F365 Opinion

A few quick points in response to Wednesday night's proceedings at Wembley...

* After all the hubabaloo generated by the success of Fabio Capello's first year in charge, the plodding victory over a limited but stubborn Ukraine side offered a fair reflection on the England team - decent, but lacking a centre-forward and too misguided in possession to control a game for long periods - and their standing in the world game - above average, comfortably good enough to qualify for the World Cup but not, as yet, offering any evidence to suggest they'll go beyond their traditional quarter-final glass ceiling.

* There's no learning with Wayne Rooney. If he does not know that that sort of tackle is a red-card waiting to happen then he never will. England's only hope is that, whenever it happens again - and we can be sure it will happen again based on past experiences - the next referee will fail to see what he ought to have seen.

* But there's no question of dropping Rooney as a liability either. Everything that Rooney did with Gerrard was good and everything that England did that was good involved Gerrard with Rooney. He's a liability but he's 50% of the best hope England still have.

* If their form in the Premier League was maintained at an international level then England would have three outstanding attacking players: Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. While it could be argued that Rooney's performances for country tend to transcend those regularly produced for his club, the opposite remains true of Lampard. In the Capello reign, this is not necessarily his fault. The "unselfish" holding position he now plays internationally is very different to the one he occupies at Chelsea. Problem is, his performances are very different too and if England are to use a disciplined central-midfielder in conjunction with a 'holding' central-midfielder - which is what the Barry and Lampard partnership seems to add up to - then Capello might as well use a player who is comfortable in the role and capable of influencing the game within that restriction. On this evidence, it's doubtful that Lampard is that player.

* There were a number of England players whose reputation soared on Wednesday. Most of them, however, were not playing. Theo Walcott, Joe Cole, Emile Heskey all enjoyed encouraging evenings, and so too did Michael Carrick. In The Independent, James Lawton argues that the ManYoo midfielder was the evening's big winner, declaring in headline that England 'cried out for the creative Carrick'. That's not quite accurate. Carrick's creativity is over-played because he actually tends to under-play his use of the ball. If he is involved in a goal, it is normally as the assistor to the assist. But what he would have brought to England last night was quality in possession and the tock to keep the team ticking over. Gareth Barry provided neither and was fortunate to remain on the pitch. If a central-midfielder is under threat, the first to go will be the Aston Villa captain.

* Chris Waddle, whose blossoming career as a pundit defies sense, made a few sour points about David Beckham in commentary on Saturday. Chief amongst his observations was that plenty of "better players" had fallen on the wayside during Beckham's career, the implication being that Becks was lucky to break Bobby Moore's outfield record. But is not a central tenet to Beckham's success his ability to avoiding falling off the footballing wagon? Class and ability is nothing but squandered without application and dedication - and Beckham's achievement in maintaining both should not be so cheaply disregarded by a player whose final ten clubs were Falkirk, Bradford City, Sunderland, Burnley, Torquay United, Worksop Town, Glapwell and Stocksbridge Park Steels.

* In any case, the point that ought to be highlighted again and again about Beckham is the value of his set-pieces. All three of the goals on Wednesday came from that route, a reminder that, in international football, set-pieces are king. For that reason alone, Beckham's lack of pace is a red herring. So long as he is able to kick a stationary football, he will have a part to play. More's the pity, then, that David Bentley has disappeared off the radar this year. Like Beckham, he should find international football a far more generous arena than the Premier League

* Ashley Cole's third year at Chelsea has seen a partial revival but his display on Wednesday was a major set-back. Not as bad as that of Wayne Bridge against Croatia two Novembers ago, but bad all the same. Hopefully it will just be a temporary blip but gone are the predictions of greatness. Cole is a player with a great future stuck only in his past.

Pete Gill