Adam Dennehey WAFU manager
England beat Spain, and the BBC made it sound like we were better than them! Ahem let’s just pause for a second and have a reality check! Firstly, what the hell was that formation?
When I saw the team, it seemed like 6 defenders plus Joe Hart with Theo Walcott, Darren Bent, Frank Lampard and James Milner chasing long punts upfield. That just left Phil Jones and Scott Parker protecting the back 4.
Of course when the game started it was, well just what I expected.
Is that really why the FA pays Fabio Capello £6m a year? It’s pub football. Frankly, being outplayed at home and holding out by packing the defence doesn’t prove anything at all.
What did I learn from the game?
Ashley Cole is positionally and possessionally awful. Phil Jagielka is not an international player. Jones isn’t a midfield player despite many pundits touting him to be one. Bent is a goal poacher and nothing more.
Sadly Walcott, Adam Johnson and Stewart Downing in effect are all the same player and not worth a place in the starting line-up. Capello it appears for a number of reasons to not know his best team, best formation or even best positions for the players who play.
All that is very negative, critical and unhelpful so let me try and be constructive.
Hart is a good keeper, and is clearly our No.1. He’s an 8/10 player and can only improve. Kyle Walker is our best right back, and a Smalling/Jones centre pairing is what we should use when fit. Leighton Baines is better than Cole but not an international fullback, so we need our left sided midfielder to defend.
Scott Parker is perfect at covering the back four, and in all fariness to him is a 7/10 player who gives 9/10 performances and has to start. We must create chances and retain possession in midfield, I don’t see Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard or Gareth Barry being better than Jack Wilshere and Tom Cleverley in front of Parker.
So we have to play 4-3-3 with the wide players coming back. James Milner will track up cover the left-back so I’d play him for that reason alone. Danny Wellbeck should play up top and Wayne Rooney to his right in the forward 3. That team would pass, win possession and threaten.
Can we win the Euros? Well not by playing pub football but this is a good result and I really hope it doesn’t encourage Capello to keep the defensive formation.
Frankly, Spain were miles better than us and we got a freak and undeserved result, don’t kid yourself that this was a great performance.
By Steve Burrows CBE @ifollowsteve
Good to know there are still some England fans who have not stooped so low to the point of thinking England had a great performance.Peple are saying we have so many quality players out so it will improve when Rooney,Wilshire,Young,Gerrard and whoever comes back,but in reality this was a defensive performance with a whole lot of defensive players so the moment attacking players come back into the starting 11 the big teams will maul England for sure.