They came, they played like an alehouse team, they got
knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Roy Hodgson’s maiden voyage on the good ship England was
only ever going to be one of two things: a chance to begin phasing out the
remaining veterans of the failed ‘Golden Generation’, or a spirited but
ultimately sad attempt at emulating Greece’s unlikely triumph at Euro 2004.
Unsurprisingly it ended up being the latter.
Joleon Lescott, Danny Welbeck and Scott Parker
were all given opportunities to prove themselves worthy of becoming England regulars thanks to injuries, suspension and racism. However, with Hodgson already
talking about how the returns of Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry will improve
the team, as well as singling out Steven Gerrard, John Terry and Ashley Cole
for special praise, it seems likely the old gang will be back together once the World
Cup qualifiers come around.
Despite the general consensus that he did well to win Group
D after having just six weeks to work with his new players, Hodgson may end up
looking at Euro 2012 as a wasted opportunity. Never again will he go into a
major tournament with the English media looking to dampen public expectation,
making it the ideal time to take a risk on players that are untried at
international level. Instead he kept faith with a core of players that have
shown time and time again what their limitations are as a group.
England weren’t the worst performers of the major nations
that qualified, but while Holland and France have gone home in shame, with
heads already starting to roll, Hodgson and his players have been spared any
real criticism for setting up like a League One side visiting Old Trafford when
they faced Italy on Sunday.
Averaging 39% possession and managing less than 20 shots on
target in four games is pretty poor considering England boasted the highest
earning set of players at the tournament, and the less said about the fact they
completed just 15 passes in 15 minutes during the second half of extra-time the
better. Both Hodgson and Gerrard acknowledged that ball retention is the key
area in which improvement is needed, but managers, players and FA officials
have been saying the exact same thing since Phil Neville sent England crashing out
of Euro 2000.
Hodgson will be able to select technically gifted central
midfielders such as Jack Wilshire, Tom Cleverly and Tom Huddlestone in the run
up to the World Cup, but it remains to be seen whether he will be ruthless
enough to call time on the likes of Barry, Lampard and Parker over the next two
years. It’s already been confirmed that Gerrard will carry on as captain, which
is fine as long as he isn’t picked in a deep-lying midfield role – he showed
the discipline to hold his position and work hard for the team, but he had
virtually no impact going forward against Italy and was cramping up after 70
minutes.
The worst thing about the way England set up was that not
only were they never going to dominate possession, but they also lacked the
ability to counter attack. Ashley Young was decent when played behind the
forward against France, and he deserved a second chance against Ukraine after
an underwhelming showing in the Sweden game. Why he started the Italy match,
though, is anyone’s guess.
Of the 29 crosses put in by Young and James Milner over the
four games, just three found a white shirt, which is terrible by any standard.
Milner was apparently picked to babysit Glen Johnson, who actually defended
well most of the time, but it was quite obvious by the conclusion of the group
stage that he wasn’t worth his place – the fact he was brought off for playing
shite during every game being the clearest indication.
Even though Adam Johnson was inexplicably left out of the
squad, Hodgson did have out and out wingers in Theo Walcott, Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain and Stewart Downing (stop laughing at the back!), who could
have at least provided outlets and given opposition full backs something to
think about. If a manager knows his team isn’t going to dictate the tempo but
he doesn’t want to play on the break through wingers then his only option is to
launch the ball at a target man, but given that Carroll spent most of his time
on the bench that couldn't have been the plan either.
Going off their final two matches, it seems as though
England’s tactic was to keep things tight and hope Wayne Rooney, who warmed up
for the tournament with a trip to Las Vegas, would produce something special,
and therein lies the problem; England have relied on individual moments of
brilliance for too long. It used to be Beckham’s free-kicks, which in fairness
were quite reliable, and now it’s Rooney’s goals.
Rooney’s still a great player, but after eight years without
a decent performance at a Euro Championship or World Cup it could be time for
England to give themselves other options. Moving to Manchester United has
swelled his trophy cabinet and bank balance, but Rooney has had to sacrifice
his own game for the benefit of the team under Ferguson, and he no longer has
the explosiveness required to destroy teams on his own like he did as a
teenager.
Hodgson is a good manager and likeable man, and he deserves
credit for uniting the dressing room and getting them to show real grit and
determination. Still, I won’t be surprised if it’s same again in Brazil.
