A boring lack of ambition

As the minutes wore on and a goalless draw looked increasingly likely, my decision to shun The Apprentice to watch Manchester City choke their way to a stalemate against Manchester United fast became a mistake. From the offset this game promised to be anything but last season's 4-3 spectacle as United lacked the players in an injury ravaged squad and City simply lacked the ambition.

Surely there was no better time for the middle Eastlands money men to pull one over their rivals? Ryan Giggs missed his first derby for the first time in 19 years, Wayne Rooney was still rehabilitating in the USA and they were playing a team that, despite being unbeaten, had stuttered their way through the current campaign and rarely found their best form. City, in contrast, had the talismanic Carlos Tevez returning to the fore and a wealth of attacking riches and a bench worth more than many Premier League teams.

But it was there that they were reined in by caution and lack of intent. Roberto Mancini's men had the appearance of a side setting out not to lose rather than a side setting out to win. While caution may prove well at smaller clubs in getting a point, it should not be acceptable at a higher level and certainly not when so many millions have been spent on the squad. Liverpool taught us in their painfully narrow second placed finish that sometimes caution must be thrown to the wind to emerge triumphant - they doubled United and Chelsea that season and lost just twice, but 11 draws cost them the league. Compare that to United, who did not adopt just a defensive tactic when it mattered and, though they may have lost more, ultimately turned enough draws into wins to claim the title.

Which is why City's ultra-defensive approach to games is all the more baffling. Why start with three holding midfielders? Even teams at the latter stages of the World Cup were only employing two, and most of them did not have such attacking among their substitutes. Both teams played this game in a rather cagey, European style that was almost reminiscent of the 'can't lose the opening game' of the World Cup groups.

Any substitutes that were made were all like for like. When the game cried out for a little spark of creativity, Adam Johnson waited until there were just 17 minutes to play and replaced the lethargic James Milner. Aleksander Kolarov replaced James Boetang and, instead of throwing another striker into the mix with enough chance to make a difference, Emmannuel Adebayor replaced Carlos Tevez instead of accompanying him, and after the Togo striker took longer to get ready than a teenage girl he had just seconds to play. Why a £25 million striker is being used as a time wasting substitute must be infuriating to the fans.

City's defensive approach has alienated many of their attacking players already - Johnson has found himself isolated to the bench while Adebayor seems similarly frustrated. Roque Santa Cruz, who cost the club £18m, is already aiming for a January exit. Record signing Robinho soon wilted, and the club no doubt lost a chunk for their £32m outlay when he left for AC Milan. Craig Bellamy was another promising player to be shown the exit as first team opportunities become increasingly limited.

Now, I believe players should not moan about a lack of first team opportunities, but should rather muscle their way into the team. The best way to get in the starting XI is to impress in training rather than complaining to the tabloids. But City do not exactly experiment with their formation into a shape that would allow more opportunites for attacking players, and with Tevez instrumental to their results it seems, he is unlikely to be dropped. So how are their umpteen other strikers supposed to stay motivated?

It would be fair to say they should not complain given each week they receive what most people would hope for in a year, but it is understandable that someone will get frustrated at not being given the opportunity to do their job. Another point is that surely they had an idea of whether they would be a bit-part squad member or a starting XI player before they signed? If not then many must have been naíve.

Regardless of the reasons for attackers' frusrations, City's lack of ambition meant they failed to seize the opportunity to do one over their rivals. True, United were hardly any better themselves, but that misses the point - with increasing ambitions and the game at Eastlands, the onus was on the hosts to send a message, not just that they can compete with United but to close the gap at the top of the table. The chance has passed, and Mancini must surely unshackle his team in games to come if they are to realise their lofty ambitions sooner rather than later.

(Pictures: The BBC and AP)

Changing the elite

Just when the weekend results were starting to look predictably familiar, Arsenal went to Eastlands and taught Britain's newest group of millionaires how to play football. I watched the game and was as surprised as I was impressed by the way Arsenal ruthlessly dispatched Manchester City - last season's memories of Emmanuel Adebayor showing his love for his former team by stamping on Robin van Persie's face and running the length of the pitch to share his jubilation with visiting fans seemed distant.

I'd already written them off before the game - Arsenal always seem to get roughed up when they play physical teams, though it least at seems Bolton taught Jack Wilshere a thing or two about tackling. City have become the new rough boys, with midfielder Nigel de Jong preferring to somewhat modify Liverpool's anthem to his own 'You'll Never Walk Again'. With three defensive midfield powerhouses City always look hard to get at, but credit to Arsenal they bossed them from the start. The early dismissal of bad-Boy-ata obviously helped, but some games can be made more difficult and less open against ten.

