Roy Hodgson

Let me start out by saying that I am a massive fan of Roy Hodgson. He has done some good stuff for England and I hope he moves the team forward. But I was not impressed with him on Wednesday night. Not in the slightest. I didn't like his starting 11, I didn't like his tactics and I didn't like his subs either. We were defensively all over the place and attacking wise for much of the game we looked toothless.

Of course, it wouldn't be fair to blame Hodgson for all of this. After all, the players are rusty, not yet started their league season (and for the record I think this is a wretched time for a friendly, at least nobody got injured) and most importantly, the pool of potential players is pretty damn poor. Nevertheless, Hodgson or whoever helps him pick the side, have this obsession with mediocre players from big clubs, rather than good players from smaller clubs.

Let's start at the back. Joe Hart in goal. Obviously, this is a no-brainer. He's the best English keeper we have, playing football every week at one of the top 3 clubs in the country. He made a howler for the first goal, but for the sake of argument, let's put it down to rustiness and that he was unsighted (though if these howlers carry on, as they began to feature last season, we may have a problem). But who else do we have as an option? Ben Foster is experienced but error-strewn at the top level. Keepers like Alex McCarthy, Fraser Forster and Jack Butland are relatively untested and I think perhaps our best secondary option is John Ruddy, I'll be watching him closely at Norwich this season.

Defensively is where we have a problem. There is no denying we have two brilliant left backs in Ashley Cole and Leighton Baines and personally, I think people are way too quick to write Cole off, he's still better than Baines for me, although it is close. Baines, I've noticed, is also horribly one footed but then so is Arjen Robben and he's one of the best wingers in world football. On the other flank, I like Kyle Walker and he is quick, but he had a bad season at Spurs and Johnson is first choice for me comfortably. But in the centre of defence is where we have real problems.

It is fair to say that this is where we have a small pool of players. With the likes of John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Jamie Carragher out the picture, we have lost 3 world class centre halves. But look at our current selection and only Phil Jagielka is playing regular first team football! Smalling and Jones are lucky to get near the first team at United behind Ferdinand, Vidic and Evans and even then they mostly end up at right back (a slot England have enough good players in). Gary Cahill looks a good prospect, but he has had a tough first season at Chelsea with injuries a factor and he hasn't played consistently, with Ivanovic and Luiz also options there. But look at the players who have been looked over. Shawcross at Stoke has been excellent. Dawson and Caulker at Spurs both had great seasons and if we're going for players that don't play for their club, why not throw Joleon Lescott into the mix? This obsession with Man United reserves or part times is getting us nowhere, let's look at players who are performing consistently in the Premier League.

Into midfield now, where arguably we have the best choices. In central midfield we have Gerrard, Lampard, Cleverley, Carrick, Wilshere, Parker etc. I think Cleverley, Gerrard and Wilshere is the wrong choice for several reasons. For starters, I think Cleverley and Wilshere play too similar a role and as a result, the midfield feels bogged down. I think they're both excellent players, but in a 3 man midfield, I think Carrick is a better choice (to be fair he wasn't fit to play but I think Hodgson may have gone with Wilshere and Cleverley anyway). In terms of wingers, we have Walcott, Young and Milner who play regular football well, then the likes of Zaha and the Ox who are up and coming as well.

Yet for some reason, and we are getting to the crux of it now, Danny Welbeck is playing out on the left. Are you kidding me? Is our striker pool so tiny that not only does Welbeck have to be in the squad, but we are playing him out of position? In the second half against Scotland, Roy had 3 wingers on the pitch, yet decided to play Welbeck out left, leaving Milner and Oxlade-Chamberlain in the middle. Is this a joke?

The real heart of this problem though, is Wayne Rooney. Everything stems and circles around him. I am not a huge fan of Wayne Rooney, but nevertheless, when he puts on an England shirt, he is our best attacking option without a doubt. But for the love of God, he does not work as a lone forward. He works best playing just in behind the central striker, which was why he kept dropping deep to get involved in the play and as a result, he was rarely in a decent position in behind the defence. In a formation with a 3 man midfield, Rooney is not the man to lead the line. As such, we often saw Welbeck shifting inside and this didn't work as now we have a gaping hole down our left side. Yes, this works because we have bombing on full backs, but inevitably, we have a lop-sided strike force.

If you've got players like Rickie Lambert or Jermain Defoe in your side, utilise them. When you have both, one can be an impact sub but the other can start and wreak havoc, running in behind and firing in goals with pinpoint accuracy. And as for the strikers picked, as glad as I am to see Lambert finally picked, he's only playing because Sturridge is injured and Welbeck should definitely not be in the squad. Le Fondre, Agbonlahor, Crouch and even Andy Carroll had better rates at the top level. Hell even Stuart Downing scored more goals. Downing. I rest my case.