There’s only so far England can go without a playmaker

THIS is not Jordan Henderson’s fault, but the moment when Gareth Southgate’s England plan may finally come to fruition is when he is no longer such an integral member of the side.

Henderson did well against Holland last week. He may even be England’s captain at the World Cup. And, if he is, he will fulfil his role with the usual diligence and selflessness. He will work hard, he will hold his position, he will use the ball to the best of his abilities; but it will not be enough.

To get out of the group, yes. England can overcome Tunisia and Panama just as they are and then the result against Belgium is largely immaterial. Their knockout round opponents will come from Group H and there is little to choose between Poland, Senegal, Colombia and Japan. England may well be happy in that company, too.

Yet in the quarter-finals it is different. If all goes to form, England will probably be matched with Germany or Brazil, at which point the limitations in midfield, in particular, are going to show.

There is only so far a team can travel without a gifted footballer at the heart of the team, a player who can keep possession and dictate the pace and flow of the game. England do not have that man. Henderson is not a fit and nor are his contemporaries.

Jack Wilshere is the nearest but is not at the level of, say, Toni Kroos and, even if he were, it is very hard for a manager to scheme his strategy around a player who could get injured crossing the tarmac to board the plane. Making Wilshere critical to England’s World Cup is a risk Southgate cannot afford to take.

So there is, in all probability, a limit to England’s ambitions right now. While Henderson is still the pivot of England’s midfield there is only going to be so far this team can go before games are taken away from them.

It would need a stunning plan, and extraordinary shifts at the back and from the forwards, to overcome the absence of a playmaker. Henderson is doing all he can, but even on his best days the flaws are visible.

He made 91 passes against Holland, but 76 were sideways or backwards and only 15 moved the ball forward. Of those 15, just 10 were successful. Meaning Henderson’s accuracy suffers the more expansive he tries to become — and this was in a noncompetitive game when he probably had more time on the ball.

Eric Dier, who could well be Henderson’s partner in the biggest games if Southgate plays safe against the stronger nations, is no more inventive and the attack-minded options, such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who started the move that ended in Jesse Lingard’s goal in Amsterdam, are still not the type of individuals who dominate play.

Adam Lallana could not be relied upon to hold his position, Jake Livermore is willing but very average, and it appears Southgate was unimpressed with Danny Drinkwater’s decision to stay at Chelsea when called up to the squad towards the end of last year.

Of the younger options, Harry Winks has played six minutes of Premier League football for Tottenham since December 16, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek played a minute for Crystal Palace in their last match at Huddersfield, his comeback after an injury sustained in December.

He did well against Germany in November, but can hardly be saddled with being England’s Andres Iniesta in time for June, having missed the handful of opportunities to play international football since. Southgate may have to go with what he knows.

AND therefore, should be cut a little slack. For the first time since the days of Terry Venables and Glenn Hoddle, an England manager is trying to take the team in a new, and ambitious, direction.

Sven Goran Eriksson got England organised but, like Roy Hodgson, the football was functional. Fabio Capello had England looking good in qualifying, but lost his nerve and his way at the tournament in South Africa. Steve McClaren came with big plans to change England’s system of play, making it more flexible, but one bad night in Zagreb frightened him off.

Southgate has had his scares, too, but is determined that England will evolve. And remember, in central midfield, Venables had Paul Gascoigne, Hoddle had Paul

Scholes — if Southgate could choose from options like that, his problems would be solved. instead, he has to find other routes to goal.

his forwards try to move the ball quickly, his defenders play out from the back. he used Kyle Walker and Kieran trippier inventively against holland, and the experiment worked, meaning more new ideas will be entertained with less scepticism. Undoubtedly, there is progress. if england are going through a relatively barren scoring spell — three goals in five games — that is because between the defensive and forward units is a patch of rough terrain.

No wonder england’s manager is so anxious to use the flanks, or to find ways for henderson to get the ball in to the front players soonest.

Of course, lose to tunisia and Panama and optimistic talk appears shallow. No matter the limitations of his squad, Southgate should be able to steer this team from Group G, even if they end up playing second fiddle to Belgium. Do that, however, and whatever happens next — even defeat — must be tempered by an acceptance of the ambition of his project.

Right now, this is a waiting game. Southgate is improving what he can but in other areas must make do until the player that makes the whole system fall into place comes along. he needs a playmaker. Until he gets one, england can never quite go forward as they should.