England Performance

Not a great performance tonight from England, largely they seem to have maintained some of the discipline that was showing late in 2008, but showed very little in the way of invention.

Spain did not need to go above third gear, and were assured in possession. They never really looked in any danger. They were hungry to be in possession and quite plainly are much more productive holding possession. England seemed rushed at times when in possession and just gave the ball away.

England were not dire, but there was an obvious difference in class that Capello will need to work on. The second goal for Spain will be played over a few times. England are much improved on the Steve McClaren era, but are nowhere near to the standard required to win a major tournament.

I may be being a little harsh, Spain are the best team in the world at the moment and England were without Gerrard, Ferdinand, Joe Cole, and Wayne Rooney.

England, in my opinion are lacking credibility in a number of positions. Hopefully the emergence in the next year of Ashley Young and Gabriel Abonglahor will help address two such problems, aided in future squads with the impressive James Milner. Yes, England are likely looking to Martin o'Neil and Aston Villa for the next stage in the teams improvement. The return of the aforementioned big players and also, later in the year, Owen Hargreaves will offer a Capello a much improved squad from which to launch a bid for the World Cup.

Not a great evening, but at least I don't have to listen to another pointless McClaren post-match interview!!

Your views on England and Spain are welcomed.