- Certain player selections – Emile Heskey can win headers but there’s no aim or agility. Peter Crouch has both of these attributes. Also, why is Shaun Wright-Phillips preferred to Joe Cole when the (soon-to-be former) Chelsea man is far better in midfield.
- Formation – It’s clear that 4-4-2 isn’t suiting England. Rooney isn’t allowed to roam as much as he would want and the wingers in the midfield can’t cope at all. An alternative would be to go 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1. Gerrard, Barry and Lampard anchor the midfield and Crouch and Defoe (in an ideal world) would the providing Rooney with support should he need it. It also allows the full backs, Johnson and Cole, to attack more, which is only a good thing.
- No unity – Once again, the England players on the pitch are playing for themselves as opposed to the team. This showed throughout the entire game. The passing in midfield was appalling, especially in midfield, and when they do try and support their team mates it’s, ironically, the worst thing they could have done in that situation. For example, Steven Gerrard was through on goal and, instead of blasting it, put it across the box to no one. Quite frankly, if England want to win the World Cup at all, they need to put their own egos aside and actually figure out how to play as a team.
An even more damming indictment of last night can be heard on a live edition of The Guardian’s World Cup Daily podcast. I attended this at their HQ and the mood after watching the game was one of anger and disdain. As Barry Glendenning says, it was a nation getting a wake up call. For my money, the game against Algeria was the worst England performance at a major tournament that I’ve ever seen. Depressing.
