A Two Man Tale: Only Gerrard and Rooney Can Light The England Spark

"Frustration and contemplation"

Last night at Wembley was a frustrating night as England were held to a 0-0 draw with minnows Montenegro.

Although England enjoyed long spells of possession at times it was the resilience, hard grafting yet sometimes cynical defending of Montenegro that kept England at bay.

Last night chances were created but chances weren't taken. Wayne Rooney had two glorious opportunities which he squandered, as did his strike partner Peter Crouch who should have anticipated the Glen Johnson cross in the second minute and should have done better with his header in the 16th minute.

It is easy to forget on this display that England were without several key players such as Terry. Lampard, Milner, Defoe and Bent - most of whom would have started that game. The team selection wasn't all that surprising and I was delighted to see Adam Johnson being started as I felt that was well earned on his part.

His first half display was commendable, he never got frustrated and continued to try and probe and worry the Montengrin defence. But the lad still is inexperienced and in the second half when frustration did begin to build he needed a leader to look to, sadly that "leader" was sixty yards behind him playing at centre back rather than alongside him and threatening to break the deadlock.

Removing Steven Gerrard as captain shouldn't affect a player of his talent and experience that much, but it did. It was a strange performance from him last night, rarely did you hear his name mentioned as he seemed to play far deeper than usual, sitting back with Gareth Barry at times.

Other frustrations were that Ashley Young and Adam Johnson were playing on the wrong flanks! Not only that, but Capello opted for route one football with Peter Crouch playing the donkey roll for Rooney to feed on to. That doesn't cut it at international level!

But the further frustration came when after a fairly flat first half performance... nothing changed! Did we see at any point Young and Johnson interchange right and left wing? No. Did we see Gerrard penetrating a physical but not highly talented Montengrin back four? Not once. Did we see Shaun Wright Phillips, Glen Johnson and Gareth Barry lose possession at regular intervals? Sadly, yes.

Sometimes I wonder whether Capello pays any attention when he watches back an England match. Clearly, from the friendly win against Hungary and the two wins against Switzerland and Bulgaria - Gerrard is a man who should play off the front two. The minute he did that against those three opponents he caused problems and scored goals - and probably saved the Italian's job.

But this is not a total war against Capello I'm making here. 

I understand he was limited. He did not have the hustle and bustle power of James Milner on the right. He was also limited on attacking options, Defoe and Bent out meant a powerhouse only operation on the bench with his striker and debutant Kevin Davies came on as a second half sub.

Also he still, despite his best efforts, doesn't have a fit and firing Wayne Rooney in the side. This is where I feel sympathy for Fabio, his hands are tied. He feels he has to keep playing Rooney because he is England's talisman alongside Gerrard.

He is the spark that feeds through the rest of the team but he's nowhere near doing that right now.

But if Capello was to substitute him (and England were still draw or even lose) then he would be bombarded with angry fans questioning his actions.

Nevertheless, this hasn't changed the fact that it's a two man tale with England right now. It seems to me that only Gerrard and Rooney can light the spark that gets England playing, that gets the fans excited and that gets results.

Neither of them fired last night so England didn't get the result.

Gerrard and Rooney have this ability which players like Beckham and Gascoigne had in the 1990s and the 2000s - this ability to set a game alight with one move, one shot, one pass, one free kick. Their reliance on Stevie and Wayne is even greater when Frank Lampard is out and when captain of the ship John Terry is injured.

So when we host the French, a side who we should beat in comparison with ability. Gerrard and Rooney need to be on top form, to inspire the younger front players that surround them and to get England back to winning ways.

England should ease through this qualification group - and they still can.