We had an easy victory over Bulgaria without even trying and against Wales – who were bright without creating to much – we struggled and put in a dull uneven performance. In the end we were lucky to nick a win after Earnshaw missed a sitter with about 15 minutes to go. We just can’t seem to string a meaningful set of passes together and it’s all too hit and miss. A little bit of quality from Ashley Young sealed us the game but it would be nice to see us play with a bit of style like the other tops sides from Europe seem to.

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European qualification comes a step nearer after an undemanding game against a frankly piss poor Bulgaria side. All the normal faults were there (especially giving the ball away) but there was enough pace and movement to overwhelm Bulgaria by half time. Our new boy Parker played well and let’s hope he can bring that kind of industry to Tottenham’s midfield. We’ve got to kick ourselves at having missed out on Cahill, not just because he scored but generally on his calm and assured performance. Something which the Tottenham back four could sorely do with. Best thing was though I had a punt on England to win 3-0.

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Whether it’s Spurs or England there’s always a nagging doubt that even when they’re playing well, there’s always the possibility either of them are going to through it away. It was the same last night. England dominated the game for long periods, playing some good chances and generally not letting Switzerland in the game and suddenly an hour into the game, the keeper starts to flap a bit, the clearances become less convincing and Switzerland get a sniff. Despite the wobble either side of the hour, we ran out convincing winners with a lot of good performances especially from Jakielka and Lescott at the back.

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Last night’s game seemed typical of many of England performances over the last few years; some quality moments amongst a lot of mediocre play. There’s no doubt Defoe tools his goals really well and Rooney was somewhere near himself (Williams is a little churlish to pick out some of his mistakes), Jagielka showed what he could do and Hart proved he’s got to be first pick in goal, but there were still lots of things that made me despair. The loose passing, Glen Johnson’s whole game, the poor movement off the ball and the wasteful tactic of just whacking the ball forward when there was nothing on.

Still a win is a win and now we’ve got Tuesday to look forward to where the Swiss will be much more organised and more of a threat. Let’s hope e have enough quality at the right times to get a win.

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In probably a match that was booked as a victory parade after the World Cup, Steven Gerrard once again proves he’s a flat track bully by scoring two goals to give us a victory. I watched bits and pieces of the game and we looked just as disjointed and headless as we did in the World Cup. It was good to see Jagielka get a run out but with the usual suspects still in the team, the whole game was a pointless waste of time.

In 1953 Hungary’s Magical Magyars came to Wembley and thrashed England 6-3. To prove it was no fluke, the Magyars beat England 7-1 the following year in Budapest. Until the 6-3 result England had not ever lost at home. The professional game at the time was run by the amateurs at the FA and the then manager Walter Winterbottom made a good fist of running the side even though he had to answer to a selection committee (I can’t imagine Capello letting someone else pick the squad for him). With their W-attack formation (with a deep lying centre forward as a playmaker), the Magyars were the precursor to the total football philosophy of the Dutch twenty years later but the English game ploughed on rigid, stuffy and out of touch until Ramsey’s wingless wonders won in 1966.

Fast forward 57 years and we are now in the same sort of position. Having been totally outplayed by Germany, even counting the goal that wasn’t given and that may have changed the course of the game, the game ended in abject humiliation for England. Capello can be criticised for selection and tactics but in the end it’s the players who have failed; the Sunday morning defending of Upson and Terry, the Billy’s Boots style of play of Gerrard, the sulky indifference of Rooney, the one pace of Barry, the failure of Lampard to reproduce his club form and so on. Unlike the failure to make the necessary changes after 1953, there must be big changes to the England team and we must expect some time in the wilderness whilst we re-build. The so called golden generation have had their day and we must try something different.

But why were we so poor ? We looked pretty good in qualifying especially in the two games against Croatia. There was still the Lampard/Gerrard debate and without Ferdinand we looked very one paced at the back but with Wayne Rooney in great form and us seeming to be able to score goals at will, the shocking performances at the World Cup couldn’t have been foreseen. Tiredness could be factor. We have a very commercially successful league that enables the players to be paid handsomely but it also contains too many games. It’s exciting stuff which is what we love but in terms of quality, it can be lacking. The clubs aren’t going to swallow fewer games on commercial grounds. Factor in the pursuit of Champion’s League gold and there’s simply not the will from the clubs to make sacrifices for England. The watering down of the amount of English players in the League must also be a factor. Whoever is the manager is having to deal with an ever decreasing pool of players to pick from. The Premier League product relies on foreign players and again unless they are forced to, the clubs won’t limit the foreign players in their teams.

Chris Waddle was on the radio yesterday ranting and raving about how the FA should do more to produce players who can dribble and go past people. We seem to have them (Walcott, Lennon and Wright-Phillips spring to mind) and we all know what their end product is like. I think Chris misses the point. What beat us was a team that could control and pass the ball, had pace, excellent movement off the ball, were organised when they didn’t have the ball and most importantly made the right choices. England needs players like Schweinsteiger, Xavi and Inestia, players comfortable on the ball, who work hard to get the ball back and most importantly again, make the right choices.

So what would I do ? In the short term I’d leave out the older failures such as Lampard and Gerrard and never play Terry again due to the disloyalty he showed during the World Cup. I’d stick with the goalkeepers and put Hart as first choice. I’d give Dawson his chance, keep Ferdinand and make sure Jakielka and King were there as cover. I’d play Baines or Warnock at left back and push Ashley Cole into midfield to give us pace, balance and someone who’d track back. Right back is more problematic. Johnson is a liability but he hasn’t many challengers so that would be a challenge. Micah Richards hasn’t come on as expected. I’d keep Milner down the right hand side with the headless wonders (Lennon etc.) as backups or impact players. Carrick would give us a bit of rhythm in the middle, along side a youngster like Rodwell (but again there’s not much choice). Joe Cole would play just behind Rooney dropping back into midfield if necessary.

But what do I know ?

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Profligate in front of goal but generally looking more like they meant it, England setup a next round game against the Germans. This could lead to a potential quarter final against Argentina. You’ve got to beat the best teams to be the best so we can’t complain. We need to play better against the Germans though especially not to give the ball away so much. I do think we are better when teams keep the ball as we seem to take much more advantage of it when we get it back in smaller doses.

There was so much wrong with this display, it’s difficult to pin down exactly what went wrong. The key to it seems to be though, that we play as if we’ve never played together. There’s not the team spirit and togetherness you get at club level. In all honesty players of this ability should be able to rise above that and at least look as if they’re putting the effort and commitment in. It all leaves Capello in a quandary ; does he radically change the team to get the result we need on Wednesday or does he just tweak it enough to drop the players that simply aren’t doing it ?

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Not for the first time Franz Beckenbauer is critical of England and the way we play. He mentions the bad old days. This presumably means how we’ve always played against Germany. In reality I think he is just trying it on, building up to the possibility of us meeting the Germans in the next round and setting the scene for a show of German superiority over us English. He may be right but it would be great to prove him wrong.