Mark Pougatch and Danny Mills are covering the World Cup in Germany for Radio 5 Live. Here they discuss all things England ahead of the final group game against Sweden on Tuesday.
Mark Pougatch: What have you made of England so far?
Danny Mills: The results so far have been great. Two wins and two clean sheets but the performances have been well below expectations. I always find it slightly odd that as a national side we try to play a completely different style to what most players are accustomed to in the Premiership. High tempo, closing people down very quickly and getting the ball forward as soon as possible are the staples of most Premiership teams, but suddenly when it comes to England, it seems that the approach changes.
At Leeds when we reached the semi-finals of the Champions League we applied all those Premiership principles and with the extra quality that the England team have, they could play this way and still keep the ball.
MP: Can Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard play together or will England have to go for a holding midfield player?
DM: This has been a contentious point for some time and one that has never really been addressed. We’ve yet to see them play together as well as they do for their clubs where they drive forward and get beyond the strikers into the box. For England, both seem to be operating under the directive not to do this. Keep your shape and discipline seem to be the instruction. Neither player looks happy or at his best in this restrained role, and so to get the best out of them either the system needs to be changed to accommodate a holding midfielder so they can both operate in more advanced roles or one of them has to be left out to retain the 4-4-2 system. The latter is a brave and bold decision and ultimately a decision that I don’t think Sven-Göran Eriksson is prepared to make.
MP: Is David Beckham un-droppable? Aaron Lennon seems to offer something different.
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DM: Is Beckham un-droppable? Of course not. No player in the world is un-droppable but I don’t think he will ever be dropped while Eriksson is the manager.
Lennon is very different. His pace is a massive asset and it not only scares defenders to death but also gets the crowd excited which in turn gives the team a lift. When he came on against Trinidad & Tobago, the atmosphere turned positive before he’d even touched the ball. He’s a player that is going to make something happen.
MP: Does Beckham have too much of an influence on the squad? Does that annoy some of the other players?
DM: Beckham has a massive influence on what happens within the England team, and as captain maybe this should be so. The FA must shoulder a lot of responsibility for giving him so much control and this power has obviously been bestowed upon him because he is such a massive commercial entity. On occasions I’ve known players not to be overjoyed with what has gone on but their frustrations were aimed at those allowing it to happen rather than Beckham himself.
MP: How much did Eriksson talk to you personally?
DM: In all the time I spent with England I probably had three proper conversations with him. This didn’t concern me because he never had much to say to anybody but what did upset me was that he never spoke to me before he dropped me after the World Cup. We were due to play a qualifier in Slovakia and at training Steve McLaren pulled me to one side as we were getting off the bus and told me not to be surprised if I wasn’t in the starting 11. It became apparent that whatever I did I wasn’t going to play ahead of Gary Neville but what really annoyed me was that this was a manager who constantly went on about respect and who seemed to have none whatsoever for me.
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MP: Did you get Iain Duncan Smith instead of Winston Churchill in the dressing room at half-time in the quarter-final against Brazil, as Gareth Southgate said?
DM: To be honest I can’t remember what was said at half-time or the manner in which it was said, so perhaps that speaks volumes.
MP: What was it like playing in a World Cup for your country?
DM: Playing for England is the ultimate buzz, the best feeling in the world. Being in the tunnel before you walk out to thousands of fans is a very proud and reflective moment but to stand and sing the national anthem, representing your country and all those fans who dream of being where you are is the ultimate. These moments will carry you forever. Nothing in football compares to playing for your country.
MP: What do you think of your reputation for being a straight talker?
DM: I don’t believe having an opinion should cause any problems, as long as you’re honest and don’t get personal, things should be fine. My biggest gripe in football is all the lies and flannel that go on, which is bizarre because everybody in football knows that there are no secrets and eventually the truth always comes out.
Mark Pougatch and Danny Mills are covering the World Cup for BBC Radio 5 Live