It’s not the result, it’s the performance that baffles

It was an abject performance and there’s no other way of putting it. No imagination, no spirit and on this evidence no chance.

There are probably no easy games at this level but England should be despatching the likes of Algeria with cool and clinical ease. In reality, on the balance of play, the north Africans may feel unlucky they didn’t come away with all three points.

Wednesday afternoon will decide whether or not England qualify for the next stage. When the draw was made, the possibility that England wouldn’t make it would have appeared farcical. This was billed as, and should have been, one of the easiest groups to navigate, even for perennial slow starters like us.

If England fail to beat Slovenia, they will of course only have themselves to blame but whichever way it goes, England know their destiny is in their own hands, unlike France.

So what really hurts the most is the performance which was almost indescribably poor. Algeria’s game plan was good and well executed, so let’s not diminish their role in subduing England. However, players of the quality we have should have been able to raise their game to force a win when it counted but the sad truth is England never looked like winning. If England had peppered the Algerian goal with chance after chance and failed to hit the target, there would have been disappointment but also a realisation that it wasn’t our day. To know that there was not even a 10-15 minute spell in the game where we dominated the play is incredible. My concerns expressed in previous posts about the lack of a plan B was astonishingly realised. What did Capello say at half time? I expected a reaction and ultimately a breakthrough, like Brazil against the North Koreans, but the lack of spirit, energy or inspiration was deeply concerning. The world cup should be the pinnacle of these players’ careers. They didn’t play like they realised this.

The coach has blamed that the players play with fear due to inflated expectations from our media and our fans. I accept we are a massively over-expectant nation but is it too much to ask for our players to get through the group stage?

The players are ultimately to blame for a miserable performance. Once the coach sends them out to play, it is up to them to deliver and they patently did not. That said, Capello needs to open up and let them express themselves before this horror show becomes a complete nightmare.

For me, the solution is actually rather simple. Make Rooney the central striker and Gerrard the central focus of the team sitting in the hole. For goodness sake, let Joe Cole fill the problem left position and tell Barry to hold which will allow Lampard to dictate play in the middle of the park. It’s a simple tactical change that thus far Capello has been unwilling to contemplate. He never once tried it in the warm ups even though Gerrard and Rooney in particular have excelled in this formation for their clubs.

I don’t think you need any coaching badges to know that this subtle change in formation is worth a go. If the players then fail to win, at least we know we tried something different. England are perennial slow starters and a convincing win on Wednesday may just kick start a formidable run at this world cup. We can all live in hope.