Five steps forward for England (Part four…of five)

July 8th, 2010 | by: Ethan Dean-Richards | View Comments

How can we get success like this?

Tradition dictates that all value judgements made before an England World Cup exit be immediately reformed in the weeks and days that elapse following it. The regularity of the clamber has undoubtedly dampened its effect over the years and, as such, scepticism about the extent to which anything England will change after the latest knockout is justifiable: therefore for suggestions to be anything but fantastical they’re going to have to be minimal. Here are five that fit the bill (over the course of five posts):

4.) Try five men in midfield – and make sure you do it early

No formation is innately good or bad. Once this is established a fixation with 4-5-1 begins to appear as out-dated as 4-4-2 did against Germany, yet placing five men in England’s midfield is certainly justifiable. Put simply: we have the personnel likely to fill the roles.

English players, largely, remain technically less proficient than many of their rivals. Switching formation doesn’t change that, but playing with five midfielders is conducive to holding possession and could therefore go at least some way towards negating the technical deficiency shown by the England team in South Africa.

The case for five in midfield is solidified by the movement of others: Spain, Germany and Holland all carry three men in the middle. 4-5-1 or similar regularly trumps 4-4-2

Will Capello make the change? England’s manager moved from pragmatist to stubborn old fool in the eyes of the English public, but in reality he has not changed his willingness to change, when necessary. His last Real Madrid side operated using several different formations before he found that which would win him another La Liga title, thereby offering hope that he will initiate a shift to five in midfield if  he sees it paying dividends in the coming months of qualifying.  

Should he have changed things earlier? In a show of solidarity which proved that English fans will unite behind any cause when things begin to go wrong, 4-5-1 – a former nemesis – became the saviour of English football following two disappointing friendly victories in late May. Only Capello dissented. 

And he was right to – again. Beyond its provision of another subsection of the ‘what if clause’, discussion over alterations to the fabric of English football mid-way-through a World Cup campaign meant little. Tactical changes, like young players, require a bedding-in period if they are to be anything but a brief and wasted excursion into footballing failure.

Capello, as the World Cup loomed large and the form of potential lone-striker Wayne Rooney dipped alarmingly, had no real choice but to stick with the old ‘two up top’ and two banks of four. 

That situation can be avoided next time if alternative systems are tried early. In his first two years in charge Capello, understandably given the success he had with his original effort, stuck rigidly to 4-4-2, but at the World Cup, where games and draws change quickly, this proved limiting in the extreme.

*Please try the links – they take ages to find and usually (except for the odd self-indulgent one) enhance the ideas put forward