Maclaren Finally Sees Light at the end of the Tunnel
…but did England’s first Wembley win really inspire belief or just paper over the cracks?
As England’s players walked off the pitch to a rousing reception from their faithful supports the relief on all faces was noticeable. Having brushed an extremely negative Israeli side out of their way they over they also laughed in the face of some of the doubt that they will reach next Summer’s European Championships.
Doubts in the fans of England’s minds however have been the simple creation of the national teams failure to produce a performance of note since this time last year against Greece and even then it was well won within 45 minutes before England slackened off into a very Sven like second half.
Today however was different as England finally seemed to brush off the shackles of the pressure on Maclaren, overcame the over confidence which has dogged them since Germany last year and broke free off the lack of confidence that Summer friendlies have brought and finally it seemed as if the manager had got his team selection perfectly right for the occasion.
Recalling Emile Heskey for the game was a big gamble by Maclaren but also proves that the England man knows how to play to his strengths. It is no secret that Michael Owen both pre and post injuries is most effective playing off the shoulder of the last defender and if he is allowed to do that goals will soon begin flowing at they did in the early part of his career. With Crouch unavailable to provide the flicks ons that Owen needs and with no other natural choice to replace the creativity of Wayne Rooney, the return to form of Heskey gave Maclaren a simple choice when it came to picking the now ‘targeted’ Crouch’s replacement.
Having seen the way the big powerful striker has used his frame to help Wigan with their bold start to the season the confident Heskey provided the perfect partner for Owen up front and with Israel desperate to keep it tight at the back but also being not the strongest in the air, the power of Heskey was used to great effect. No doubt that Maclaren told the Wigan forward to stick closer to Owen than he has done in previous England incarnation’s, Heskey’s determination to prove he still has what it takes at International level was invaluable and in replacing Crouch he not only provided like for like balance but a higher work rate to win the ball and also gave away far less free kicks as he is far more mobile than Crouch.
Robbed of the services of many of their top players England coped more than adequately without several of the star names. The return to fitness of Ashley Cole was more important than some would have pointed out as he offers more than Shorey in the attacking third and his runs relieve pressure, not that there was any being offered by today’s opponents but against Russia he will once again prove his worth. Richard’s down the other side also provided excellent cover for Gary Neville who missed out once more and may find his place tough to get back because of the excellent performances at domestic and international level put in by the Manchester City man. He does not offer the excellent crossing of Neville but his strong running and overlapping causes just as many problems and along with Wright Phillips, England’s right because the perfect combination.
The scorer of the opening goal should also be credited for a fantastic performance although many who have seen him at Chelsea this season will not have been surprised, his direct running at opponents raises the questions as to whether David Beckham is still a ‘must have’ in the England first team because of his crossing ability or whether England now want to play a different way. He will no doubt hang onto his shirt and the LA Galaxy mans injury prevents debate to the destination of the shirt for the game against Croatia, at least for now.
Gareth Barry did exactly what was asked of him and took his chance. The combination of Gerrard and Barry not only went as far as showing the weaknesses of not having an actual ‘partnership’ in the centre but it also showed that there is no reason against teams such as Israel for a specific holding player as this role can be done by a central defender when playing against one forward and allows both midfielders to be going in a positive direction. Gerrard was as ever England’s most creative player in all senses of the word, though Barry had a hand in two of the goals, he played within himself for long periods but at the same time showed that he is wasted out on the right and now fully justified the claims that it should be Stevie G plus one, not any other way around.
Still continuing his come back from injury, Michael Owen scored his third goal in three games and despite missing a couple of chances to get himself a hat trick, chances which he may well have taken three years ago, his goal showed that he still has predatory instincts which cannot be ignored. Many people think that Owen, like Heskey, is a confidence player but the intelligence of the Newcastle midfielder in an around the box is more to do with match sharpness than his goals per game ratio. Even if Owen has nothing to do for eighty nine minutes and is given a chance, he will find the net because he is constantly aware of situations around him and reads the game very well, though for the big games he needs to work on taking the one chance which is often afforded to him by the very best of teams, he is still a threat against sides in England’s group, who are, to be honest, not even on the same level as the national team from this country.
