When the Euro 2012 Johnny Damon Jersey qualifying draw was made back in February few would have predicted that come October it would be the tiny nation of Montenegro fighting it out with England for top spot in Group G. Yet thats exactly the test Fabio Capello and his men faced last night, and you would have to admit that it is a test they failed.After the World Cup debacle Fabio Capello had a reputation to restore and was on track to do that it seemed after victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland. Last night may have changed some peoples minds and put the Italian right back under the microscope.The build up to the match had been dominated by Montenegro manager Zlatko Kranjcars comments over the form of Wayne Rooney, and the detrimental effect the recent media attention has had on the strikers performances. Rooney wasnt at his best last night, but he certainly wasnt alone in that regard. Again, Capello will face questions over his selection.Wayne Rooney struggled to make an impact against an organised Montenegro sideEngland set up in a 4-4-2, with fit again captain Rio Ferdinand lining up alongside Joleon Lescott at the back. Gerrard and Barry occupied the central midfield spots in the absence of Frank Lampard, and Ashley Young and Adam Johnson were given starts on the wings. Up front, the much criticised Wayne Rooney was paired with Peter Crouch. The Montenegrins were without their star men, Romas Thurman Munson Jersey Mirko Vucinic and Fiorentinas Stevan Jovetic, and lined up with a 4-5-1, electing to pack the midfield and try and catch England on the break. It worked.Within 10 minutes it was clear that Gerrard was playing too deep, and as a result Rooney and Crouch were isolated. Johnson and Young however were both playing at least with energy, and showed flashes of ability. On 25 minutes Young cut inside from the left, skipped past a couple of defenders before being body-checked by Miodrag Dzudovic, earning the Montenegrin a yellow card. After half an hour Adam Johnson outpaced his full back to get to the goal line but his cut back was easily cleared. 2 minutes later he fizzed a 25 yard free kick just wide of the upright. That was about as exciting as the first half got.Still a second half rout didnt seem impo sible. England had noticeably upped their tempo, and within 5 minutes of the restart Rooney had lashed over from 30 yards and Gerrard had combined well with Adam Johnson before firing a cro s too high for the waiting strikers. The game was 60 minutes old however before England produced their first truly incisive attacking move. Adam Johnson was involved again as he carried the ball down the Zach Britton Jersey right, before feeding it inside to Gerrard, who delivered a lovely through ball to Rooney in the box whose low shot was smothered by Mladen Bozovic.This proved to be another false start for England though as a series of ugly challenges, and one outrageous dive from Ashley Young, broke the game up with a series of bookings and free kicks. Kevin Davies got his long awaited international debut as he replaced Crouch after 70 minutes, before Adam Ottavino Jersey Young made way for Wright-Phillips. These were basic like for like changes however, and England still could not break through the Montenegro defence.Yet on another night England would have escaped with 3 points. Quite how the a sistant referee mi sed Milan Jovanovics blatant handball on 77 minutes nobody knows, but Zlatko Kranjcar himself would be hard pushed to argue it shouldnt have been a penalty. However just 6 minutes later and it was Englands turn to ride their luck as they watched helple sly as Jovanovic crashed a vicious 20 yard volley against the bar.With five months until the next qualifier Capello has some thinking to doBarry had one last chance to win the game, but his 90th minute effort was scuffed and easily pushed away by Bozovic. In truth England would barely have deserved the win. The performance was one dimensional, with little or no movement and an over Adam Lind Jersey reliance on long balls to Crouch. More worryingly Capello still seems to have no plan B. His refusal to try and change the shape or setup of the side when it was clear England were struggling is baffling.Capello has claimed England were lucky to draw, and he is right. Last nights game was certainly not a disaster, and England should still progre s to Euro 2012, but if they are to make a real impact at that tournament Capello has to addre s the i sues that continue to hinder Englands progre s at major international tournaments.
When the Euro 2012 Johnny Damon Jersey qualifying draw was made back in February few would have predicted that come October it would be the tiny nation of Montenegro fighting it out with England for top spot in Group G. Yet thats exactly the test Fabio Capello and his men faced last night, and you would have to admit that it is a test they failed.After the World Cup debacle Fabio Capello had a reputation to restore and was on track to do that it seemed after victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland. Last night may have changed some peoples minds and put the Italian right back under the microscope.The build up to the match had been dominated by Montenegro manager Zlatko Kranjcars comments over the form of Wayne Rooney, and the detrimental effect the recent media attention has had on the strikers performances. Rooney wasnt at his best last night, but he certainly wasnt alone in that regard. Again, Capello will face questions over his selection.Wayne Rooney struggled to make an impact against an organised Montenegro sideEngland set up in a 4-4-2, with fit again captain Rio Ferdinand lining up alongside Joleon Lescott at the back. Gerrard and Barry occupied the central midfield spots in the absence of Frank Lampard, and Ashley Young and Adam Johnson were given starts on the wings. Up front, the much criticised Wayne Rooney was paired with Peter Crouch. The Montenegrins were without their star men, Romas Thurman Munson Jersey Mirko Vucinic and Fiorentinas Stevan Jovetic, and lined up with a 4-5-1, electing to pack the midfield and try and catch England on the break. It worked.Within 10 minutes it was clear that Gerrard was playing too deep, and as a result Rooney and Crouch were isolated. Johnson and Young however were both playing at least with energy, and showed flashes of ability. On 25 minutes Young cut inside from the left, skipped past a couple of defenders before being body-checked by Miodrag Dzudovic, earning the Montenegrin a yellow card. After half an hour Adam Johnson outpaced his full back to get to the goal line but his cut back was easily cleared. 2 minutes later he fizzed a 25 yard free kick just wide of the upright. That was about as exciting as the first half got.Still a second half rout didnt seem impo sible. England had noticeably upped their tempo, and within 5 minutes of the restart Rooney had lashed over from 30 yards and Gerrard had combined well with Adam Johnson before firing a cro s too high for the waiting strikers. The game was 60 minutes old however before England produced their first truly incisive attacking move. Adam Johnson was involved again as he carried the ball down the Zach Britton Jersey right, before feeding it inside to Gerrard, who delivered a lovely through ball to Rooney in the box whose low shot was smothered by Mladen Bozovic.This proved to be another false start for England though as a series of ugly challenges, and one outrageous dive from Ashley Young, broke the game up with a series of bookings and free kicks. Kevin Davies got his long awaited international debut as he replaced Crouch after 70 minutes, before Adam Ottavino Jersey Young made way for Wright-Phillips. These were basic like for like changes however, and England still could not break through the Montenegro defence.Yet on another night England would have escaped with 3 points. Quite how the a sistant referee mi sed Milan Jovanovics blatant handball on 77 minutes nobody knows, but Zlatko Kranjcar himself would be hard pushed to argue it shouldnt have been a penalty. However just 6 minutes later and it was Englands turn to ride their luck as they watched helple sly as Jovanovic crashed a vicious 20 yard volley against the bar.With five months until the next qualifier Capello has some thinking to doBarry had one last chance to win the game, but his 90th minute effort was scuffed and easily pushed away by Bozovic. In truth England would barely have deserved the win. The performance was one dimensional, with little or no movement and an over Adam Lind Jersey reliance on long balls to Crouch. More worryingly Capello still seems to have no plan B. His refusal to try and change the shape or setup of the side when it was clear England were struggling is baffling.Capello has claimed England were lucky to draw, and he is right. Last nights game was certainly not a disaster, and England should still progre s to Euro 2012, but if they are to make a real impact at that tournament Capello has to addre s the i sues that continue to hinder Englands progre s at major international tournaments.