Once again after all the hype of a post World Cup re-birth, Capello's England fall flat on their faces. The 2-1 scoreline suggests it was a closely fought game but Laurent Blanc's new French charges showed a renewed 'joie de vivre' as they passed England to pieces at a sodden Wembley. France were simply the better side and no pundit (armchair or otherwise) can deny that they outplayed England from the first whistle and would have perhaps scored more had Blanc not seen enough and hauled off his two goalscorers with a little over half an hour to play in favour of a more defensive formation. They passed the ball like true masters of their craft; Yohan Gourcuff the architect in the middle of the park. There was fluid movement, creation of space, players not panicking when under pressure: quite simply magnificent to watch. Their ability to spring from defence to attack in the space of three simple passes would have impressed even the staunchest football purist.
So why the gulf in class? Both sides were suffering from the proverbial World Cup hangover, both sides introduced new, younger players into the squad, so where did it all go wrong? Unfortunately the answer lies the other side of the whitewash. France have completely re-vamped their international selection policy whereby every player must now sign up to a code of conduct which, among other things, states that they must sing the national anthem as it's played before each match. Crucially, this new structure has been combined with the introduction of a new, upcoming, dynamic coach in Laurent Blanc. A World Cup winner in 1998, he spent 3 years transforming the fortunes of Girondins de Bordeaux, culminating in an appearance in the quarter-finals of the European Cup and appears to be doing the same with the national team.
Now look at the set-up for England: no changes since South Africa. The FA seems quite happy to watch the same, stale football being produced every game. The same 'indespensible' players who have failed at numerous tournaments, the same tired formations that deny creative players any license to do what they do best, players playing out of position, I could go on.
The most striking thing about England's performance was the lack of passion and ideas. Steven Gerrard, yet again, proved that he is quite simply the best candidate for captain with another committed and combative performance in midfield. On his debut, Andy Carroll was the victim of a criminal lack of service. Jay Bothroyd came on and might even have scored but for an athletic save from Hugo Lloris. His introduction adding a sense of urgency that proved me (and many others who doubted his inclusion) wrong.
Clearly things need to change behind the scenes. With noises being made about friendlies against the likes of Argentina and Ghana, I would not be at all surprised to see them lead England a merry dance on their own patch like the French did on Wednesday. If the blazers at the FA find this sort of display acceptable then only God himself can help the future of English football.
(Picture: www.bbc.co.uk/sport)
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