally began to apply some pressure to their visitors. The home side earned a free kick in a decent position but Carlos Edwards' effort deflected behind off the wall. The corner, hit low, produced a moments' panic in the England defence and Ferdinand required treatment after the ball was finally scrambled clear. Khaleem Hyland then produced the biggest cheer of the night with some slick footwork that baffled Gerrard who found himself in the referee's book for the foul that followed. Edwards whipped a good looking ball into the box but this was well defended by an England head. The home sides' improvement was then highlighted by their first shot on target. Keon Daniel tricked Glen Johnson on the left and his low centre ended with Darryl Roberts sending a snap shot at David James from the edge of the box. England responded and both their strikers missed decent opportunities within a couple of minutes of each other. First it was Defoe who cleverly lobbed the ball over a defenders' head from Gerrard's long ball before blazing way over the top and then Ashton was found by Beckham peeling off his man at the far post but his attempt to cushion a volley back across goal was badly spooned. England were finishing the half in a far more sloppy fashion than they had started it, however, although Downing did cut inside to test Ince with a low right footer from outside the area. The keeper had no trouble in dealing with that effort and was soon leaving the pitch for half time in company with Dean Ashton, no doubt reminiscing about their good old days at Gresty Road with Crewe. Half Time: Trinidad & Tobago 0 England 2 England made just the four changes at half time with Joe Hart, Ph |
