The England National Football Team: Problems and Solutions

Opposition teams in the Barclays Premier League quiver at the sound of names like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. There is no contending the point that Rio Ferdinand and John Terry are two of the greatest central defenders in the land. You'd think that when all these stalwarts come together, they'd make give the opposition some sleepless nights before a game. But somehow, when you string such greats of the game together, they sometimes churn out some nightmarishly pathetic and unconvincing performances. Why so?

Many people think that it is a problem of plenty. Plenty of really good players, playing plenty of matches tirelessly with plenty of domestic clubs all year long. And when they bring their plentiful individual talents together, the result is chaos. What I think is that plenty of talent should never be a problem. I think it is more that the utilization of the available resources has been a bit faulty. Fabio Capello has taken up the reigns quite well, and the whole brigade finally resembles a team, but if this team is thinking of winning the FIFA World Cup, there is quite some work to be done.

Problem No. 1: Goalkeepers
Well to be fair, it has been a problem for a while now, and perhaps the one strongest argument as to why this team is not winning cups. England just have not had a convincing enough goalkeeper. Look at the current English goalkeepers for instance. Robert Green, Paul Robinson and Ben Foster. All these three can be spectacularly good on one day and absolute rubbish on the next. Fabio Capello hasn't been able to zero in England's number one keeper. In fact the number one goalie changes each month. And I'll tell you what's weird? None of them is the best goalkeeper available in England. The best goalkeeper in England today is the mercurial David James and I cannot say why the selectors are overlooking him. The true English might cringe at the suggestion, but the second best goalkeeper is the recently naturalized Manuel Almunia.

Problem No. 2: Gerrard or Lampard?
Any coach would want one of these two great players in his team, but both? Now that is a serious problem. Being a Liverpool fan, I'd be inclined to believe that Gerrard is better, but Lampard is equal in his own right. Add to that, they are the best players in their position and absolute rubbish in any other position. I will still never understand where Rafael Benitez comes up with these ridiculous ideas of putting Steven Gerrard on wing. You'd think Capello is smarter, but he ends up doing the same thing. The result? Gerrard doesn't perform to the best of his ability and a waste of a good right wing space that should really go to Aaron Lennon/Theo Walcott.

Problem No.3: Left Wing?
Center forwards aplenty, but who's manning the Left Wing? If Fabio Capello is so insistent on David Beckham, why not put him in there? It will be good once Joe Cole comes back though, although he is pretty injury prone.

The Way Out
The way out, as I see it, is to play the 4-5-1. As it is, the coach is having trouble wondering who to put slot alongside Wayne Rooney. So might as well let him be the lone man up front. He can run, and boy, he can shoot. And he is perhaps the best player the England squad have right now. He's young, fast, hard and hungry. He can be a sole operator too unlike Defoe or Crouch who need someone – each other actually – to compliment their skills. If only Rooney could head the ball... Michael Owen is an option. Lets see how he turns out. Emile Heskey, I will ignore completely, without a second thought.

In my 4-defense, I'd pick Ashley Cole—Rio Ferdinand—John Terry—Glen Johnson. Pretty good I feel, if Johnson holds his nerve. He's the new guy in a set defense and will take time to settle in. But he's good and he's in form. And he's talented too. So he'll settle himself with time.

5-man midfield may sound like a defensive approach, but if you see the attacking caliber of the midfielders, you might think otherwise. In my opinion, the midfield should ideally (no injuries) be Joe Cole/Beckham/Young—Frank Lampard—Gareth Barry (sitting defensively)-- Steven Gerrard—Aaron Lennon/Theo Walcott. Simple explanation. Either of Lennon or Walcott (or both) have to be groomed for the FIFA World Cup 2011. Great players both, and a little time invested on them will yield good returns. I wouldn't pick Shaun Wright-Phillips on current form. No complaints about Ashley Young though. But my first choice would be Joe Cole.

And lastly, goalkeepers. Of all the keepers, I'd pick Robert Green. Reason? Paul Robinson is TOO patchy and Ben Foster will not get enough first team action at Manchester United when Edwin Van Der Sar comes back. And once I picked one, I'd play him consistently. No reshuffling every 2 months!

I'll sign off saying that of Fabio Capello is trying to be diplomatic by picking players from varied clubs, it is not a good idea. What I'd do, is I would rather pick as many GOOD players from one club as I can, to make the players feel at home. Right now, it is quite obvious that Chelsea have an upper hand. So I would give their players precedence over other teams' players.