6 February 2008
England 2 - 1 Switzerland; Ratings
Game one of the Fabio Capello regime - and regime is the right word. England’s first truly world class manager took charge for his first international match and picked the sort of eleven which every manager should; a form team.
Player assessments contained within…
David James - 6/10
Of all the question marks over who the England goalkeeper should be the best two candidates are the 37 year old James and West Ham’s Robert Green. Surprisingly, Green was completely overlooked but if 38/39 years old is not too old for a world cup then James deserves his recall.
Two catches, one save, a mis-hit clearance and picked the ball out of the net.
Ashley Cole - 6/10
Not that I read such things but it seems that Ashley Cole’s personal life is not exactly a shining example to the next generation. In many ways he is the polar opposite to David Beckham but the two do share one invaluable trait; no matter how distracting their personal lives become, they always perform in the England shirt. Perhaps not 100% but showed some of his usual energy and urgency
Wes Brown - 5/10
Other than Glen Johnson, the only regular right back who is fit. Micah Richards continues to play centrally for Manchester City and displays the pace he uses to recover from his mistakes regularly.
Brown started nervously and continued to look decidedly uncomfortable. Gave the ball away through a variety of means and did not show the sort of pace he used to have when he first appeared for Manchester United.
Rio Ferdinand - 6/10
Possibly a little unlucky to be overlooked for the captaincy but as close to a guaranteed starter as anyone.
Had almost nothing to do but was possibly out of position for the goal.
Matthew Upson - 6/10
Surprisingly picked ahead of Jonathan Woodgate although he has not played regularly and has a new club to concentrate on. Upson has been in great form for West Ham and this clearly did not go unnoticed (unlike his team mate Green).
Had even less to do than Ferdinand.
Jermaine Jenas - 7/10
It is hard to argue against the contention that Jenas is the form English midfielder and probably the form midfielder in England.
He tackled more than any other player in the first half, ran into space, passed neatly and generally put in a stint that most people hope will become common for him. Showed his increasing ability to surge through midfield at pace with the ball at his feet as well as popping up in the box to augment the attack.
Scored a simple finish and was replaced just after an hour.
David Bentley - 6/10
Given the surprising omission of Aaron Lennon and lack of match fitness of David Beckham it was a straight choice between Blackburn’s winger and Shaun Wright-Philips. Given the latter rarely plays well for his country and has been playing centrally with the absence of Didier Drogba and the ineptitude of Claudio Pizarro, Bentley is both the man in form and the better player.
He showed his usual confidence and good footwork however his tight skills did not help him to get away from the fullback as he looks no faster than the illustrious No. 7 he is trying to permanently replace. In fact the whole team lacked pace with only really Rooney and Jenas capable of outpacing a defender. Consequently the majority of his crosses were blocked and for all his aesthetic did little to add to the team.
Gareth Barry - 5/10
In any great team, if you play well, you keep your place. Ergo, Barry earned his start. However he managed to put in quite possibly his worst performance since his international renaissance. Sadly, he did not look out of place in a sterile team performance.
Played well positionally in defence but looked slow and misplaced as many passes as he made.
Steven Gerrard - 5/10
Captain, always worth trying out in a liberated midfield role to see if he can play like he sometimes does for Liverpool or at least give him the opportunity prove to everyone else that he cannot.
The captaincy and pressure of performing for his future place did absolutely nothing to galvanise him above his standard mediocrity. Gave the ball away as often as he ever did by being caught in possession and misplacing passes. As is so typical of him, reverted to a ‘quarterback’ role in front of the back four when everyone watching would rather he concentrate on attack.
A performance almost completely lacking in guile and quality until he finally made a forward run after an hour for Wright-Phillips’ goal.
Joe Cole - 7/10
Given the lack of fit and form strikers, Capello went with a 4411 and played Cole in a withdrawn, attacking role. Interestingly, I cannot think of a single opportunity Cole has had to play this position, one which you would think would be ideal for a skilful, two-footed player.
Dazzling footwork created Jenas’ goal and looked to be back to the disciplined frame of mind that he needs to contribute to the team. Invariably the most potent attacking threat from a position which he may make his own.
Wayne Rooney - 7/10
Hobson’s Choice in attack was given a lone role. Was undoubtedly the focal point of all England’s attacking thrusts.
Missed a glorious chance at the start of the second half but got better as it went on.
Peter Crouch (57 mins for Joe Cole) - 6/10
Gave some balance to the team but not really the sort of contribution Heskey would normally make.
Shaun Wright-Phillips (57 mins for Jenas) - 5/10
Scored with practically his first touch, gave the ball away with almost all of his others.
Wayne Bridge (73 mins for Ashley Cole) - 6/10
Owen Hargreaves (73 mins for Gareth Barry) - 6/10
Fabio Capello - 6/10
His first international match was not pretty. However I have said before that it is better for a manager to start slowly and improve than to arrive in a blaze of goals and expectation. Capello is a great manager who is building and with so long before the next important match let alone the next tournament he will rightly take his time to mould this group of players into a team that he will expect to win the next World Cup.