City, worryingly for them, seem to struggle when they fall behind, and they must look to address this. Arsenal have been a 'promising' team for too many seasons, for too long merely threatening to show their potential - perhaps they have finally peaked and reached it? The days of their teenagers getting bullied in the North seem to have passed, and the team has matured both physically and mentally. Samir Nasri finally looks a quality player, and every season Cesc Fabregas stays is a benefit. Even Niklas Bendtner, who at one point looked like he'd sturggle to kick the ball into the right stand, seems to able to score freely. And surely every neutral enjoys watching City lose?

The only other shock result - which sadly should have been predictable a year ago - was Liverpool lumbering past Blackburn. Jamie Carragher continued to show his fine finishing skills, unfortunately in front of the wrong goal like usual. Sotirios Kyrgiakos is fast becoming the surprise hero of the doom and gloom, the cheap centre half scoring his second of the season and playing well at the back - who would have thought a £1m fourth choice player would be outscoring our £26m World Cup winning striker?

But Torres soon brought his goal tally level with the Greek's, and after Blackburn pulled one back the absent superstar popped up to fire home the winner, also making me pay for finally losing patience with him in my fantasy football team. And yet he celebrated like a naughty child being sent to his room without dinner. With all the elation and optimism of the new takeover by New England Sports Ventures and the action in the courts in London and Dallas, it was rather humbling for the players to remind us that Liverpool are still rubbish. Sigh.

No such trouble for Manchester United - despite the week of tabloid focus on Wayne Rooney showing the indecision of a woman choosing what to wear for a night out, they still managed to put two past Stoke. Javier Hernandez scored one of those ridiculous goals that you laugh at/fume at when it goes in on FIFA - depending if you score it or concede it - before Tuncay looked to be sending them home frustrated. I was disappointed to see 'Chicharito' (isn't that a pokémon?) pop up again minutes later to bundle home the winner and take three points from the Britania Stadium. But why does he have a nickname on his shirt? It does seem bizzare, but somewhat the norm for Latino players (Kaka, Robinho, Ronaldinho - none have their actual names). Will we see 'Evra' changed to 'French Mutineer', 'Scholes' changed to 'Ginger Ninja' and 'Rooney' changed to 'Shrek'?

No doubt everyone watched the whole Rooney saga unfold with some bemusement - how you can say all your fellow employees are crap and then run back into their arms is beyond me. Alex Ferguson had already appeared the tearful father on television and Rooney's mafioso advisors issued a statement saying they 'lacked ambition' and there weren't assurances about 'future investment in the squad'. Maybe having won almost every trophy on offer before your 25th birthday isn't enough?

But he sharply about turned, obviously because of assurances of investment rather than money, and set off to Dubai to patch things up with his forgiving wife and spend Average Joe's weekly earnings on lunch. People raging about the size of his salary - speculated to be between £160k and £250k a week - have every right to be angry with such ridiculous amounts being paid, but do rather miss the point that being a private company makes Man Utd unaccountable. Were it the BBC director general or a politician then they would have every right to complain, but in this situation the best way is to complain with the wallet by not buying merchandise or funding the television deals that allow this spending and allow Rooney to chortle as the computer screen while watching the numbers on his bank account increase like a clock in fast forward.

There were of course more games involving the top sides, but what can be said about Chelsea that isn't an old and riddled cliché? They edged past Wolverhampton Wanderers with even manager Carlo Ancolotti admitting they weren't at the best - the sign of true champions as all on Match of the Day will gladly remind us each time Chelsea don't win by more than two goals. They do look formidable and difficult to stop, and no doubt likely to retain the title.

Tottenham Hotspur are looking increasingly stronger and consistent week by week, earning a credible draw when they hosted Everton after Gareth almost Bale'd them out at the San Siro mid week. Rafael van der Vaart is fast becoming the signing of the summer, and I doubt Harry Redknapp would want to swap him for Joe Cole now. Despite Spurs' struggles they are finding their consistency, and have a squad that make not just Liverpool but also Manchester United somewhat envious.

Spurs gatecrashed the top four last year, but can they do it again? City have been keeping pace at the summit of the table and threaten to challenge for the title, not just the top four. Arsenal have matured into a side that may do more than just fade away at Christmas, while Chelsea continue to look invincible - though City have proven this isn't the case. Manchester United have been scraping by and don't seem the powerhouse of old, while Liverpool are struggling to even aim for the top half of the table. Three years ago the 'Big Four' was a fixed and rigid phenomenon - after last year's change and City's spending, it may never be the same again. We seem to be developing a much more fluid league, and though it may be a while before we have competition for the title, we certainly seem to have a league where more and more teams can harbour realistic ambitions of breaking into the Champions' League.

