England's 1-0 win on Saturday against a Belgium side set to rattle a few cages over the next decade will have given manager Roy Hodgson much to consider. Arguably the two friendly wins have posed more questions than answers - 18 players started over the two games and a total of 11 substitutions were made by the new boss.
The starting line up against Belgium is what I would expect to be much closer to the preferred selection for the Euro 12 France opener in just over a week's time. Even then though it is hard to say with great certainty who will take the field.
The defence is fairly well set, and depending on the injury news on Cahill and Terry, looks likely to be: Hart; Johnson, Cahill, Terry, Cole. In Ashley Cole England probably have the best left back in the world, whilst Joe Hart looks to be the man between the sticks for many years to come. Glen Johnson worries me, particularly given the imminent threat of Franck Ribery, but the squad doesn't really have anyone screaming out to make the position their own. Cahill and Terry have been increasingly solid for Chelsea, Cahill in particular growing into the role during the Champions League heroics. Despite this however I would really rather see Terry far, far from the team. Ignoring my own personal dislike of the man, the player is no longer at the peak of his powers, and can be made to look foolish when confronted with pace and trickery.
Up front, the reliance on Wayne Rooney is well established - his cameo against Belgium showed the fact that he is the outstanding attacking talent that Hodgson has at his disposal. Both Carroll and Welbeck have arguably done their chances no harm however, and I find it hard to pick between them. If Carroll started the France game and made one or two decent touches early on, won a couple of headers and ruffled the French defence, there is just that chance that he could unleash the beast within that terrorised Chelsea to within a fraction of extra time in the FA Cup final. Shank one off his shin mind you and he could be the useless carthorse that has stunk out Anfield on numerous occasions over the past year or so. Welbeck similarly has bags of potential if he can bring it on the day...his chip finish for the winning goal on Saturday was sheer quality and his interplay with Ashley Young, honed over the last year at Carrington, is exciting. If England can go into the last game of the group still in with a chance of qualification, the introduction of Wayne Rooney could bring a real boost, he is the one player in England's squad that all other teams will be fearful of.
It's midfield though where the majority of the questions and problems lie. Injuries have led to the withdrawal of Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard. Both men would have been strong candidates to sit alongside Scott Parker and help to dictate play and provide some guile to complement Parker's tenacity. Lampard showed in the Champions League that he could be set to 'do a Scholes' and reinvent his role, by sitting deep, picking up the ball and using it intelligently. No longer looking to be the box to box man, Lampard's new role might have been ideal for England in a tournament where they can expect to be scrapping for possession rather than dominating games. Barry meanwhile has his detractors but has just won the league playing a key role in Manchester City's superstar squad. He will not be going to Euro 2012 however which probably means for both Barry and Lampard their England tournament careers ended in Bloemfontein with that German mauling.
They are out, which means James Milner and (shudder) Jordan Henderson are the most likely candidates to join Parker. Neither can look back on the past season and reflect on a myriad of personal highlights...and neither will be setting the world alight at the Euro's either. If the ball comes to you chaps just try your level best to give it to someone else in the same shirt - I fear that's all we can expect or ask.
Further forward, Hodgson needs to pick a selection of attacking midfielders from a decent list: Gerrard, Young, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Downing. Finding the right combination and setting them out with the correct approach should be the biggest headache for the England manager right now. To help him with that particular migraine, I'd suggest using Gerrard, Young and Walcott with a remit of relative flexibility, and an encouragement to support the lone front man and look to overlap/interlink with each other as much as possible, is probably the way to go. The Ox provides an x factor (ox factor?) to be used from the bench, whilst Downing should be used in only the most dire of scenarios.
I previously wrote about the fact that Roy's squad should serve to manage expectations amongst England fans, so often the victims of crazy hyperbole mixed with that evil glimmer of hope. The injuries to Lampard and Barry will have hurt the chances of keeping it tight in the middle; the suspension to Rooney forces a Plan B in attack; and the calibre of opposition means England have to be realistic about what they might achieve. These two friendly wins have done little to change any of that; but both games were won, Roy Hodgson needed that. He will now have a slightly better understanding of the challenges facing his men, but with the questions that remain unanswered he must need help.
Help is at hand Roy (having tweaked my previous suggestion given the injuries)...from one Croydon born football nice guy to another, for the starting 11 against France simply see below:
Hart
Jones, Cahill, Lescott, Cole
Milner, Parker
Walcott, Gerrard, Young
Carroll
You're welcome.
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