The thing is nothing that is being brought in is better than the original World Cup squad. Someone said to be that some of the newer players just seem like nicer guys, the problem with this is that it isn't a popularity contest its top level football. England are going through the motions they've been through previously, instead of bringing in Peter Crouch now they're calling up Andy Carrol the lanky Newcastle target man.
I really don't think that bringing a target man into the equation will fix anything. The problem with England is far deeper than that, it goes down to the basic philosophy and culture of English football. English players are very successful at their clubs where their skills are supplemented by their foreign colleagues, but when the foreigners aren't there to support them they fail to replicate their domestic form.
The line up for the friendly against France shows how futile the changes being made are. Firstly Joe Hart is far better than Ben Foster so playing Foster is a pointless exercise. Why play Jagielka as a full back when Micah Richards is on the bench? I say this not because Richards is a world beater although he has improved a lot since Roberto Mancini became Manchester City manager but because he is a natural full back.
I still feel that when not injured John Terry and Rio Ferdinand make England's best defensive partnership although Jagielka is a decent player and has impressed for England as a central defender. This is England's best strength producing solid centre backs. These include Birmingham pair, Scott Dann and Roger Johnson, Bolton's Gary Cahill and Joleon Lescott. This is where the problem lies, too many players who have the same attributes are produced.
If you look at some of the English players playing the the PL, for example Walcott, Lennon, Wright-Phillips England top right sided midfielders are all one dimensional wingers overly reliant on their pace. Gerrard, Lampard, Nolan, Wilshire are all good players but again they take up the same positions on the pitch and are playmakers who expect the team to be built around them.
Gareth Barry England's premier holding midfield is nowhere near mobile enough to play at the top level but there aren't any reliable replacements. Lee Cattermole and Fabrice Muamba are all candidates but have disciplinary problems with Muamba being 6th in the most fouls committed in the PL this season so far and Cattermole has had 2 red cards and four yellows in thirteen games.
The problems up front are well documented, with the injured and out of form Wayne Rooney being the only England forward who has proven his class beyond Premier League. The others don't seem to be rated by Fabio Capello, my personal favorite is Darren Bent. He is a good finisher can play up front on his own and has pace, the only thing he lacks is Champions League experience.
So where will the solutions come from? Younger players? More Champions League football? I have two theories, one through concentrating on giving young players produced through academies more first team football and the other through allowing English footballers to move abroad and ply their trade in Europe.
At the moment there are two shining lights in the Premier League who show that with time and effort young stars can be produced and could be England's saviour in the long-term. These are Aston Villa and Arsenal. Villa under Gerard Houllier played with five quality English youngsters against Manchester United as I've noted in a previous blog. With Arsenal, they've brought through Keiran Gibbs, Craig Eastmond, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Jack Wilshire and Henri Lansbury who have all played for the first team at one point or another some of it including Champions League football.
The problem with the youngsters is that I'm not sure that they will get enough first team football. With Arsenal there is the fact that Arsene Wenger is under pressure to win trophies more than ever to end their four year trophy drought. With Aston Villa only an injury crisis has led to them trusting their youngster, its still to be seen if they will continue to play them when Stillian Petrov and Nigel Reo-Coker return from injury.
I think that a short term solution for the problems England face could be found if more English players move abroad. Just like when light weight foreign players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Nani when they first joined Manchester United have worked at the gym to adapt to the physical aspect of the English games. English players could go to Italy, Spain or Germany to learn the technical side of things.
The Premier League is far to rushed to allow players to focus on technique for example teams like Wolves, Stoke, Blackburn and Birmingham play simple direct result orientated football which doesn't produce international class players. The problem with this theory is that the values of English players and wages are over-inflated meaning foreign teams don't want them unless they are Gerrard, Rooney or Ferdinand who are deemed as unsellable by their clubs.
Overall I don't think the Premier League is the best place for English talent to blossom. The manner of the defeat against France just shows how far England have regressed in recent years although the domestic football has improved, only drastic changes from the top down will improve things. Like when Germany conducted their own overhaul it may hurt at first but it is now time to start thinking long term.
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