For the first time in a long while as Alan Shearer pointed out, the return of several players gives Steve Maclaren a selection problem ahead of the midweek Wembley clash with Russia. England’s outstanding players turned out to be those who had replaced the countries usual standout performers but will Maclaren stand by his stand by’s if he has a decision to make. Presuming Steven Gerrard is fit and suffers no ill effects of his toe injury will he continue to be partnered by the excellent Gareth Barry or will he choose to selected the more energetic Owen Hargreaves or will he include the goal scoring threat of Frank Lampard.
If Lampard had been available against Israel, Maclaren may well have been forgiven for starting with the Chelsea man despite his well known inability to work in partnership with Steven Gerrard as the little threat which Israel offered would have presented the pair with a chance to both get forward and play to their strengths. The energy of Manchester United’s Hargreaves could have been misplaced and perhaps his injury was a blessing as it allowed Barry to provide the incisive passes which were necessary to create goals in such a crowded area.
Indeed today’s only disappointing performance was that of Joe Cole, but it is questionable whether Maclaren will consider dropping him for Stuart Downing or Ashley Young who perhaps provide a better cross than the Chelsea man and considering it seems to be between Crouch and Heskey for the front place, either would welcome the service of the latter two or the on/off creativity of the first. Whether he goes for the current Liverpool forward of the previous Liverpool forward it is bound to be Owen who benefits by being given increasing opportunities to add to his thirty seven goals at International record. Although the game is doubtful to be a shooting gallery for the Newcastle man as it was today he will no doubt be boosted in confidence by an apparent lack of his sharpness.
The question remains as to whether England can put in another excellent shift on Wednesday against Russia who will without doubt be a much sterner test than Israel who offered little more then a stationary threat parked in front of the Wembley goals for ninety minutes. Their coach Guus Hiddink has far more experience and winners medals than Steve Maclaren and he will no doubt set up his team intelligently so the England manager has to once again get the big decisions right and ensure that England play as a team to set them up nicely for a home game with Croatia which could decide the team which finishes first in their group.
Doubts in the fans of England’s minds however have been the simple creation of the national teams failure to produce a performance of note since this time last year against Greece and even then it was well won within 45 minutes before England slackened off into a very Sven like second half.
Today however was different as England finally seemed to brush off the shackles of the pressure on Maclaren, overcame the over confidence which has dogged them since Germany last year and broke free off the lack of confidence that Summer friendlies have brought and finally it seemed as if the manager had got his team selection perfectly right for the occasion.
Recalling Emile Heskey for the game was a big gamble by Maclaren but also proves that the England man knows how to play to his strengths. It is no secret that Michael Owen both pre and post injuries is most effective playing off the shoulder of the last defender and if he is allowed to do that goals will soon begin flowing at they did in the early part of his career. With Crouch unavailable to provide the flicks ons that Owen needs and with no other natural choice to replace the creativity of Wayne Rooney, the return to form of Heskey gave Maclaren a simple choice when it came to picking the now ‘targeted’ Crouch’s replacement.
Having seen the way the big powerful striker has used his frame to help Wigan with their bold start to the season the confident Heskey provided the perfect partner for Owen up front and with Israel desperate to keep it tight at the back but also being not the strongest in the air, the power of Heskey was used to great effect. No doubt that Maclaren told the Wigan forward to stick closer to Owen than he has done in previous England incarnation’s, Heskey’s determination to prove he still has what it takes at International level was invaluable and in replacing Crouch he not only provided like for like balance but a higher work rate to win the ball and also gave away far less free kicks as he is far more mobile than Crouch.
