Cronky

Well there are question marks against Gerrard's fitness, but time will tell. I saw him make a sub appearance recently and he looked okay. I think odds are he'll make it. Cleverly was called up to the squad but I don't think Capello liked what he saw. He may or may not be ready once he has this season under his belt. I don't think Capello's strategy will be defensive. If the right players are available, he'll give it a go. Whether the players will have the energy to respond is another matter.

Thinking about it, we played a 4-4-2 with two basically defensive players in centre mid, two wingers, and a big centre-forward. It didn't work at international level 30 years ago and it certainly won't work now. In fairness to Capello, his options were limited. We do have players that can get us out of that straitjacket, but Wilshere and Gerrard weren't available. Lampard's past his best but I think should still have started as our best attacking / creative option in the centre.

We've seen so many managers with a good record at club level struggling when they get the England job. There's quite a few underlying problems that haven't been completely ironed out. I often wonder whether the whole concept of the game that youngsters grow up with is a bit unhelpful in the long term. Foreign teams seem much more comfortable with improvising combination passing movements that open up a defence. We seem to rely a bit more individuals beating their man, or the specialist playmaker producing that one, 'defence-splitting' ball. It seems to be a conceptual / mental problem as much as a question of technical skill. Arsenal seem to be trying to embue their younger players with that more collective approach to opening up a defence. Wenger keeps statistics on how long each player keeps possession of the ball, and confronts those who hang on to it too long. He wants them to release it early and then move into space, relying on each other's ability. The player last night who epitomised what is mentally limited about the traditional English game was Scott Parker. Yes he has great energy levels, but he hangs on to the ball too long and is a poor passer. When he started running backwards to take the ball from his defenders and exchange aimless passes instead of getting the ball forward quickly we lost all momentum. And he was voted Footballer of the Year. What a joke.

I'd give him a chance. He already looks better than Walcott. Nerves can be a problem for a young player but he looks very confident. He has both pace and skill. What have we got to lose?

It was interesting that Capello said he would pick youngsters for the Spain game. I think he realises that we needs fresh blood or we're bound to fail. Oxlade-Chamberlain looks a major talent and I think will get a chance. Wellbeck looks good enough to force his way into the side.

The pressure on England managers is huge and we have difficulty in producing enough players with the technical qualities to win at the top level. What happens with a lot of England managers is they start off very positively and back their own ideas, but eventually the pressure gets to them and their confidence goes. Parker alongside Barry in central midfield in a 4-4-2 was a very negative selection, borne of pressure. Thank Christ it took Montenegro half an hour to realise they were better than we were. We only looked good in the early stages because the opposition were nervous.

It's bound to be three, isn't it? If that wasn't violent conduct, what is?

I've seen so many England performances like that over the years. Too many of the players are technically limited and the confidence and cohesion just goes. I thought things had improved but that performance made me feel we were back in the 70s. It's so frustrating when you see a tiny country like Montenegro play with more confidence and skill on the ball than us, a nation of 50 million.

He miscontrolled the ball. An opponent stepped in. He lost his temper and hacked at the back of the player's legs. Park football.

Lampard on. Good move.

We're a shambles. We're not playing as a team at all.

Both Terry and Cahill guilty of very tentative defending for their goal.

I can't stand watching Scott Parker run backwards to collect the ball off the back four, pass sideways to another defender, run across to collect a five yard pass, knock it back etc etc - Aimless passing which keeps possession but which doesn't in any way eliminate opponents. It destroys any attempt to inject tempo and rhythm into the side. When we eventually get the ball forward there's no space. Rooney's the only one who seems confident at passing the ball in a forward direction and into space that troubles the defenders. Walcott's having a total mare. This could be a tricky second half.

You've been licking Gerrard's arse for years. Give it a rest. I'm sure half your posts on here are written in that tone. Do you not think you should be taking your own advice?

However we set ourselves out, I can see them creating lots of chances. So we need Timmy to play a blinder. Which is perfectly possible, of course.

Semi-ITK stuff here. I can believe the bit about the night club, but not the rest.

Gerrard and Wilshere are our best players in CM and to have them both out is a blow. We should still have more than enough to secure a win though. I'm very relieved to see Rooney back. If he'd been out as well, we'd be struggling.

Skill on the ball is the main difference between him and Routledge, and there's a huge difference there. Routledge's control of the ball when moving forward in possession was extremely dodgy. I'd see him as a player who is always going to be found wanting at Premiership level. I'd like to see Obertan play with more aggression. When he's put under pressure, he almost seems to lose interest.

A player that size is unlikely to have the work-rate and mobility of a Beardsley-type. However, I think Best has worked very hard on his fitness and he gets far more involved than he did when he first came to the club. I'd have thought he was worth another look.

I'd like to see Arsenal bounce back. The success they've achieved and the way they've achieved it has been good for our game.

Oh no you're not.

Fair point. There hasn't been the kind of transition phase that often happens when players move from the Continent. He got stuck in right away.

I think we were written off by quite a few of our own supporters, as well as those outside. The focus all seemed to be on the players we were losing, and not the players who were coming in. There are a few things that have improved, but the obvious one is we're not conceding many goals. I wouldn't say our back four has looked any more solid than last year, but in Tim Krul we have a young keeper who now has the confidence to go with his talent. If I was to point to any one factor, it would be him. The fixtures will get harder and the initial momentum will flag, but we actually have some good players waiting to come into the side, so the dip, when it comes, won't be as severe as some pundits are suggesting.

He was always a good shot-stopper, but like most young keepers he was iffy with crosses and set pieces. That weakness seems to have gone.

Not really wanting to defend it too much, but at Wolves when they're on the front foot there is an argument for preferring lads with experience in the English league. It certainly wasn't a game at that point to bring on HBA. Yup. Bringing on Ben Arfa and Marveaux was not going to make us keep the ball straight away, Wolves were going to be pushing us hard and looking for a goal. It's a matter of thinking positive. There were three or four occasions in the last quarter where we had the ball in the final third, with plenty of time and space. Situations made for Ben Arfa. I can understand not wanting to bring on a lightweight but skilful player if you're closing the opposition down effectively and looking secure. But they were just knocking it around and had plenty of time to put crosses in. It's a miracle that only one went in. Well, Krul played a part as well. That's the best I've seen him play.