England 0 Montenegro 0
October 12th 2010 23:39
Link: twitter.com/mattsaltmer
After a hugely disappointing World Cup this summer, the autumn had seen English football fans cautiously regain faith in the national side. A friendly win over Hungary, and an impressive start to the qualifying campaign for Euro 2012, beating Switzerland and Bulgaria, was starting to heal the wounds from South Africa. Now is time to push on, and make England a team to be proud of once again. Tonight, that plan stalled, against the team seeded fifth in the group, and ranked below Burkina Faso in the FIFA world rankings.
From a Montenegro point of view, what a stunning end to the year. They have yet to concede in four matches in the group, and after wins against Bulgaria, Switzerland and Wales, and a point in England, sit top on ten points. With them having Bulgaria and England at home in the second round of games, there is every chance the outsiders for the group could storm to the European Championships in two years, especially if their defensive record continues. Despite being dominated tonight by England, they nearly won it, a long range effort hitting the crossbar late on.
But for England, it was a frustrating evening. Much the better team, and it felt like hitting your head against a brick wall watching it, which brought back painful memories of the goalless draw with Algeria in June. Too predictable was a problem, and Wayne Rooney was invisible. To be fair, we should have had two penalties, which would have meant victory. The wingers, Adam Johnson and Ashley Young, were by far England's two best players on the night, while Gerrard showed off his passing range at times. But once again, Capello's substitutions baffled me.
First of all, Gareth Barry looked tired and abject, and barely put a foot in all game. His passing was poor all night. On the bench, we had the fantastically in form Jack Wilshere, who could have played the same position, but created more for us. Same with Tom Huddlestone. We ended the match having made two subs, so could have utilised the bench more. But the changes Capello did make, were questionable. Fair enough, Kevin Davies for Crouch, gave the Montenegro defence another problem, but with 15 minutes left, could have left both on? After all, Rooney may as well have been on the bench anyway.
But Ashley Young was a constant threat, getting at the away team's defenders, and his pace was too much. He deserves a penalty for one of his mazy runs, and had it not been for some tactical fouls, could have impacted the game even more. Then, Capello subbed him. And with the left-sided, and in form Stewart Downing on the bench, it would be a fair swap. But Downing didn't come on. In Young's place, came Shaun Wright-Phillips. The 28-year-old RIGHT winger, can't get a kick at Manchester City, and has proved time and time again he can not play left wing. I have nothing against Wright-Phillips, but it was a terrible substitution to make.
The result is far from a disaster, but makes qualification more difficult. Even if England win home and away against Wales, in Bulgaria, and at Wembley against Switzerland, they may still need to win the final game in Montenegro. But with Terry, Lampard, Walcott, Bent, Defoe and Milner all missing for this one, hopefully come spring, there will be more players to chose from. Before our next competitive match in Cardiff, friendlies against France and Argentina lay ahead. But tonight, was not a good night!
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