At last a worthwhile England friendly

When pondering my next post, inevitably thoughts turned to last night’s friendly at Wembley, England vs. Egypt.

I had the topic set in stone even before kick-off; something along the lines of what a waste of time this friendly was, and what did it tell us we didn’t already know?

In actual fact, it was one of the most worthwhile warm-up matches in recent memory.

Let’s get the John Terry saga out of the way first.

The anticipation of whether the lad got booed overshadowed the build-up to the game. It wasn’t a question of if he got shunned, more by how many.

But praise the Lord, the Wembley faithful came to their senses. Yes, there were sections of the crowd who jumped on the booing bandwagon, but as I say only sections.

And as the match wore on, the echoes of disapproving fans eventually disappeared like a fire’s embers going out.

Maybe the footballing nation has remembered John Terry, when on form, is one of the best centre backs in the world. I agree his performances have suffered of late, but is that surprising considering the circumstances?

Matthew Upson is a capable deputy; however, in terms of class he would be in the middle set while Terry is a top set A grade student.

Time to put the Terry tale to bed don’t you think (accidental pun)? Because the truth is, our chances of lifting the FIFA World Cup Trophy are greatly enhanced with him present.

The negatives from last night: Theo Walcott, on current form, isn’t good enough to don the Three Lions’ training top let alone the full jersey. His first touch, final ball, awareness and tracking back were a far cry from the night in Croatia when he turned from zero to hat-trick hero in the blink of an eye.

At the start of the match the Arsenal winger looked as though he was treading water, by the end of the first 45 the youngster had well and truly sunk.

Wes Brown is another who if lucky enough to get a plane ticket to South Africa, should sell it on eBay fast – the guy’s a liability.

The main objectives of a defender: put pressure on the ball and when man marking, stick to the attacker like a leech, in other words, if he goes to the toilet you follow (trying to put that as politely as possible).

Well the bit-part United defender does neither and the amount of times he gave the ball away was laughable. All I can say is hurry back Glen Johnson (didn’t think I’d ever write that).

Getting back to the positives, Capello must again take credit for his half time substitutions.

Ok, this was a friendly so there wasn’t the same pressure, but he could have sent the wrong people on. Since his reign began everything touched has turned to gold – long may that continue.

Peter ‘long legs’ Crouch must now be close to the starting XI, although whether that is near enough to remove Capello’s preferred option, Emile Heskey, remains to be seen. After last night he boasts an impressive goal tally of 20 goals in 37 games. Some argue about the standard of opposition many of his goals have come against; you can only play what’s in front of you.

With two excellent finishes, especially the well constructed first, he again demonstrated a classy underrated touch.

Shaun Wright-Phillips put his hat firmly in the ring following a second half introduction, threatening with pace and an end product. He has surely leap frogged Walcott now.

Debutant Leyton Baines was solid without sparkling. He will grow with confidence, unfortunately comparing him and the injured Ashley Cole is like comparing Britain’s Olympic medal haul in Vancouver to that of the Canadians – vast. A speedy recovery is in order Ashley.

Rob Green did everything asked of him. My only issue with the West Ham shot stopper is self-belief. Does he believe the number one jersey is rightfully his? I’m just not so sure.

And Michael Carrick at last showed the kind of form that sees him control the Manchester United midfield. Not a starter, but a certain sub in South Africa.

Moving on to Gareth Barry, do you think he is the only man in the Premier League’s history to never have had a bad game? Slightly over the top I know, nevertheless, he is invaluable to England. Not likely to set the world alight but, while others’ form fluctuates from first gear to fifth; the Manchester City man is in a constant fourth.

So, on thinking the match would be a complete waste of time – after the turmoil surrounding England’s recent World Cup preparations – it appears this friendly has at least got us back on the footballing track.