Robbed of the services of many of their top players England coped more than adequately without several of the star names. The return to fitness of Ashley Cole was more important than some would have pointed out as he offers more than Shorey in the attacking third and his runs relieve pressure, not that there was any being offered by today’s opponents but against Russia he will once again prove his worth. Richard’s down the other side also provided excellent cover for Gary Neville who missed out once more and may find his place tough to get back because of the excellent performances at domestic and international level put in by the Manchester City man. He does not offer the excellent crossing of Neville but his strong running and overlapping causes just as many problems and along with Wright Phillips, England’s right because the perfect combination.
The scorer of the opening goal should also be credited for a fantastic performance although many who have seen him at Chelsea this season will not have been surprised, his direct running at opponents raises the questions as to whether David Beckham is still a ‘must have’ in the England first team because of his crossing ability or whether England now want to play a different way. He will no doubt hang onto his shirt and the LA Galaxy mans injury prevents debate to the destination of the shirt for the game against Croatia, at least for now.
Gareth Barry did exactly what was asked of him and took his chance. The combination of Gerrard and Barry not only went as far as showing the weaknesses of not having an actual ‘partnership’ in the centre but it also showed that there is no reason against teams such as Israel for a specific holding player as this role can be done by a central defender when playing against one forward and allows both midfielders to be going in a positive direction. Gerrard was as ever England’s most creative player in all senses of the word, though Barry had a hand in two of the goals, he played within himself for long periods but at the same time showed that he is wasted out on the right and now fully justified the claims that it should be Stevie G plus one, not any other way around.
Still continuing his come back from injury, Michael Owen scored his third goal in three games and despite missing a couple of chances to get himself a hat trick, chances which he may well have taken three years ago, his goal showed that he still has predatory instincts which cannot be ignored. Many people think that Owen, like Heskey, is a confidence player but the intelligence of the Newcastle midfielder in an around the box is more to do with match sharpness than his goals per game ratio. Even if Owen has nothing to do for eighty nine minutes and is given a chance, he will find the net because he is constantly aware of situations around him and reads the game very well, though for the big games he needs to work on taking the one chance which is often afforded to him by the very best of teams, he is still a threat against sides in England’s group, who are, to be honest, not even on the same level as the national team from this country.
For the first time in a long while as Alan Shearer pointed out, the return of several players gives Steve Maclaren a selection problem ahead of the midweek Wembley clash with Russia. England’s outstanding players turned out to be those who had replaced the countries usual standout performers but will Maclaren stand by his stand by’s if he has a decision to make. Presuming Steven Gerrard is fit and suffers no ill effects of his toe injury will he continue to be partnered by the excellent Gareth Barry or will he choose to selected the more energetic Owen Hargreaves or will he include the goal scoring threat of Frank Lampard.
If Lampard had been available against Israel, Maclaren may well have been forgiven for starting with the Chelsea man despite his well known inability to work in partnership with Steven Gerrard as the little threat which Israel offered would have presented the pair with a chance to both get forward and play to their strengths. The energy of Manchester United’s Hargreaves could have been misplaced and perhaps his injury was a blessing as it allowed Barry to provide the incisive passes which were necessary to create goals in such a crowded area.
Indeed today’s only disappointing performance was that of Joe Cole, but it is questionable whether Maclaren will consider dropping him for Stuart Downing or Ashley Young who perhaps provide a better cross than the Chelsea man and considering it seems to be between Crouch and Heskey for the front place, either would welcome the service of the latter two or the on/off creativity of the first. Whether he goes for the current Liverpool forward of the previous Liverpool forward it is bound to be Owen who benefits by being given increasing opportunities to add to his thirty seven goals at International record. Although the game is doubtful to be a shooting gallery for the Newcastle man as it was today he will no doubt be boosted in confidence by an apparent lack of his sharpness.
The question remains as to whether England can put in another excellent shift on Wednesday against Russia who will without doubt be a much sterner test than Israel who offered little more then a stationary threat parked in front of the Wembley goals for ninety minutes. Their coach Guus Hiddink has far more experience and winners medals than Steve Maclaren and he will no doubt set up his team intelligently so the England manager has to once again get the big decisions right and ensure that England play as a team to set them up nicely for a home game with Croatia which could decide the team which finishes first in their group.