xxxxxx - The Guardian

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The Guardian | Thursday September 4 2008
Football
The England manager has had five games to make his mark — how have the squads, formations and statistics shaped up?
Capello: the story so far
Squads
Caps
6
3
3
2
2
1
1
5
1
0
0
0
0
0
David James Portsmouth
Joe Hart Man City
Paul Robinson Blackburn
Rob Green West Ham
Joe Lewis Peterborough
Scott Carson West Brom
Chris Kirkland Wigan
Who else he could have picked
Ben Foster Man Utd Steve Harper
Newcastle Stuart Taylor Aston Villa
Ross Turnbull Middlesbrough
4-2-3-1
James; Brown (Johnson, 64), Ferdinand, Terry
(Lescott, h-t), A Cole; Barry, Hargreaves; Beckham
(Bentley, 64), Gerrard (Crouch, h-t), J Cole
(Downing h-t); Rooney (Owen, h-t)
Subs not used Robinson, Bridge, Walcott, Green
4-4-2
v USA May 28
W 2–0
Scorers Terry, Gerrard
James; Brown (Johnson, 57), Ferdinand, Terry,
A Cole (Bridge, 83); Beckham (Bentley, h-t), Hargreaves,
Lampard (Barry, 57), Gerrard; Rooney (J Cole, 79),
Defoe (Crouch, 69)
Subs not used Hart, Warnock, Woodgate, Jagielka,
Wheater, Walcott, Huddlestone, Downing, Young, Ashton,
Agbonlahor, Lewis.
4-4-2
Scorers Barry, Defoe 2
James (Hart, h-t); Johnson, Ferdinand (Jagielka, h-t),
Woodgate, Bridge (Warnock, 84); Beckham (Bentley, h-t),
Gerrard, Barry, Downing (Young, 57); Defoe (Walcott,
69), Ashton (Crouch, h-t)
Subs not used Lewis, Wheater, Huddlestone, Agbonlahor
•••
v Czech Republic Aug 20
D 2–2
6
5
1
5
3
0
Who else he could have picked
Phil Bardsley Sunderland Andy Griffin
Stoke Tony Hibbert Everton Justin Hoyte
Middlesbrough Nicky Hunt Bolton
Phil Neville Everton Nedum Onuoha
Man City Luke Young Aston Villa
Centre–backs
••••
•••
Rio Ferdinand Man Utd
Jonathan Woodgate Tottenham
John Terry Chelsea
Joleon Lescott Everton
Matthew Upson West Ham
Phil Jagielka Everton
David Wheater Middlesbrough
v France Mar 26
L 1–0
v Trinidad & Tobago Jun 1
W 3–0
Right–backs
Wes Brown Man Utd
Glen Johnson Portsmouth
Micah Richards Man City
Scorers Jenas, Wright-Phillips
James; Brown, Ferdinand, Upson, A Cole (Bridge, 73);
Barry (Hargreaves, 73); Bentley, Jenas (Wright-Phillips,
57), Gerrard, J Cole (Crouch, 57); Rooney (Young, 87)
Subs not used Carson, Richards, Lescott, Woodgate,
Owen, Defoe, Kirkland
6
5
4
3
3
2
2
5
2
3
1
1
1
0
Who else he could have picked
Emmerson Boyce Wigan Titus Bramble
Wigan Gary Cahill Bolton Curtis Davies
Aston Villa Michael Dawson Tottenham
Anton Ferdinand Sunderland Anthony
Gardner Hull Ledley King Tottenham
Zat Knight Aston Villa Nyron Nosworthy
Sunderland Chris Riggott Middlesbrough
Steven Taylor Newcastle
4-1-3-2
Scorers Brown, J Cole
James; Brown, Ferdinand (Woodgate, 57), Terry, A Cole;
Barry; Beckham (Jenas, 80), Gerrard (J Cole, 57),
Lampard (Bentley, 80); Defoe (Heskey, h–t),
Rooney (Downing, 69)
Subs not used Robinson, Johnson, Bridge, Upson,
Walcott, Hart
Wayne Bridge Chelsea
Ashley Cole Chelsea
Stephen Warnock Blackburn
Gareth Barry Aston Villa
Steven Gerrard Liverpool
Owen Hargreaves Man Utd
Jermaine Jenas Tottenham
Frank Lampard Chelsea
Tom Huddlestone Tottenham
Jimmy Bullard Fulham
Squads
Caps
6
5
3
3
3
2
1
5
5
3
2
2
0
0
Who else he could have picked
Lee Bowyer West Ham Nicky Butt
Newcastle Michael Carrick Man Utd Lee
Cattermole Wigan Sean Davis Portsmouth
David Dunn Blackburn Jonathan
Greening West Brom Danny Guthrie
Newcastle Michael Johnson Man City
Gavin McCann Bolton Hayden Mullins
West Ham Danny Murphy Fulham Mark
Noble West Ham Kevin Nolan Bolton Jamie
O’Hara Tottenham Nigel Reo-Coker Aston
Villa Scott Parker West Ham Steve Sidwell
Aston Villa
Left midfield
Joe Cole Chelsea
Stewart Downing Middlesbro’
Ashley Young Aston Villa
Possession
What is clear as England move towards
their first competitive matches under
Fabio Capello is that a revolution has
yet to take place. There was a belief that
the Italian would change drastically the
side that failed so abjectly under Steve
McClaren but, if anything, the status
quo has remained.