(Picture: The Daily Mail - Ian Hodgson)

Toothless and useless

From high up in the North London sky, I watched with increasing disappointment as the clock ticked down and thoughts of if I should have kept my wallet a little heavier instead of travelling to Wembley stadium on a Tuesday evening increased. I've been to a few miserable England games, but this was one of the most regretful. At least when it was 0-0 at half time to Kazakhstan and I was trying to remember Borat's national anthem we came out in the second half and stuck five past them. This time we just hoofed it up to Peter Crouch and passed it to Adam Johnson in the hope he would do something special. Well the fight that broke out on the row in front of me almost made four hours of driving, a £30 ticket and £10 for a burger and chips worthwhile. As Wembley emptied prematurely in droves, I stuck it out to the final whistle with hope, after seeing last gasp goals from Portman Road to Bramall Lane, but none was forthcoming here.

Where to start after an eerily familiar display? Adam Johnson looked lively but is frustratingly inconsistent, not surprising considering his age. Hopefully he hasn't been labelled as our country's next saviour too soon. With leftie Adam Johnson on the right we were stuck with rightie Ashley Young on the left, who showed pace but a lack of confidence to cross - this tactical mistake slowed down play as the wingers either cut inside or delivered poor crosses. Save for his penalty box dramatics, it wasn't an awful display but hardly an inspiring one either.

In the middle, Steven Gerrard ghosted in and out of the game. He did provide the occasional Hollywood pass that our strikers failed to capitalise on, but nothing of game changing significance. Bit difficult to maraud through a midfield to goal when you have 10 other players blocking your path in a formation that may provide a tactical inspiration for Craig Levein's Scotland. Gareth Barry lacks the discipline to stay back as an anchor, resulting in Gerrard having to be restrained and nullified. Well it could have been worse - Frank Lampard could have been fit.

Left back Ashley Cole hardly bathed himself in glory either in what was a quiet night. On the other side of the pitch, Glen Johnson is becoming more and more of a liability with each game for club and country - if anyone can suggest an English right back whose last name isn't Neville then we may well have a new candidate. Rio Ferdinand looked solid enough at centre half, though it is questionable if he will remain fit to captain the team throughout the campaign. My initial reaction at hearing the name of England's second most expensive defender on the team sheet was to groan, but Joleon Lescott was not as bad as I had expected, and may even be on the way to becoming worth a fraction of his £24 million pricetag. Joe Hart was reliable at the back, though that's not saying much when he didn't have a save to make all evening.

The real problems were upfront. Despite Wayne Rooney's brief resurgence is Basle, he looks a shadow of the player who single handedly carried Manchester United to the brink of success last season after his notorious activities with certain women of the night. A bit of confidence and England would have had three points and more delusions of grandeur - instead we are left wondering why we can't beat a country with a population smaller than Leeds that has only been a footballing nation for four years. The most effort seemed to be in sprinting back to do the sort of atrocious fowl I would do when getting angry with the computer on FIFA 11, and he was fortunate not to receive a red card for that. Peter Crouch did not fare much better - he may be good to panic opposition as an impact substitute, but once they realise he is no better in the air than the average player then his usefulness soon diminishes. Crouch is better with the ball at his feet rather than his head, so it is curious why England persist in hoofing long balls up to him.

As for subsitiutes, there much hardly much shock and awe on the bench. Kevin Davies' wife cried when he received his call up, and she probably wasn't the only one. The rough'n'tumble centre forward soon lived up to his reputation of getting more bookings than goals in six of the last eight seasons, getting a yellow card and not scoring on his debut. I've nothing against the man, but how are we to build for the forward with 33 year olds getting call ups? As for Shaun Wright-Phillips - why? It's a travesty he gets near an England shirt, and would look more comfortable sat on the bench in the Championship. He continued to fall over and ping crosses to nowhere, whit supporters saying 'at least he works hard' - well give me an England shirt and £60k a week and I'll work my socks off, though I'd still be useless.

Perhaps it's time to admit England are a second rate team? Despite hope and expectation we're a long way short of the Spains and Brazils, and our lack of depth was exposed with injuries. A Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent probably would have scored at least one of those chances, John Terry would look more assured than Lescott, and a toddler would do a better job at right back at the moment. But there is no reason to despiar for the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign - England will probably still qualify, even top of the group, and in liklihood will win in Montenegro - can they possibly be that negative in front of their own supporters? Wales are next, and are fast becoming the whipping boys of the group with even more insipid displays than England, and wins in Cardiff and Wembley should be easy enough. We just need a bit more imagination, clinical finishing and strength in posession right now so as not to come unstuck against every five man midfield we come across.

(Picture courtesy of The Daily Mail)

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.