They were a good partnership for a solid P.L team, hhowever forgive me if I want a little more from my England team. Cahill is more of a threat going forward than either and is just as good a defender. Can't see why Jag continues to get picked when he looks out of his depth to me, and this is against Poland and Ukraine not Spain and Germany. Cahill has performed against the very best in the C.L already. But then again, centre half is the least of our worries...
Poland's main threat came down the right, with Piszczek and Grosicki (who are both rapid.) I can't really blame Cleverley or Cole for failing to keep up with their pace, as the latter is ageing and the former isn't particularly fast. Cleverely really should've been used inside. He's no good out on the wing, and kept cutting in anyway, which only left Cole with more to deal with. I'd have played a 4-3-3, with Gerrard, Cleverley and Carrick in the middle. A fast winger/attacker on either flank supporting Rooney (Lennon would be ideal) would have stopped their fullbacks attacking so much, and even come in handy with tracking back. It even gives you the option of dropping Rooney back as the more advanced of the midfield 3 later in the game, and bringing Carroll/Welbeck/Defoe on. This terrible 4-4-2 (which Hodgson barely disguises as a 4-4-1-1) has no place in today's game against decent opposition.
I like Jagielka and Lescott's a decent option to have in the squad but Cahill is first choice for me now. Someone like Shawcross would be good alongside him IMO, Maybe Kelly (if we start playing him in the middle) or Smalling could be good long term options if they can sort their injury problems out. Before any suggests Phil Jones (should he too sort his injury problems out), I don't think he is that great at CB, he is much better at RB or DM but we have better options at the minutes for both those positions
Exactly. 442 completely bombed at South Africa and we continue to use it. The other problem is we are seriously lacking creative flair. A problem my club had last season (save for Mata) yet can rectify with splashing the cash. An England manager doesn't have that option. If we only had a couple of top class attacking midfielders ala Silva, Mata, Hazard, Kagawa etc we'd be able to build a much better side. We have decent players but not enough variety to build a great team.
