Now that the European Championships are done and dusted, the international scene will once again be focusing on the re-building job Fabio Capello is undertaking at FA headquarters in Soho Square.
His first few months in the job have allowed him to properly assess his squad in the knowledge that England would not have any competitive tournament football to play.
As disappointing as this failure inevitably was for all England fans, this could yet prove to be something of a blessing in disguise as it has given Capello vital time to prepare his squad and tactics for the forthcoming World Cup Qualifiers in September.
Capello is without doubt one the most astute coaches in world football today. Whilst his teams may not always play so-called "sexy" football, he has nearly always been ruthlessly efficient in the results department.
Before we discover whether Capello has a real chance of ending England's 42 year trophy-less run, there are a number of issues he must resolve.
The first is in goal. There are few who would argue that David James was the best English goalkeeper in the Premier League last season. However, at nearly 38 years of age, Capello needs to decide if he is really a viable option for the World Cup in 2010.
With talented young goalkeepers such as Chris Kirkland at Wigan Athletic and Ben Foster at Manchester United, this is certainly a selection dilemma for the Italian.
Add to this the fact that if Paul Robinson can rediscover his form and confidence he may also be able to once again force his way into the reckoning.
The defence nearly picks itself. John Terry and Rio Ferdinand will almost certainly form the central defensive partnership with Ashley Cole (in spite of his unpopularity amongst many fans) still clearly the best left-full back in the country.
The only doubt is with the right-back slot. I fancy that Gary Neville's international days are over although if he can prove his fitness at Old Trafford he still has a lot to offer the England squad.
Wes Brown has appeared to be Capello's favourite thus far but I would suspect Micah Richards may have something to say about that.
The real selection problems only really begin further up the field. The central issue is how Capello intends to use Wayne Rooney in order to get the best out of him.
Four years ago Rooney exploded onto the international scene with goals in Euro 2004 against Switzerland and Croatia. Despite his stock rising in the domestic game, Rooney has often found it hard to replicate his club form for Manchester United when playing for England.
Capello's preferred formation has often been 4-2-3-1 with two deeper lying midfield players, most probably Owen Hargreaves and Gareth Barry. The onus is then on the three advanced midfielders to support the lone striker.
If Capello does indeed pursue this tactic with England then it is likely Rooney will take up the lone striker position.
In this case it is imperative that he receives the support from the midfield to make England a force whilst on the attack. But who should this support come from?
It is probable that Joe Cole and Steven Gerrard will take up support roles from the left and through the middle respectively with the slot on the right-hand side more up for grabs. David Bentley is probably the favourite but David Beckham is still in the manager's thoughts.
However, if Capello decides that Rooney's best position is behind another main striker in the archetypal number 10 player-maker role then we could see England employ a 4-4-2. This would bring about the perennial conundrum of Gerard and Lampard in the same midfield.
It is clear to most England fans that they simply do not function effectively enough together as a central midfield partnership. Capello is a strong enough man to take this kind of tough decision. Lampard's below-par performances over the last two years could signal he is the likely candidate to drop out should England play 4-4-2.
This would mean that Owen Hargreaves or Gareth Barry would be able to keep their place in the side.
They are the kind of players that Capello likes as they are good passers capable of recycling possession. This has been one of England's major downfalls over the years. No doubt Capello will be emphasising the importance of ball possession to his midfield players. As the old adage goes: "Possession is nine tenth's of the law."
The final issue is the matter of the captaincy. I am sure Capello already knows who will be his captain for the World Cup qualifying campaign and it will be interesting to see who actually does lead the team out.
Personally, I think he will choose John Terry, but Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard are fine candidates as well.
So it is clear that Capello has a lot of hard work to complete before the qualifiers in Andorra and Croatia in September.
England have a talented squad and with Capello's wealth of experience and tactical nous, who would bet against him finding a winning formula. It is, however, time for these players to show just what they are capable of and deliver for an expectant, yet disillusioned, English public.
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3 months ago
England are just victim to the trends within the Premier League. In the top sides, it is the role of the foreign players to provide intelligent possession play and technical ability while the English player who make the first eleven are there to be blood-and-guts men who run around causing havoc. There are virtually no English players whose role in their side is to provide subtlety and intelligence of possession, and certainly none, other than Barry, who are close to making the England first team.
So I think they just find themselves a bit lost when they play together, they're all used to providing the end product to their club teams after the foreign lads have built up play.
from 3 months ago
Yeah I agree with you- the foreign players provide the intelligence of ball retention. Xabi Alonso at Liverpool, Makelele rarely wastes a pass at chelsea and we all know how talented fabregas is on the ball. However, Michael Carrick does a fairly invisible job at united- carefully picking his passes and not really giving the ball away - if only he could do it for england?
Once England learn to keep possession (a sign of maturity at international level) then they will be a much better side.
Again i agree that the premier league doesnt help england, not because of the amiunt of foreigners but because of the 100 mph style of play. Too often England are too hasty with possession whilst Rooney needs to learn to conserve energy with England if he is to become properly effective on the international stage.
2 months ago
I think England not qualifying for Euro 20087 was the best thing to happen to them. For too long, much of the team (and a lot of fans) have been of the opinion that they are so good, it's almost their right to win whatever tournament they turn up for. This lack of action in the summer, along with Capello's no-nonsense approach, might just make the difference.
I'm hoping Capello goes for new blood - the old guard have shown that they can't offer what is needed to make a winning team. Bring in the likes of Theo Walcott, Micah Richards, Ben Foster, James Vaughan, etc - these are the guys that will offer the excitement that England so dearly need to make an impact again.
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