It’s quite simple, the TV pundits keep telling us, you just have to play your best players in their best positions. This is usually stated with reference to Steven Gerrard being positioned on England’s left (when he should be situated more centrally.) Gerrard is one of England’s most exciting and skilful players and the notion of him marauding through the centre in support of the striker is certainly appealing.
But this perspective overlooks the fact that Gerrard’s form has been better under Fabio Capello then under any previous England coach. The current suggestion seems to be that Capello has neutralised Gerrard’s effectiveness by placing him on the left of midfield. But this more defined, but still flexible positioning has improved Gerrard’s performances at international level. Gerrard was consistently disappointing for England prior to Capello’s arrival and never replicated his impressive Liverpool form for England in central-midfield. Admittedly Gerrard was paired uncomfortably with Frank Lampard for many of his appearances, but even when situated in a more advanced central position (such as the knock-out phase of World Cup 2006) his performances were decidedly lacklustre. There wasn’t a huge amount of marauding through the centre in support of the striker!
Best players in their best positions
The populist model also suggests that Wayne Rooney should be fielded as a lone centre-forward, which is a role he performs well for Man Utd. This approach works within the familiarly of a high-functioning club side, but may not translate comfortably to international level. Although Rooney has showed glimpses of form in South Africa, his performances have not suggested that he is presently equipped to lead the line on his own against reinforced international defences. Utilising him with a strike-partner or target man enables him more freedom to roam in search of the narrow margins of space which might be available.
Therefore, it isn’t simply a case of playing your best players in their best positions. A team is perhaps more than that, and Capello has to take many factors into consideration when reconciling the available talent with a functioning team structure. To the left, WCC demonstrates how a line-up of England’s best players in their best positions might look for the Germany game.
Hanson said after the England game something along the lines of “if playing your best players in their best positions is not the best strategy then I have never seen a game of football in my life”
Typical Kopite gobsh..e!