Capello blunts critics' axe

In the aftermath of the 'disasterous' South Africa campaign, the inquest and nfinger pointing was qucik to begin. Of course, it was all manager Fabio Capello's fault. It had little to do with the players that neither Steve McClaren nor Sven-Goran Eriksson could inspire to the glory we have come to expect of them. Too much time spent along in hotel rooms. Deprived of their families - despite the complaints of their presence in Baden Baden in 2006. The FA shouldered some of the blame for rushing into ensuring Capello remained in his post after June by remlving the break clause that could have seen him flying dirctly back to Milan. Now it would cost in excess of £6 million to boot out the cold foreigner the proud Brits didn't want in charge - money the FA could ill afford given that they are penning as many dates in the Wembley calendar as possibe to repay the construction debts and seemingly relaying the farm field of a pitch every week.

And so, with the calls mounting for Capello to 'show some dignity' and quit - after two competitive defeats - he had the perfect opportunity to silence his critics in the best way possible - with football. The display against Hungary last month has hardly been a cause for optimism - the only positive not was that stand in captain Steven Gerrard had performed his Liverpool role of dragging a lifeless team to victory with a virtuose individual few minutes. And there were mixed feelings with so many of the old guard - captain Rio Ferdinand and Chelsea stalwarts John Terry and Frank Lampard - absent through injury. Perhaps it really was time for the new dawn of English football?

Whatever mistakes Capello made during his time in South Africa, he got almost every decision spot in for these two games. What better way to respond to criticism than with a resounding win over Bulgaria? Only 12 months ago sucha result would have been taken for granted but now, after the summer and a crushing defeat to Germany, who finished third in the tournament, we were back to the doom and gloom of expecting insipid displays that earned nothing against these teams.

Instead we were treated to another fine display and soon forgot about the absence of the old guard. There were refreshing changes, both in terms of who was playing and the new roles for the old timers. Gerrard looked anew in his preferred central role, picking out the pinpoint passes that were largely absent in a World Cup campaign that saw the strikers left isolated or falling back deep to get involved in the play. Jermain Defoe was clinical in putting his chances away to bag England's first competitive hat-trick since Theo Walcott's memorable night in Zagreb. Defoe has always been one of England's best finisher - he does fall shot in other departments, rarely making chances himself or getting involved in play to the same extent as Wayne Rooney, but given chances he will score goals.

Walcott himself was welcomed back and seemed to prove evidence that he should have flown out to Bloemfontein as one of the 25. Joe Hart also showed why he should have been in goal for that campaign, instead of the error-prone Rob Green or the past-it David James. Hart's development over the last several seasons has been phenomenal, turning from a reserve keeper loaned out to lower Premier League or Championship sides to the first choice for his country and the highest spending team in the league. Phil Jagielka is another strong candidate to be regularly making the starting XI after two near flawless displays, the Everton defender showing the form that made his side pay £6 million to sign him from Sheffield United after the Blades' relegation.

Adam Johnson was restricted to a substitute's appearance, but wasted no time in showing his class. The winger is one of these players that seems to have been born to play for England and effortlessly made the step up in class. His goal was speculative, but it was good to see a player with confidence to take that sort of shot on. His rise has been meteoric and similar to Hart's, signing from Championship contenders Middlesbrough in January for what now looks like a bargain, believed to be around £7 million. With both him and Hart aged 23, both are exciting prospects with great potential. If they can stay injury free and keep improving then, along with the likes of Walcott and others, perhaps we can have a whole new 'Golden Generation'? How ironic that of all the hundreds of millions spent at middle Eastlands, it it the two players from the lower English divisons - Hart just £700,000 from League Two - that have established themselves as two of the team's stars in amongst all the 'galacticos'.

After trouncing Bulgaria, the sheepish critics were now saying this was expected against a team ranked a lowly 43rd in the World Rankings. Switzerland would provide a sterner test - they were the only side to have beaten World Champions Spain in Durban, and surely could give England the run around. The 17th placed team were seen as England's main competitors in a group we were again expected to top.

To make matter more difficult before kick off in Basel news broke of Rooney's happy times spent with different ladies of the night. Would he be able to play effectively? Had this ruined his World Cup? The two thoughts seemed contradictory given his hand in all four goals against Bulgaria at Wembley. Gerrard gave an assured press conference about how Rooney would be ready to play and how others were not in a position to judge him. After all, if England chose players based on the accuracy of their moral compass, would we even be able to field a starting XI? Defoe has been caught up to no good in a car, Gerrard was cleared of his pub punch up, Ferdinand was too busy buying jumpers to attend a drugs test, Ashley Cole relaxes by sending naked pictures of himself to other women and John Terry committed the henious crime of having an affair with the ex-girlfriend fo a team mate, who obviously still thought he should have a say in what his ex-partner got up to. Even St Beckham had the whole Rebecca Loos incident.

