England – World Side, or Teesside?

As England prepare to face Poland at Old Trafford, secure in the knowledge that they’ve already qualified for the World Cup finals in Germany, some pretty upbeat messages appear to be filtering through.

According to reports, Manager Sven Goran Eriksson believes that England have no fewer than 10 of the world’s top 50 players – and Michael Owen reckons the squad is second only to Brazil in quality.

Confidence doesn’t come much higher than that and it’s interesting to speculate as to who Sven’s top 10 might be. Presumably Rooney, Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Owen, Cole (Ashley that is). Probably Ferdinand, Terry and Campbell. And as for number ten……

One thing’s for sure – a fully fit England squad is a formidable outfit indeed. Paul Robinson has proved an excellent first choice keeper. Not many sides have a pair of full backs to match Gary Neville and Ashley Cole. At centre back, clearly the strongest unit in the side, there is an embarrassment of riches – with players of the calibre of Terry, Campbell, Ferdinand, Carragher, King and Woodgate. In midfield, the choice includes Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Joe Cole and Wright-Phillips. And up front, England have Owen and Rooney.

Most of the above would be coveted elsewhere and several of them would walk into virtually any international side in the world. So there’s no doubt whatsoever that the manager is fortunate to have so many quality players to work with. All he has to do is select his team, blend those talents into the most effective unit by choosing the formation that best suits them, then work on a pattern of play in attack and defence and especially those vital set plays. And to give him every encouragement, it is believed that the Football Association pays him between £4m and £5m a year in order to achieve this.

The question is, given the undisputed (many would say unprecedented), talent at Sven’s disposal, why is it taking him so long? Why have recent performances, and results, been so dismal? And why are some of the critics suggesting that far from being potential world beaters, this England side looks a lot like Middlesbrough?