Apart from the usual newspaper grumbling, there seems to be a distinct lack of huffing and puffing from the fans after England’s 0-0 home draw with Montenegro at Wembley. Is it the sign of a new-found realism spreading rapidly through the nation? Is it an acceptance that, yep, that was about right for a team that finished the game relying on Kevin Davies and Shaun Wright-Phillips to open up a resolute defence? Or is everyone watching the Chilean miner rescue instead, vaguely recalling an hour or two spent contemplating the wisdom of Andy Townesend and Adrian Chiles last night?
Fabio Capello, for such an experienced manger, was found wanting against Montenegro. Often he has tweaked a central midfielder’s positioning at half time, or improved England’s performance slightly with his second-half substitutions, but last night everything was either left alone or, in the case of the personnel changes, drearily predictable. The introduction of SWP on the left as a replacement for Ashley Young will have been foreseen well in advance by Zlatko Krancjar and his improving team, and they would probably have given it the level of concern in preparation for the match that it merits. That particular substitution seems to be stuck in a terminal pattern of not actually working; so ineffective it seems generous to label it ‘a cameo’.
An out-of-sorts Peter Crouch struggled to impose himself on the game at all, though he may privately complain about being incorrectly used as a target man yet again, and he made way for Davies’ first cap with twenty minutes or so remaining. The irony here is that Davies seemingly received more accurate passes into his feet between coming on and the final whistle than Crouch had received in the entire previous 70 minutes.
The Bolton forward has been around so long it was kind of a pleasure to see him rewarded for his top level longevity, but although he got involved in the game quickly it seemed that he was more likely to get a straight red than a winner. His elbow to Dzudovic’s throat may have been accidental but it was the lasting memory of his peculiar international debut. It was a something-to-tell-the-grandkids-about twenty minutes.
Pic: This is exactly the kind of thing England have been crying out for in the modern day. ‘Ave it, longhair!
With a poor bench at Capello’s disposal, changes to the shape of the team became so much more important last night, with Steven Gerrard far too withdrawn to make any great impact in the game. Sadly such positional alteration didn’t materialise, the manager inanimate on the bench, possibly contemplating that pleasant palm tree and beach in 2012. Gerrard’s contribution was tempered by his positioning, and though he kept basic possession well, the 30-40 yard defence-splitting passes he tried from inside the centre circle failed, as you’d expect with three Montenegren midfielders lying in wait, like waves breaking against a rocky shore.
Would it not have been better to have moved Gerrard further upfield in the second half, between the midfield and attack? He may have linked more with the deep-lying Rooney that way, or in turn it could have allowed Rooney to move further upfield, closer to the isolated Crouch. It’s hardly a novel idea, either. As recently as August this move paid dividends for Capello in the second half of the friendly against Hungary, when Gerrard scored two great goals after the manager pushed him further upfield.
As it was Gerrard hovered near Gareth Barry on the halfway line, controlling possession but offering little in the way of a threat on goal as a result. The pairing were often joined by Rio Ferdinand, who seemed to enjoy bringing the ball out from defence with time and space at his disposal, given the fact that back four only had one man to mark all game. Ferdinand’s forays to the half way line, coupled with Barry’s presence, meant there was no pressing need for Gerrard to be in the vicinity, and he should have been 15 yards further up the pitch.
The presence of Jack Wilshere on the bench makes the lack of changes to the midfield even more galling. Wilshere is rapidly looking like the kind of player that can unlock the tightest of defences in an Arsenal shirt, though it would perhaps have been unfair to look to someone so young to solve England’s problems with more lauded and experienced players on the field. But if Wilshere is removed from the under 21s and on the bench he must be considered ready by the managerial team to be thrown on in a time of need. Could the dismal Barry not have been sacrificed last night? The Man City man may have the advantage of experience, but Wilshere is the form player, and England will never give the younger players enough experience prior to the next tournament – whenever that is – if they are not introduced in such situations.
Capello has explained that he considered bringing Wilshere on but decided against it due to the physical nature of the Montenegro players, though the poorer challenges throughout were by those playing in white. This logic kind of makes you wonder why he didn’t just leave the player with Stuart Pearce’s under 21s, or indeed why Ashley Young’s or Shaun Wright-Phillips’ builds are not a problem. It would be a mistake to assume that the fact they were deployed on the wing means they were out of the firing line of the bigger opposition players, given the fact they were cutting into the middle all the time.
Pic: Jack Wilshere and the rest of the Under 21s get ready to mix it with some big lads.
Barry’s England performances seem to be wildly careering between ‘decently effective’ and ‘downright terrible’ at the moment, and this one was firmly in the latter category. At times his pace and slow speed of reaction were exposed by Montenegro, though not as incisively as the way Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski and Thomas Mueller all did in the World Cup for Germany. If there is a position under threat at the moment, his is surely the most obvious.
Ultimately Capello seemed unwilling to change anything last night, stoically avoiding even a slight alteration in his facial expression. His argument may be that there was less need to do so while England controlled possession, but the width of the crossbar was the only thing to stop this ploy of satisfaction from backfiring completely.
The lack of public outcry after this result is understandable, and welcome. Perhaps ultimately it’s a sign of a greater understanding of where this England team fits in on the world stage. Draws at home to Balkan nations, whatever their population, used to be greeted with rabid teeth-gnashing and blanket astonishment; now, rightly, it’s accepted as normal if a good team happens to be held at home by an OK team. It’s nothing more than that, and fans are generally happy to let such results go early in qualification, although if I had paid out £40 to go and see it rather than watch ITV’s limp coverage my ire may have been raised further.
It’s now an adequate start to the qualifying campaign (as opposed to an impressive one). England can probably even allow for another slip up along the way. But only one now, mind.
