IS IT THE PLAYERS OR IS IT CAPELLO?

England’s performance against Algeria last night was so poor that it was actually boardering on the bizarre.

How can players who play at the highest level of world football so regularly, season after season, be so inept when they play together.

England’s players are certainly not over-rated, because as I said, they are consistently performing well on the biggest stages. Over-rated players are players who fail to perform on the big occasion when more is expected of them. Although that may have appeared to be case last night, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Jamie Carrager and Wayne Rooney have played in 22 Champions League semi final's between them and performed well.

England have at least half a dozen players who started the game last night capable of competing with anyone in the world. So why were they so lack-luster and, most importantly, where was the urgency?

One player, who has also featured in four Champions League semi finals himself, did not figure at all last night. One has to wonder exactly what Joe Cole has done to upset Mr Capello. England were crying out for his creativity and un-predictablity last night. His lack of playing time is puzzling, even if it is only as a substitute.

There were a few positives. After Robert Green’s unfortunate, traumatic week, David James looked composed and an imposing figure. Jamie Carrager looked solid at the back, although his yellow card rules him out of the last group game, while Gareth Barry played the full 90 minutes. Now I'm really clutching at straws aren't I?

Apart from that, England looked worringly void of ideas. Glen Johnson was poor in possession, which is usually his strong point. Steven Gerrard looked jaded, while I don’t think I’ve ever seen Wayne Rooney play so badly for club or country. He looked like the whole world was on his shoulders. Either that or the Manchester United star was drunk.

The players often look afraid to express themselves. Is it the Robert Green effect of being afraid to make a mistake. On one occassion Steven Gerrard cut in from the right in a perfect opportunity to unleash a shot with his fantastic right boot. At Liverpool he would have shot, no question, but instead he tried to square it across the penalty box to no one in particular.

Is it the manager who is the problem? Is he too aloof and not close enough to his players? Or are the players just not capable of dealing with the huge expectation? Is the language barrier causing problems within the camp?

Being an expat abroad I know how difficult it is to learn a language. But, if I was earning six million pounds a year, I think my English would be a hell of a lot better than Capello’s after two and a half years in the job. He is 64 years old, but surely instant communication is vital in a tournament such as this. If you remember back to January 1998 when he took the job, he said he would be fluent in a month.

It is all very well that the media is questioning why the Italian naming the team two hours before the game, but this wasn’t an issue in the qualifiers. Then, the players really did appear play for him, but now we are all asking the same old questions. The honeymoon period is well and truly over.

The only possible reason (tough in cheek, I hope) I can give for England ‘s woeful performance was that they are trying to come second in the group because Germany will probably not win their group, and they could face them in the last sixteen. But should they really fear the Germans? They are even missing penalties these days.

Slovenia is a tough match, but England simply ‘have to’ perform. I still think they will get through, but I cannot say that with a lot of confidence.

But the Three Lions are not the only team who are struggling. There are many other teams who, comically, would love to be in England’s position. Remember everything is still in England’s hands, and their fiercest rivals - the Germans - have, in the space of two days, gone from being everyone’s most impressive team to being in a fight to actually remain in the tournament.

The Germans are in the strange position of knowing that six points may still not be enough to qualify, while they are without their talisman Miroslav Klose for their final Group D showdown with Ghana. His red card was ridiculous and both yellow cards were probably not actually yellow card offences.

The referee from Spain was poor, but Germany had their chances even with ten men, and I would have put my house (if I had one) on Lukas Podolski burying that penalty. It was very un-German like.

A victory for Ghana over Australia today would leave the three times winners in big trouble and on the verge of possible elimination What an amazing turnaround. Will Franz Beckenbauer be feeling a little nervous at this moment? I suggest yes.

England are bad, but at least they are not France. The neighbours from across the channel are packed with terrific individuals from Patrice Evra to Florent Malouda to Franck Ribery but do not seem to want to play for the shirt. You can argue to the hilt that Raymond Domenech is the problem, but surely the players still need to try their hardest for their country. They appear to just be going through the motions. It will take a miracle for Les Bleus' to qualify now, and quite honestly they may not even beat the hosts – South Africa – anyway, on Tuesday.

Credit must go to the Mexicans though, who played some terrific and incisive counter attacking football. And the new Manchester United signing - Javier Hernandez - looks like a very talented player.

Argentina are the form team of the tournament so far, and Maradona’s antics aside have been entertaining on the field too. Lionel Messi, unlike Wayne Rooney, looks full of confidence and was fantastic against South Korea.

But the Argentina defence is still a cause for concern for them and that may hamper them later in the tournament. Four years ago, remember, they were also fantastic in the group stages and flattered to deceive in the knockout rounds. It will be interesting to see how they fare then, but if teams continue to let Messi roam around the pitch and run at them , they are asking for trouble. Why is nobody man-marking the little Barcelona forward? Surely it’s not rocket science. Bring back Martin Keown I say….


And then there is Spain. They didn’t play badly, but they must be panicking. Switzerland need to take four points off Honduras and Chile to finish first in the group and have a canny old fox in Otmar Hitzfeld at the helm. The result shocked me, but the match, in some ways, was a metaphor for this World Cup so far. It’s been interesting, without really excelling yet. The matches have been tense, but many have lacked flair and defences have regularly been on top.

After the Swiss scored, Spain never really looked like scoring. The Spanish need Fernando Torres back fit and firing, but that will take time and thhey don’t have time. A probable second round clash with Brazil awaits.

The fact that, bar, Argentina, nobody is dominating their group actually makes for a thrilling competition. The football may not be up to much, but the last round of group matches will be compelling viewing in terms of tension.

Will Germany and England both crash out? Will France pull off the great escape? Will Group B contain the first ever team to make it through to the knockout stages with two defeats? And will Slovenia – the smallest nation in the tournament knock out the biggest nation – the USA?

Picking a winner of the World Cup at this stage is nye on impossible. And what more can you ask for?



PS. Match of the tournament so far: Slovenia v USA followed by Greece v Nigeria. Terrific end to end stuff!