AFTER the first half-hour, every England fan and his dog would have been saying “Don’t ever think of playing one up front again.” With Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe as a forward partnership, not only were England more dangerous, but it also helped them to close down the Greece team and play high up the pitch. With one striker it’s much harder to do that. Jermain didn’t have the greatest of games, but he worried the Greek defence simply by being there.
Most of our players are comfortable with 4-4-2, and in the first half last night they looked relaxed and played with freedom, but also with conviction. It’s the way England have got to play throughout the forthcoming 2008 European Championship qualifying campaign. OK, Greece weren’t up to much, but the system allowed England to get more men forward. At times we saw six England players in the opposition’s penalty area. In some games in the World Cup we didn’t see six England players in the opposition’s half.
It might also make it difficult for some of the players who weren’t playing last night to get back in. Joe Cole, for example, might have to fight to regain his place. Joe is a fantastic dribbler, but Stewart Downing did something that Joe does not do so well — he released the ball early. English teams are best when they move the ball quickly, and I think sometimes David Beckham was guilty of not passing early enough.
David wasn’t watching at home in Madrid last night after a delayed flight but I’m sure he’ll get a video of the match, and it’ll show him that the World Cup in Germany probably was the end of his England career.
He’ll see Steven Gerrard charging down the right, showing his running ability and power, but also going through the middle. He created most of the problems for Greece. Five years ago the game against Greece was Beckham’s match, but it’s Gerrard’s time now. He has the energy and drive that the young Roy Keane had with Ireland.
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England have got, probably, four years of him at his best and they have to make the most of it.