Capello’s conundrum

Wednesday, 12/10/2011

So England have reached a European Championships for the first time since 2004 and despite some good performances along the way it’s been far from a vintage qualifying campaign for Fabio Capello’s men.

Friday’s 2-2 draw in Montenegro summed up England under the Italian; good passing and movement, complimented by pace on the wings and ruthless finishing in front of goal, but some suicidal defending under pressure and, of course, the fluctuating form of Wayne Rooney who once again received his marching orders whilst wearing the Three Lions on his chest.

Finishing top of the group is not to be sniffed at, though, particularly when compared to the previous Euro campaign under Steve McClaren. At least England will be in action next summer, but it remains to be seen which England will turn up in Poland and the Ukraine.

Performances away to Wales and Switzerland have shown the verve and attacking talent available to Capello and the emergence of several top-class youngsters this season have been huge bonuses for the Italian. Now Phil Jones is in the starting eleven he will be hard to shift and his Manchester United team-mates, Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley will be keen to join him. The likes of Daniel Sturridge and Jack Wilshere could still have a role to play, but the latter might struggle to find the required form after a long spell out injured.

But, there have been as many negatives as positives throughout an often stuttering campaign. Frustrating home draws against Switzerland and Montenegro and an unconvincing 1-0 Wembley victory over Wales ensured that question marks remain about England’s ability to perform at a consistently high level.

There is genuine quality in the squad and, on paper, plenty of depth, but England now need to find a formula to play well and win when it matters at a major tournament. Capello will have learned from what went wrong at the World Cup in South Africa and one major issue is to ensure the team aren’t too reliant on a handful of players.

After his long absence with injury, the national team have learned to play without Steven Gerrard and now former regulars Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand find their positions under threat. That can only be a good thing and the options that England have out wide with the likes of Ashley Young, James Milner, Adam Johnson, Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon also provide plenty of fluidity and flexibility.

Capello’s biggest test is now one forced upon him and that is to prepare a team to win the biggest games without his brightest talent. Wayne Rooney’s recent dismissal means he is certain to miss the opening game of Euro 2012 and he could even be suspended for a further two matches. This means England have to find a way to play without Wazza.

It’s not as simple as just replacing a striker. When he’s on form, and even when he’s not, everything goes through Rooney as team-mates look to him to orchestrate play and set the attacking wheels in motion.

The best option could well be to add as much pace and fluency to the forward positions as possible. A front three of Ashley Young, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck would be lightning-quick and full of skill and goalscoring threat. All three could interchange positions easily and provide another dimension to the Three Lions going forward. If you throw Daniel Sturridge into the equation as a rival for Walcott’s right-sided role, England start to look very dangerous.

Capello has already said that he’ll prepare without Rooney in the pre-tournament friendlies and as much as that will frustrate the Manchester United forward, it will be a good lesson for him and hopefully and even more valuable lesson for his national team manager.

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