This time it was Rooney who promptly answered his critics, firing home the opening goal in just ten minutes. The incident was somewhat ruined by Walcott's tumble, though it is welcome news to hear that he is only likely to be out for two weeks. Another concern is why so many of Arsenal's players seem to be made of glass? Each season they seem to have at least ten of their starting XI missing half of the campaign, and each season at least one player has a leg snapped like a toothpick by one of the rough'n'tumble teams. While the latter is not the club's fault for others taking an agressive approach, why they have a disproportionate number of players absent through niggles and minor injuries is surely concerning to fans.

After struggling to make the Swiss crumble (pun intended) with the second half wearing on, Adam Johnson again showed his class and cool composure to round and slot past Diego Benaglio to double England's lead. It was another sublime pass from Gerrard that created the opportunity as England were gelling well. Hart made a few blunders that could have cost England but was helpless to stop Xherdan Shaqiri's spectacular goal reducing the deficit. Glen Johnson looked strong going forward and was unlucky not to score, though like many others I have reservations about his defensive capabilities - would he not be better as a right winger? Gareth Bale has turned from mediocre to world class by moving a few yards further up the field.

Joleon Lescott looked able but still short of the £24 million City paid for his signiture. Milner is another who looks able of holding his own at City, who have made a mockery of the suggestion theya re ruining English football by frequently fielding seven England internationals in their starting XI. Ashely Cole is another class performer who has been consistantly brilliant for England. Even Gareth Barry looked like he may have ability he forgot to bring to South Africa, and if he can remain the anchorman with Gerrard pushing forward we could have a dangerous midfield (minus Lampard, of course).

England were somewhat fortnate with the referee, not giving red cards to the Three Lions players or giving penalties while assisting them by dismissing Stephan Lichtsteiner. I was glad to see Darren Bent again show good composure and finishing to wrap up the win for England. He has been a top player for Sunderland but always failed when given the rare opportunity to shine on the international stage. This time he seized it, taking an important goal well, and can hopefully grow from that to become a compeitive striker for England.

However, after these two wins lets not get carried away with a wave of euphoria and optimism. Yes, England should have won these games and did. Did the World Cup humbles us that much? Unlucky against the USA, admittedly dire aganst Algeria, should have scored more against Slovenia and then hammered by a vibrant and strong German side that finished third, and even in that the team were unlucky with a few decisions. England are ranked seventh in the world - so to often reach quarter finals is a fair reflection.

England are like Andy Murray, usually doing the job and sweeping aside lower rank sides but falling short against the better sides. Murray, with the odd exception, will beat the players below him to steadily progress to the semi finals, but will invariable fall short agianst the Rafael Nadals and the Roger Federers of tennis. Especially on the big stage of the Grand Slam - even if he beats one, he falls short against another. Just as England beat the lower ranked sides in qualifying, they fall short on the big stage against the Germanys and the Portugals of world football.

It is difficult to assess Capello's success at international level - he is not the failure the tabloids deem, and I feel was both unlucky and unfortunate at a world cup where expectations were unrealistically high. One supporter said his record compared to club football would see England with a win ratio to win the league, but that's unfair as clubs regularly face teams of similar ability while international teams only play other top sides at the latter stages of biannual tournaments due to the seeding system, so arguably we will not be able to assess England again until Poland and Ukraine 2012. Hopefully we can see the side progress and be strong for that competition - the critics will at least have some relief knowing that Capello will step aside regardless of how we perform in the tournament. Hopefully now the country can be united in support and measured in cautious optimism, if not expectation.

(Picture: Reuters)

Four-four-who?

Four-four-two doesn't work. Well, that's what all the 'experts' say anyway. Experts like ITV pundit Adrian Chiles, whp prides himself on not being able to differenciate between new goalkeepers Scott Loach and Frankie Fielding - just what you want from your pundit, eh? Why a man who was never anything more than a sofa warmer on the One Show could pretend to know about football for ITV is beyond me.

But hold on....don't Spain play with Torres and Villa? Brazil with Robinho and Fabiano? Didn't Tottenham clinch fourth last season by playing an adventurous two up front last season? Didn't Man Utd outclass Chelsea in the Community Shield with two up front? Is 4-5-1 that effective anyway? Is it much different to 4-3-3? Talk of 4-4-2 being a redundant system is futile - many argue their club operating such a system. The belief is often that a team must have a strong midfield in order to dominate a game an play possession 'tiki-taka' football.

But is this really the best style of football? It's one perfected by Barcelona and Arsenal, and Spain at the World Cup. However, it has been shown how easy it is to counter this type of football by any Mourinho-esque team - one that is well disciplined and organised. Such teams let the opposition pass pass pass pass all game long and then use their few chances to break quickly and score. They don't even have to be good teams to do this - as Switzerland proved in South Africa. Inter Milan proved to be ruthlessly effective against Barcelona in last year's Champions' League. Arsenal often complain that the likes of Stoke and Bolton get a result against them by playing defensive and aggresive football.

