Disappearing, disillusioned fans ...Wembley is a problem

GARETH SOUTHGATE has to inject his England players with a level of confidence and direction. He needs to energise this team. It would help if marcus Rashford did not have to play in a straitjacket. Against Slovenia, he and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were locked in their starting positions on the wings. It was too easy for the Slovenia right back. He knew exactly what he was up against and could nullify Rashford’s threat. In Russia, I want to see him given licence to roam centrally where he can cause more damage. Let us not forget that Slovenia had only conceded four goals in the group. They were hell-bent on trying to stop England scoring. It is also the case for both England and Tottenham that the national stadium is more like trembly Wembley. Gareth Southgate’s men are finding it difficult to play there, the crowds are disappearing and people are falling out of love with the national team. But by playing in straight lines against Slovenia, England were far too predictable. Where was the variation in our play? Harry Kane was starved of service, yet not once did England go to him direct from distance. If England are going to continue playing through the compartments rather than going direct, then the midfielders — Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier — have to learn to recycle the ball more quickly. When I coached at Arsenal after I retired, there was a drill Arsene Wenger had Alex Song and Abou Diaby practising to do to work on this. They would have to let the ball roll across their body, stop it with their furthest foot, turn in one motion and play the ball forward. When I watch Henderson get the ball, he turns in stages. I can see Dier is trying to move the ball forwards with more urgency and clearly someone at Tottenham is helping him work on this. But if nobody is doing the same with Henderson at Liverpool, then Southgate must not be afraid to step in and provide that coaching. We are not going to conjure up a world-class central midfielder in the next eight months, so Southgate must try to improve the players he has at his disposal. There is a lot of work to do on the training pitch. In the closing stages on Thursday, Southgate sent on michael Keane and switched to a back three. Is that how he wants to set up in Russia? Getting there was only the first step. Between now and the World Cup, Southgate has to sit down with his staff and work out the best way to bring tempo and energy to this England team.