Montenegro vs. England: 5 Things Fabio Capello Learned in Euro 2012 Qualifier

After qualifying for their first European Championship finals since 2004, you would think England would be hailed as heroes by their fans and media.

Well, not quite.

The team throwing away a two-goal lead in Montenegro and Wayne Rooney getting sent off for his country for the second time in his career somewhat dampened the joy at England gaining the point they required to reach next year's finals in Poland and Ukraine.

Manager Fabio Capello now has 10 months with which to best prepare his squad for their second tournament under his leadership.

With that in mind, the Italian boss must remember several things that he learned on his trip to Podgorica.

No Wayne Rooney, No Direction

Rooney's red card for a petulant kick at the calf of Miodrag Dzudovic means he will definitely miss at least the first game of the group stage next June, perhaps more depending on how referee Wolfgang Stark relays the incident in his report.

That is obviously a blow for Capello, as he will have to prepare for his second and final tournament without his undoubted star man and only truly top-drawer player.

What makes the sending off all the more frustrating is that it came from nothing more than Rooney losing the ball. After being given free reign in the first half, the closer attentions of Dzudovic after the break were enough to see his influence greatly reduced, and that ultimately led to Montenegro's late leveller.

England have a whole host of other talented players, but they are too conditioned to look towards their talisman for inspiration, to give him the ball and hope he makes something happen. 

That they caved in his absence against Montenegro does not bode well should the same situation arise against Germany, for example, next summer.

He Must Find a Plan B

If there is a positive for Capello to take from the loss of Rooney, it is that he has found out months in advance that he will be denied his services for the start of the tournament. Had he lost him through injury towards the end of the season, he would have had far less time to work on a Plan B both in his head and on the pitch.

He now has a clutch of friendlies in which he can work with his players on the training ground and for periods in games on playing without the Manchester United forward.

Rather imposingly, that run starts with the visit of world and European champions Spain to Wembley next month. What had been booked as a prestige friendly to be used as a test of Capello's strongest side is now the first opportunity for him to evaluate how well his team can survive without Rooney against top opposition.

Of course, Rooney will play against Spain if fit—surely even Alex Ferguson would not deny him that—but if he only plays 45 minutes then perhaps that is no bad thing.

If he really wants to clutch at straws then Capello can look at the example of Andrei Arshavin. The Russian was suspended for the start of the Euro 2008 campaign for a similarly stupid red card to Rooney's in his final qualifying game, but came into the side and starred as he led them all the way to the semi-finals.

He Is Not Infallible

England's terrible showing at the World Cup last year can be attributed to several factors, but the debacle in South Africa did show up Fabio Capello as a novice at international level.

For all he has achieved in the game at club level, he came out of his first major summer tournament as a manager knowing there were lessons to be learnt.

How he must feel after seeing his team's two-goal lead slip is probably not difficult to guess, but he will be most frustrated with the fact that he let it happen.

Montenegro's Branko Brnovic responded well to his side going two goals down, knowing full well that he could not chance having to go for a win in Switzerland on Tuesday in order to secure a playoff place when he could do so in his own back yard.

To that end, he reacted to England's attacking set-up by letting right-back Vladimir Bozovic push further forward, allowing the midfielders to press tighter on Rooney. It worked a treat, with the home side eventually securing a draw that confirms their place in the playoffs.

What makes it more impressive is that this was Brnovic's first ever match in charge, having been promoted from assistant manager after Zlatko Kranjcar was sacked last month.

So, in summary, the great Fabio Capello was tactically outwitted by a manager in his first ever match in charge. The England boss has been dealt as much of a cautionary lesson as his players.

Theo Walcott Remains an Enigma

The most remarkable thing about England's opening goal was not the fact that it was Ashley Young's fourth for his country in seven international appearances, but that it was set up by an inch-perfect curling cross from Theo Walcott.

This was a big night for the Arsenal forward in his international career. The game in Podgorica came just a night after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored a hat-trick for England's Under-21s, and thoughts of the 18-year-old putting pressure on his own place at international as well as club level must have been in the back of Walcott's mind.

England's timidity when playing at home and their relative ease in away matches is summed up perfectly by Walcott, whose only three international goals came in that stunning hat-trick in Croatia. Despite that treble in one of Capello's first matches in charge, he ended up being left behind for the trip to South Africa, such is his inconsistency.

His cross last night was so good that Young did not even have to move his feet or even jump to nod it home at the far post. Walcott will have to produce such moments on a far more regular basis if he is to avoid being snubbed by Capello for a second tournament running.

Darren Bent: Does Exactly What It Says on the Tin

As they say, you can use statistics to prove almost anything, but these figures concerning Darren Bent's performance are particularly telling:

1. Bent's goal against Montenegro was his fourth in his last five England appearances.
2. In his 65 minutes on the pitch, Bent completed just two passes.

Bent is as much of an out-and-out striker as you could hope to find in the Premier League. The vast majority of his time, both for Aston Villa and England, is spent on the shoulder of the last defender, focused intently on waiting to make a timely run on to a pass forward. Perhaps he will be briefly distracted by having to make the odd lay-off with his back to goal, but in essence he is paid very handsomely to shoot and little else.

His record shows there is little wrong with that, however. Since the start of the 2009-10 season, Bent has scored 43 goals in 80 league appearances, so it is clear that he does his job well.

Capello neglected to take the most consistent English striker to the last major tournament, but on this form he cannot do the same again. He just has to make his peace with the fact that Bent is there to score goals, and nothing else. In the world of international football, where you have to have to possess plenty of adaptability within your squad, perhaps that makes him a luxury player.