And unless a team is the best there is at passing football, why attempt it?Arsenal were torn to shreds against Barcelona for trying to play the same style as them. And doesn't pass pass pass get boring? Football is about scoring goals, and Spain scored eight in the entire World Cup, progressing through the kock out stages with four 1-0 victories. Personally, my favourite style of football is fast and direct - moving the ball into the attacking third and creating chances as quickly as possible. Chelsea and Man Utd perfected this to crush a naíve Arsenal last season. Germany perfected this art to cruch both England and Argentina, taking the lead and then providng ruthless on each counter attack. For all the excitement of adopting a 4-5-1, the commentators quickly highlighted that Wayne Rooney looked isolated with little support, a direct result of the new formation they were praising!

Anyway, that's how I'd like to see England play. But they didn't get on too badly last night. Though I won't get too carried away with a narrow win over a team ranked 62 in the world, it was pleasing to see the new team of Arsenal's 12 year olds get the result. It seems ironic that the North London team, who for so long seem to have acted as a front for French immigrants, is now supplying the new youth of the England team.

The pundits didn't hesitate to overblow the importance of the game - the black and white highlights of Hungary's 6-3 win in 1953 was becoming almost as tedious as hearing about North Korea's 1966 heroics when Eusebio inspired Portugal to come from three goals behind to beat the Asian country. But Hungary have since declined, though still never looked too troubled by what FIFA believes is the world's seventh best team in the first half.

After the break, England still looked complacent. It took a fluke of a goal by the visitors to inspire them. Ironic that they were awarded a goal that didn't cross the line after England exited the World Cup largely due to a goal that did cross the line going unrewarded. That goal made Steven Gerrard believe for five minutes that he had a Liver Bird on his breast instead of Three Lions, and two moments of brilliance inspired England to victory.

Of the players that came along, they at least looked promising. Though I wish this fans' attitude of 'as long as they play with heart it's okay' would end - I would play 'with heart' for England but I'd still be hopeless and most fans (I'd hope) wouldn't be happy. Yes we want heart, but skill is more important. All the wingers that played last night didn't look fantastic - too often to Ashley Young and Theo Walcott do a Wright-Phillips and run to the byline, look confused, then either hit a cross straight into the nearest defender or try and dribble it in and lose possession. We need another Beckham who can send in a pin point cross and create chances. Though I'm not sad to see his enforced retirement, a story gained from Capello mumbling an answer that looked like he didn't understand the question but felt obliged to answer rather than say 'pardon?'.

Bobby Zamora came close to capping a debut with a goal, and Rooney looked sharp to finish his early chance, albeit offside. And he had maintained his sense of sarcasm, clapping himself when substituted as nobody else in the 70,000 strong crowd would. Joe Hart made a good late save, but you know if that had been any other Engliash goalkeeper that ball would have deflected back to Zoltan Gera for an equaliser. The irony was that Gerrard, the player who said even he would have booed England, was the one to leave to raptorour applause. We also need to remember that players like the exiled Walcott and retired Wayne Bridge, Paul Robinson and Wes Brown aren't going to get any better now that they're not playing, as many players seem to improve in their absence.

Despite the large number of fans, there were still around 18,000 empty seats with the prawn-sandwich brigade always returning from half time after 60 minutes instead of 45. So some parts of Wembley seemed to resemble the DW Stadium when the 12 or so Wigan residents who couldn't get tickets to Old Trafford had to put up with the standard fare offered closer to home, where they toss a coin to see if they will witness their team beat the title challengers, get hammered by a mid table side or narrowly lose to gift one of the promoted sides their first and only away win of their season. Though despite the empty seats, there were still more England fans at Wembley than other teams' supporters at their friendlies - and the players say they need more support!

One problem for this performance is, how do we know if England are any good? We stormed through World Cup qualifying, humbling the 'mighty' Croatia - twice -before folding on the big stage. Even if we easy to Euro 2012, can we expect the team to perform there?

In my opinion, the main two problems were the lack of a creative midfielder and a defensive midfielder. Gerrard and Frank Lampard are both great at making surging runs, but neither can make those pin-point passes that Beckham could or have the support they do at club level. We need a Xavi, whose selfless passing sets others free. We also need a good defensive midfielder - Gareth Barry's positional sense gave Mesut Ozil acres of spaces in Bloemfontein. Owen Hargreaves filled that role, but his injury problems mean he may never play at the top level again. Another issue is the lack of total football - the players seem to have insufficient positional space to adopt to different formations and systems. Fans say Gerrard and Rooney, our 'World Class' stars, must play in their club positions. But real World Class players - David Villa, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo - adopt to any position and work effectively there to support their team.

Obviously we saw no passion from Capello when England equallised and went ahead - he looked like he'd just been told about Italy's score the day before. And of course, now he isn't untouchable, we care about these things. Some say we should have an English manager, but how quickly people forget how that turned out last time! We're stuck with Capello due to the bankrupt FA - now lets hope he can restore his reputation and turn England from a farce into a force.

(Picture - Reuters)

Keeping an eye on Premier League transfers, Stoke splashed a record £8 million signing Trinidad and Tabacco striker Kenwyne Jones from Sunderland. Also, Ricardo Carvalho will be able to fulfill his wish of 'swimming across the sea' to join old mentor Mourinho and his Real revolution.