Part 1 - EURO 2012 Qualification: Player by player rating for the English squad versus Montenegro
England’s massively disappointing draw against Montenegro has raised new questions, questions that concerned the competitiveness of the players that the English system is producing and also regarding the actual combination between
Fabio Capello and the English national team.
After a totally abysmal 2010 FIFA World Cup where England failed to even get to the quarter final stage because of their 4-1 defeat to Germany in the round of sixteen, England and Capello both vowed to turn things around for the
European Championships of 2012. It was a sad state of affairs last night as that turn seemed to be for the worse, as far as all English national team fans at the Wembley stadium were concerned.
Capello started with a 4-4-2 formation which has frankly been a major cause of England’s downfall over the years, every English national team manager has tried to accommodate his stars in the flat back four formation but the system
itself is quite defunct now, nonetheless Capello saw some value in the tactical setup and opted to use it for England’s encounter against Montenegro.
With Joe Hart in goal, Capello went with the tried and tested Manchester City man. In a game played at usual pedestrian pace, Hart was merely a spectator for most of the match. Montenegro didn’t threaten that much but their only
shot on target did beat Hart; regardless the young goalkeeper’s reputation as England’s first choice goalie was saved thanks to the goalpost, other than that Hart didn’t have much to do other than watch his team mates make a mockery of what was supposed to
be an exciting matchup.
Glen Johnson was used by Capello at his regular right back position and what more can one say about the Liverpool man who has been absolutely shocking in his displays in an England shirt. Johnson’s defensive intelligence borders
on childish at times, he plays as if he is kicking it around with his mates in a park but Wembley is more than a park and EURO 2012 qualifiers are nowhere near your local kick around with a football. Johnson’s career has been plagued by defensive mediocrity
and attacking flair.
If Liverpool had a nickel for every time the ex-Portsmouth man was caught out of position, they would be clearing their debts right now. Capello surely must have spotted this lack of positional discipline by Johnson; however the
ex-Milanese manager would have thanked his lucky stars that Montenegro didn’t because if England’s opponents did showcase some level of ambition down their left hand side of attack, Johnson would have been exposed much to the fullest. With that said, Johnson
should be given credit where it is due, he almost created England’s first goal scoring chance for his ex-team mate, Peter Crouch in the first half of the match.
Rio Ferdinand is made his comeback for England against Montenegro; it was his first full start in an England shirt since the winter of 2009. The English national team captain will take some time to get back to his best due to the
extended injury that he suffered in the summer. Therefore his performance against Montenegro can be rated as above average, Ferdinand’s calming influence was a key to England’s composure at the back. Despite being reckless and blunt in attack, England were
solid in defence against a very average looking Montenegrin attack. Nonetheless, people might have expected more from the English national team captain, they would have hoped that Rio would’ve ushered Gerrard and Barry forward with greater effect as he did
in the second half of the match.
Joleon Lescott was a late inclusion in the England squad and he was included in England’s starting line up to play alongside Ferdinand in central defence courtesy of an injury to the Chelsea captain, John Terry. Lescott was honestly
anonymous on the night as England’s defence had very little to deal with. Capello would have expected that his second choice centre back would be more comfortable with the ball and perhaps come forward to assist his midfield more often, as it was revealed
during the match that was just Joloen’s ability to contribute effectively to his team’s build up play is almost non-existent.
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