Every tabloid is going ape piling onto Robert Green, trying to outdo themselves in their vitriol.
But did you see the most famous disappearing act in the England squad. Where was Frank Lampard? It’s the same old conundrum.
Put Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the same side and suddenly one of them or both look dazed and confused. Gerrard slipped in nicely under the radar after De Merit failed to mark Heskey and the big man found him with a neat little pass; the Liverpool man’s toe poke put England within five minutes. This promised much more of the same with Lampard running the seam but it did not happen.
The problem of redundancy between these two men was a feature of an insipid English side in the 2006 World Cup and four years later, it has not changed.
If I were Capello, Lampard would be on top with Wayne Rooney, because the man likes to score. He is no passer. Gerrard at least has some passing skills although he is no ball handler himself.
Emile Heskey showed he is a nice pick and roll type of player because his big body effectively shields the movement of of other players, e.g., Gerrard slipping in for his pass.
He also exposes the danger of players chosen to specifically enhance others, in this case because he is good for Rooney. It’s not an abstract concept. There are numbers to back that up.
What happens when Rooney is out of form? He has not looked the same since that ankle and groin injury a month ago. His timing is off, his pace is off. No one expects him to lose a footrace to De Merit but that’s what happened. Aaron Lennon’s artfully placed outlet found Emile Heskey and not Rooney, in a beautiful position to score, but it was completely muffed. Yet Capello keeps faith in him despite these obvious shortcomings.
By now it should be clear Capello is no innovator, no risk taker. We deride Marcelo Lippi for Italy being a country for old men. England is heading in the same direction under Capello. He is just a bit more organized, more disciplined than his World Cup predecessor but what he is dishing out is a similar vintage in a different bottle. Getting out of Group C should pose no problems but England is going to make heavy weather of it like it did four years ago.