Already we need a bit of perspective
IF you listen to most pundits, England had a pretty rubbish preparation for Euro 2016.
They only won their three games by the odd goal, rather than hitting the opposition for six and playing like football’s equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters.
They may have beaten Turkey, Australia and Portugal. But that’s no big deal, particularly as the Portuguese didn’t have Cristiano Ronaldo and only had 10 men for more than half the game.
But maybe we should be looking on the three matches another way.
Roy Hodgson wanted to replicate as near as possible the conditions his squad will find in France.
He wanted, in effect, a practice qualifying group, with three matches in three different cities, his players moving hotels and changing training bases.
Let’s say that instead of beating Turkey, Australia and Portugal, he’d beaten Russia, Wales and 10-man Slovakia, each by a single goal without ever really hitting a high note.
We’d say that was a pretty decent start to the Euros, wouldn’t we?
We’d be talking about England finally learning to master tournament football, about them learning that results are more important than performances.
Pre-tournament friendlies always throw up more questions than answers and the main one is focused on Wayne Rooney. The suggestion is that he has suddenly become a headache for Hodgson.
Many believe that the manager is picking line-ups designed simply to get his skipper into the starting XI.
Rooney’s detractors argue that the man who has been his country’s most influential player for over a decade is now living on his name.
They say that others are being shunted around into unsuitable positions and formations because the manager isn’t strong enough to leave Rooney out.
He may not be the force he once was, but he remains England’s single world-class player, with 13 years of international know-how. It is inconceivable that he should be omitted.
Hodgson’s motives should not be mistaken for either stubbornness or lack of bottle. You don’t readily dispense with what Rooney brings to the table. You find ways of using it.
It might not work to play Rooney, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy starting together. That doesn’t mean that Rooney is the problem. Find another way.
My starting XI against Russia next Saturday would be a 4-3-3: Hart in goal, Walker, Cahill, Smalling and Rose in defence, Wilshere, Dier and Alli in midfield. My front three would be Sterling, Kane and Rooney.
And Rooney’s name would be on the sheet first.