Fabio Capello Must Ditch 4-4-2 To Give Rooney and England a Chance

December 2009: An impressive qualifying campaign followed by a favourable draw sent expectations for England’s tournament in South Africa through the roof.

Fast forward three months and while the wheels haven’t exactly fallen off the bandwagon, the axle is creaking ominously and a strong performance from the Three Lions at this summer’s tournament is looking far less likely.

Fabio Capello’s hard work to improve his squad's professionalism and discipline has been and will continue to be tested to the limit by the public scandal that forced the Italian to dramatically strip John Terry of the captaincy.

On the pitch, England’s stuttering display against Egypt is a cause for concern.

A notable feature of the match was the subdued outing by Wayne Rooney, who has been in unstoppable form for Manchester United for much of the season.

Capello has selected two strikers throughout the qualifying campaign and reiterated his intention of playing two up front at this summer’s tournament. Capello on Rooney:

"Can you play him on his own? No. Never. My style is always to play with two forwards, one very close to the other.

Received wisdom suggests that it would be folly to tamper with the winning formula that saw England qualify in such comfortable fashion.

However, their main opponents in qualification were a Croatian team that has regressed since reaching Euro 2008 at England’s expense and an average Ukraine team that inflicted their only defeat. The rest were also-rans.

If England are to harbour serious aspirations of challenging in South Africa, they will need to defeat opponents of the calibre of Germany, Argentina, Italy, and Holland, not to mention Brazil and Spain, the two clear favourites.

Capello may wish to play two up front, but the cold hard truth is that no English centre forward other than Rooney is of real international quality, and certainly not the world class standard required to undo the top defences they will encounter.

Rooney is enjoying his most prolific season to date in a lone role for United, who are prospering playing a flexible 4-3-3, with Rooney supplied by two advanced wide men, players who are capable of dropping back into a five-man midfield when United lose possession.

This is the formation of choice throughout Europe for a reason. Liverpool, although off colour this year, challenged strongly at home and abroad last season with Fernando Torres in a central role and Steven Gerrard playing off him, with Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso screening the back four and launching attacks simultaneously.

Chelsea, Inter, Real, and even Barcelona, with their embarrassment of riches on the pitch, play a variation of 4-3-3 or perhaps more accurately 4-2-3-1.

While England lack a top quality partner for Rooney, they do not lack talent in midfield and this is the area of the pitch where each match will be won or lost.

England’s defence looks vulnerable and they will need the midfield to retain and dominate possession

Capello regular Gareth Barry fits the bill but needs to be joined by Michael Carrick, who pulls the strings for Manchester United while guarding their defence and should be doing the same for England.

Inexplicably underrated and unpopular, Frank Lampard has been one of the best, most consistent midfielders in the world for five years and should fill a central role in the three of England’s 4-2-3-1.

Steven Gerrard should replicate his role at Liverpool, cutting in from the left and linking Rooney with the rest of the play by playing closely behind him.

The wide right spot goes to an in-form player with pace, any of Ashley Young, Theo Walcott or preferably Aaron Lennon. On form, the Spurs man is unplayable.

If Capello persists with 4-4-2, he risks England’s midfield becoming over-run and spending long periods of key games without the ball. Chasing possession has been the death of England against Brazil in 2002 and twice against Portugal in 2004 and 2006.

Neither Crouch nor Heskey has the pace to trouble the defences they will encounter. A under-manned midfield will seek to pick out the ineffective, isolated target man when under pressure, while Rooney will inevitably drift out of threatening positions in search of ball, all features of the insipid England displays under Eriksson and McClaren.

With 4-3-3, England will have the numbers and technical ability in midfield to contest and retain possession against the best in the world. With the ball won, they will have the players to create and exploit space in their opponents’ defence, something they are drilled to do every week with their respective clubs.

One of the best players in the world and in the form of his life, if Rooney stays fit he can fire England to the final, but Capello needs the courage to throw his current plan out the window.