GRIM ENGLAND LIMP THROUGH
Kane’s late winner can’t mask flaws in this stuttering side
ENGLAND are heading to the World Cup but there were moments here last night when you rather hoped they could book their flights with Monarch.
Unfair? Maybe so after Harry Kane secured victory with a late goal that was a reward for England’s resilience if not their composure and finesse.
It was a reward, too, for Kane’s commitment and professionalism. The man now has a private chef, after all, and another international goal definitely made their passage to Russia that little bit sweeter.
But even the FA chief executive chose yesterday to describe Gareth Southgate’s side as brittle, a team that do not travel well, and as untimely as those comments were, the evidence here once again suggested Martin Glenn was right.
The goal, scored more than three minutes into second-half stoppage time, was not exactly a classic and resulted from Jan Oblak’s first mistake of the night. A poorly directed throw went straight to Kyle Walker, who responded with a darting run down the right flank before delivering a cross Kane was able to meet ahead of Miha Mevlja. It was scruffy but a poacher’s finish all the same.
England were already within touching distance of next summer’s finals as Scotland’s lead over Slovakia put Southgate’s side in a relatively comfortable position from which a point from this contest would be enough.
But Kane removed any doubt as well any lingering sense of anxiety and the form he continues to display as the country’s principal striker — and the manner in which he is now leading by example — is one reason for a bit of optimism.
It is not, however, enough to ease the nagging fear that another chastening experience at a major tournament awaits these England players, such is the regularity with which they produce such bang average football against distinctly average opposition.
Slovenia held England to a goalless draw on their own turf last year but they are nothing special and the fact that Southgate’s side took 180 minutes to breach their defence is a real indictment of their own failings. Three shots on target to Slovenia’s one was a poor return and a step backwards, even, from a similarly uninspiring display against Slovakia last month.
No wonder Glenn spent yesterday talking about the need for a psychologist. His remarks would not have been terribly helpful when expressed a matter of hours before this Group F qualifier but when their performances at home are as poor as this there is good reason to be concerned.
It was only last week that Southgate himself bemoaned the quality of his squad, highlighting the fact that a lack of quality and depth was forcing him to pick players who did not really deserve to be among the squad he chose for this two-match international break.
But it is a measure of how difficult a task he faces that the players he was clearly referring to — players not securing regular first-team football at their clubs — featured as prominently as they did at a half-empty Wembley.
Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain started and it was to Jesse Lingard that England’s manager turned when he decided it was time to hook the new Liverpool winger. Oxlade- Chamberlain kicked a water bottle in frustration as he left the field — but he had never displayed greater accuracy all evening.
In fairness to Southgate, he recognises the very obvious flaws. Last night he admitted there is an awful lot of work to be done between now and June after yet another performance that fell short of his own expectations. ‘We were not as sharp as we wanted to be,’ he admitted, which in the circumstances was something of an understatement.
Clearly the absence of the suspended Dele Alli did not help. Kane was largely starved of service as a consequence. But the problem area is not so much up front but in midfield, where a lack of skill, creativity and drive is undermining any ambition England might have to dominate opponents.
Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson are simply too similar: too defensive, too hesitant, too eager to pass either sideways or backwards.
The problem for Southgate, of course, is a shortage of options and — compared to previous years — a lack of true international quality.
Today the England manager does not have to wrestle with the conundrum of how one accommodates Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard in the same side. At the moment, Southgate would give his right arm for any one of them.
If he ever gets fit enough to be considered for a recall, Jack Wilshere might be the answer. But last night Chris Waddle’s suggestion of Jonjo Shelvey on the BBC was a measure of just how desperate the situation is only nine months out from the World Cup.
Southgate has had a year and 11 games to examine his options but he is still searching for a team that operates effectively.
There are some hugely gifted individuals, of course, Kane being chief among them. Marcus Rashford is another who has the ability to set pulses racing. But as a unit there is a troubling lack of confidence, and a lack of fluency any decent international side will all too easily exploit.
Slovenia, for all their inadequacies, could have given England a major problem last night. Joe Hart flirted dangerously with conceding a first- half penalty when he appeared to foul Josip Ilicic and a courageous double save from the England goalkeeper rescued his side late on when the game was still goalless.
But it was a dire match, one so uninspiring England fans began peppering the pitch with paper aeroplanes. Much like England, they also didn’t travel that well.