New faces have been introduced,
such as David Wheater and most
recently Jimmy Bullard, and others have
received their first caps under the new
regime, such as Joe Hart and Stephen
Warnock, but overall the same faces are
filling their regular spots. Indeed, all the
players who have appeared in four or
more of Capello’s six squads so far were
capped under a previous manager, and
every player who started in England’s
most recent match, the 2–2 draw with
the Czech Republic, had been a full
international for at least four years.
It could even be argued that Capello
is going backwards in term of selection
policy. Having called up Aston Villa’s
Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor in
his initial squads, he discarded the pair
for his most recent and instead turned
to Emile Heskey, who first played for
England in 1999.
There is one way, however, in which
England are progressing. In each of
Capello’s five matches in charge the side
have maintained more possession than
their opponents, even in the 1–0 defeat
54.3
Caps
6
5
2
4
4
1
Who else he could have picked
Leighton Baines Everton Michael Ball
Man City Paul Konchesky Fulham Jlloyd
Samuel Bolton Nicky Shorey Aston Villa
Andrew Taylor Middlesbrough Matt
Taylor Bolton
56.6
Right midfield
••••
David Bentley Tottenham
6
David Beckham LA Galaxy
5
Shaun Wright-Phillips Man City 1
Who else he could have picked
James Milner Aston Villa Jermaine
Pennant Liverpool Aaron Lennon
Tottenham Leon Osman Everton
5
4
1
43.4
France
60.6
39.4
England
USA
52.3
47.7
England
Trinidad & Tobago
56.8
43.2
England
Czech Republic
In every game of Capello’s reign
England have enjoyed a greater
share of the ball than the opposition.
Their average has been 56.1%
84.8
5
5
3
4
3
2
Pass success %
This high average
is a reflection
of England’s
superiority over
their opponents
in every game
Tackle average
England have
made 92 tackles
under Capello
— but only 12 in
each of their last
two games
Corners
The 28 corners
England have
had, compared to
14 for opponents,
is good news for
David Beckham
28
14
Centre–forwards
••••
••••
Wayne Rooney Man Utd
Jermain Defoe Portsmouth
Theo Walcott Arsenal
Peter Crouch Portsmouth
Dean Ashton West Ham
Emile Heskey Wigan
Michael Owen Newcastle
Gabriel Agbonlahor Aston Villa
Switzerland
England
Who else he could have picked
Keiran Richardson Sunderland
Squads
54.3
England
18.4
••
Left–backs
•••
••••
•••
5
5
5
4
2
2
2
2
Who else he could have picked
Shola Ameobi Newcastle Darren Bent
Tottenham Carlton Cole West Ham
Kevin Davies Bolton Matt Derbyshire
Blackburn Marlon Harewood Aston Villa
Andrew Johnson Fulham Dave Kitson
Stoke David Nugent Portsmouth Darius
Vassell Man City Bobby Zamora Fulham
4
3
1
4
1
1
1
0
Shots on and off target 10
• Eng On • Opp On
• Eng Off • Opp Off
10
11
7
6
England v Switzerland
XXXX
XX
4-1-4-1
Analysis
Sachin Nakrani
7 4
3
5
4
1
3
4
2
1
9 5
3
2
England v Czech Republic
v Switzerland Feb 6
W 2–1
Statistics
The story in graphics
England v Trinidad & Tobago
Goalkeepers
Centre midfield
England v USA
Matches
The story in results
England v France
Squads and caps
The story in players
England had fewer shots on and
off target than France but against
inferior opposition they have been
dominant without converting
4
Though this England
looks similar, they
are playing in a more
composed manner
in France, where the visitors had 56.6%
of the ball. The figure was even higher in
the supposedly muddled draw against
the Czech Republic — 56.8%. England
also passed the ball better than their five
opponents, reaching a 87.7% completion
rate in Paris.
Interestingly, the team are tackling
less as Capello’s regime develops. They
made 22, 24 and 22 tackles in his first
three matches in charge but only 12
in each of the last two. Their tackle
success-rate is, though, improving
overall, from 77.3% in the 2–1 victory
over Switzerland to 83.3% in the most
recent fixture. What this all suggests
is that although Capello’s England
may look very similar to the team that
went before, they are playing in a more
composed manner, consistently keeping
the ball better than their opponents and
showing a decisive, measured approach
in the tackle.
There is also a sting to this side.
England have had 64 shots on goal
under Capello, resulting in nine goals,
compared with a total of only 37 by their
five opponents.