Fabio Capello says he learned a lot last night.
He\’s right about that. A match tells him more than ten training sessions.
He learned that James Milner can\’t play central midfield in a 4-4-2.
He learned that Crouch and Defoe are not good partners for Rooney. Although he knew that already. So it has to be Rooney & Heskey.
He learned that England\’s key strength is tempo. In a winter World Cup, we can crank it up and play at a Premier League tempo. Rooney won’t go pink, then brighter pink, then beetroot. He can handle the South African winter better than that other pale Irishman, Steve Staunton, handled the Florida heat in USA 94.
Our main strengths are Capello, Rooney, the Chelsea players, and tempo.
Without tempo and pressing, England were shabby in the first half
With tempo, we improved in the second half.
Capello quickly recognised that very few of our players have world class skills. But he saw that we do have spirit and determination. He saw that John Terry was a leader with that never-day-die spirit that Italians wish they had, that Brazilians wish they had.
I\’m sure that\’s why he wanted to coach England. If you can organise warriors into an effective fighting unit, you have a chance.
South Africa is the first winter World Cup since Argentina in 1978 and four teams will play seven games down there.
I reckon England will play five games. If key players stay fit, they will play seven. They might end up playing for third place.
Sven was a groupie who sucked up to the players and he reached three quarter-finals. That was our level with Sven.
Fabio Capello is a smart hard man who does not suck up to superstars or rich presidents. He came to England and told our spoiled stars that he wanted focus and work and success. He realises that English players are thick and need to be told what to do. So he gave each player a job and told him exactly what to do.
Maybe Capello got the England job four years too late. Maybe he got it two years too late.
We shall see.
ENGLAND (4-4-2): Green (West Ham); G Johnson (Liverpool), King (Tottenham), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Baines (Everton); Walcott (Arsenal), Carrick (Manchester United), Milner (Aston Villa), Gerrard (Liverpool); Crouch (Tottenham), Rooney (Manchester United).
Subs used: Hart (Manchester City) for Green, h-t; Carragher (Liverpool) for Ferdinand, h-t; Defoe (Tottenham) for Crouch, h-t; Huddlestone (Tottenham) for Carrick, 61; Lennon (Tottenham) for Walcott, 77; A Johnson (Manchester City) for Milner, 84.
MEXICO (4-3-3): Perez (Jaguares); Aguilar (Pachuca), Osorio (Stuttgart), Rodriguez (PSV Eindhoven), Salcido (PSV Eindhoven); Juarez ( Pumas Unam), Marquez (Barcelona), Torrado (Cruz Azul); G Dos Santos (Tottenham), Franco (West Ham),Vela (Arsenal).
Subs used: Hernandez (Manchester United) for Franco, h-t; Barrera (Pumas Unam) for Aguilar, 52; Guardado (Deportivo la Coruna) for Vela, 61; C Blanco (Veracruz) for G Dos Santos, 71.
Referee: M Toma (Japan)