England's Football Problems Lie with Team Selection

We are constantly bleating on about 1966 in this country—the fact is that since that great victory we have no doubt produced more talented players, had stronger squads, and yet we have never looked further away from repeating the feat of winning a major trophy.

In 1990 we had what I'd call a good World Cup tournament out in Italy. Our downfall, which now seems to be the outcome at all tournaments, was the inability to take a good penalty when the pressure mounted.

Looking back at that team though shows that Paul Gascoigne aside, we had a fairly average squad. By average, I mean that if those players were at their peak today, they'd struggle to get in the squad.

Would Des Walker get in ahead of Rio Ferdinand? Would Terry Butcher get in ahead of John Terry? The former will always be remembered for being covered in blood and playing on, but was he actually that good? Not really, well certainly not in the same league as John Terry anyway.

I'm not saying that all of the players were average. In Gary Lineker we had a goal machine, who always came up with a goal when needed. We has Chris Waddle who had a trick or two. Peter Beardsley was a good creative player, who seemed to link up well with the strike force, and Bryan Robson was very workmanlike.

Looking at today's squad though, we have some of the world's top players.

Steven Gerrard consistently shows for Liverpool that he is among the top three midfielders in the world, Wayne Rooney is certainly right up there with the best of them, in central defence we have so many top defenders that Jamie Carragher put himself into retirement as he wasn't getting a look in.

Add to those the likes of Frank Lampard, Michael Owen, and Owen Hargreaves, and it's amazing that we haven't succeeded, or even looked like succeeding in winning a trophy.

In my opinion there is only one reason for this, and it lies with team selection.

It all started with the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson. He was obsessed with getting his star players on the teamsheet regardless of the position they played in. He figured that with the best players on the pitch we would beat anybody.

This was obviously far from the truth and exposed early on when we were outplayed by Brazil at the World Cup in 2002.

People will blame the goalkeeper for being lobbed from 40 yards, but the blame should lie with the coach. His biggest mistake was picking David Beckham even though he was so far off match fitness he may as well have stayed at home.

The Steve Mclaren era should be struck off the record books—he was simply Sven's puppet boy, and things were never going to be different with him.

So along comes Fabio Capello, with a reputation for doing things his own way and not pandering to the stars. His style of play is already evident—England are retaining possession and are more patient—but i can't help thinking we are looking too Italian, with a style that says we must avoid defeat before we try to win.

Capello's only matches so far have been friendlies, but even so i've noticed a few flaws that make me feel hugely worried about the future. His team selection against the USA in particular made me tear my hair right out, and I don't have much!

Steven Gerrard has been criticised heavily for not recapturing his Liverpool form for England, yet the number of times he has been played out of position are far too many to lay blame on his shoulders—against the USA he lined up on the LEFT hand side of midfield.

David Beckham earned his place on the right hand side of midfield and Lampard and Hargreaves took up the central roles. The attack was not far from ideal, with Owen out of favour, Jermain Defoe was rightly selected to lead the line with Wayne Rooney providing support.

In truth, Defoe was fairly poor, but his lack of opportunities at this level may be the reason for it, I like the way he plays. He's an out-and-out striker.

Rooney was also criticised for his attitude and some poor tackling during the game, and this needs to be rectified by Capello. His talent is too great to be wasted, he needs to find the form the set him on his way at Euro 2004.

In defence the only weak link was at right back, with Wes Brown somehow making the starting 11 ahead of the much-improved Glen Johnson.

The goalkeeping situation has hopefully settled down with David James, for now at least, looking solid. Scott Carson needs a good season without the distraction of England to get himself back to the level that earned a call-up in the first place.

The performance against the USA was mediocre—they were a poor side in fairness, and we should have ripped them to pieces.

Gerrard was named man of the match, yet to me looked uncomfortable on the left; being right footed, he'd cut inside at most opportunites and against stronger opposition this would have been nipped in the bud from the start, thus taking him out of the game pretty much.

So the left side of midfield becomes a problem again, yet there is no reason for it. There are two players who should have been considered before Gerrard to play there.

Gareth Barry has been outstanding all season in central midfield for Aston Villa. He is a left-footed player though, and spent the early years of his career playing down the left-hand side. He would have looked far more at home than Gerrard, but even so he would have been my second choice after Stewart Downing.

The Middlesboro winger may not be "world class" in the slightest, but he is also left-footed, although his right foot is very strong too. He is very attack-minded and loves to go past his man—he gets to the touch line and puts crosses in.

Given the chance, he'd do well in this position.

The central midfield should contain Steven Gerrard along with either Barry or Hargreaves.

On the right of midfield, Beckham still deserves his place. David Bentley has been hyped to high heaven, but he simply isn't good enough. His attitude stinks and he is only worried about himself, and obviously doesn't listen to instructions! (I can't see Capello asking him to spray 70-yard passes at any opportunity, none of which landed at the intended destination).

The strike pairing has to be Owen and Rooney for the forseeable future, with Crouch and Defoe getting the nod should Owen go missing or get injured.

At the back, Ashley Cole is looking more like the Arsenal defender we remember, rather than the Chelsea defender we've come to know. Ferdinand has had a great season, and John Terry still looks strong when we need him.

Glen Johnson needs to be slotted into right back, though. He is strong, quick, and has matured into a great defender with the ability to get forward.

In goal, David James still has a few games left in him. This leaves us with a very strong bench consisting of the likes of Micah Richards, Frank Lampard, Crouch, Defoe, and many other players who could do a job if called upon.

The main point i'm trying to make is that playing a great player out of position isn't as effective as playing a good player in the correct position. A central midfielder should be played in central midfield!

If you have four players fighting for the same position, it can only be a good thing. If a player knows he'll get in the squad regardless of where, or how he plays, then this not good!

Lampard has not been as good as Gerrard, Hargreaves, or Barry, so he should accept he needs to be dropped and then push for a recall. Owen finished the season well, but Defoe could push him all the way for a place. Rooney hasn't been the same player we know, so if he doesn't buck his ideas up then Joe Cole can do his job well.

My first eleven for the next England Game would be:

James, Cole, Terry, Ferdinand, Johnson, Gerrard, Barry, Downing, Beckham, Rooney, Owen.

Subs: Kirkland, Woodgate, Joe Cole, Crouch, Defoe, Lampard.

Now looking at that lineup it seems weaker than what we have at our disposal, but it has balance, and players will know exactly what their jobs are...hopefully making the likes of Rooney, Gerrard and Co. to reproduce club form for their country!