Capello got it wrong yesterday....

After seeing yesterdays match at Rustenberg, all I can say that is that England have gone 4 years back.The team was no different than the team that disappointed in Germany. The same problems, the same mistakes. According to Fabio Capello everything went as planned except for the result.Is that so? I disagree and so would every english fan. Everyone can blame Robert Green, after their impressive qualifying campaign England didnt play as well as they should have.

Capello chose the wrong formation yesterday. He made 3 big mistakes. The Gerrard-Lampard problem came to haunt England again yesterday. Everyone says that Lampard and Gerrard dont play well together. It is not that they cant gel together, the problem is that they are being played in the wrong positions. Arguably they are the among the best attacking midfielders in the world at club football level. At Liverpool Gerrard does all the playmaking as he knows that Lucas and Mascherano are there behind him to do all the dirty work. Same is the case with Lampard. Essien, John Obi Mikel and Ballack give him the license to bomb upfront at Chelsea. Then why does Capello play them in a deeper central role which they arent accustomed to playing day in and day out. Gerrard couldnt close

down Dempsey before he took the shot that led to the goal. A natural defensive midfielder would have done it easily.

Secondly, Rooney the player who can lead England to glory in South Africa was played behind Emile Heskey. Where has Capello been the whole of last season. Rooney has been sensational in his new role upfront for United. Why cant Capello do the same for England. Why cant he unleash Rooney, instead of making him play deeper and deeper where he is less effective. Last night Rooney was seen at the centre line trying to link up play between the attack and midfield. Is this what Rooney is supposed to do???

Thirdly, the flank play was horrendous yesterday. All that was seen was Theo Walcottish football. Lennon and Wright-Phillips were just running at the defenders with no end product. Gone are the days when pace alone was enough to unsettle defenses. Lennon had a great chance to seal the match for England early in the first half. But we all know what he did. Why play wide wingers when they are unable to provide the required quality. It is like wasting two important players in attack.

Another noticeable flaw yesterday was the absence of the midfield. Whenever the US defenders cleared the crosses that were put into the box there was no one to receive it outside. Due to this England immediately lost possession of the ball. The only way to win matches is to score goals and the attack was below par yesterday. USA had lot of time and space in midfield to do all the passing around. Most of the games are won in midfield and thats where England lost the battle yesterday.

So what can be done to rectify the problems that were seen yesterday. The formation has to be changed. The 4-4-2 isnt going to work for England. England have to play to their strengths.They have 2 world class attacking midfielders and they should be played in their natural positions. For this Capello will have to play a defensive midfielder behind them. Yes, first choice Barry may be injured right now, but there’s Carrick who can do a good job for England in the mean time. England have to play a 3 man midfield. There are 2 ways in which that England can set up. If Capello wants to still go ahead with his below average wingers, then they can set up in a 4-5-1. Rooney can play alone upfront in his preferred position. The flanks can be utilised to put balls into the box for Ronney. Either Gerrard or Lampard can get into the box with the other waiting outside to gather the clearance.

But this is not the best formation for England. Everyone knows Capello likes to play Heskey and Rooney together. And so if he wants to go with 2 upfront a better formation for England will be a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond. Barry/Carrick can sit in front of the defense at the bottom of the diamond. Lampard and Gerrard can express themselves in attack. Jole Cole will be at the top of the diamond with Rooney and Heskey upfront. Why this formation will work is simple. England have 2 very attack minded full backs. At any point of time only one wing is used. This will give either Cole or Johnson the license to go forward. The defensive midfielder can take their place temporarily so that England can deal with counter attacks. Also Jole Cole can be utilised in multiple ways here. He can play along the flanks on either side to open up play. Although he may not have the pace of Phillips or Lennon he has more than twice their quality. He can also move inside and release the full backs along the flanks. Even though Rooney will playing along with Heskey, this is the most balanced formation for England .

The best team is the team that makes best use of the resources available to it. Capello is a disciplinarian we all know that. Instead of forcing players to play out of position it would be best if England set up in a way that makes best use of the talent that is available. USA didn have enough quality to punish England yesterday. But later on when England come up against quality oppositions like that of Spain, Brazil or Argentina, it is be very difficult to come out on top. With Algeria and Slovenia next, England should change the way they set up if they want to go all the way. Otherwise the quarter final will be as far as they would be able to go this time around.