ENGLAND’S recovery from their summer of turmoil has been stifled just as it appeared to be gathering pace. Instead, they go into the winter break disconcerted and discontented.
For the first time in 12 matches at Wembley, England failed to post the victory required to lift their spirits and, worryingly for coach Fabio Capello, his players only ever occasionally looked like doing so.It is Montenegro who will top Group G until hostilities resume next March and England who are left to stew on a performance that lacked wit and guile for longer than the majority of the crowd of 73,451 would care to remember.
Just when Capello might have thought his squad was beginning to gloss over their failings at the World Cup, the first cracks duly appeared. Not even the referee’s failure to punish a blatant handball by Milan Jovanovic late on could disguise that.
And had Jovanovic’s sweetly-struck left-foot volley soon after dipped under the crossbar, rather than cannoning off it with Joe Hart beaten, then a night of frustration would have turned sinister.
As it was, Montenegro, ranked 40th in the world, were still celebrating one of the most famous results in their short history on the pitch long after England had slunk off to their dressing room.
Matters become more complicated now for Capello, the goodwill the wins over Bulgaria and Switzerland brought him lost amid a listless display which was greeted with a chorus of boos at the final whistle.
Wayne Rooney squandered two chances, or was denied by smart saves from goalkeeper Mladen Bozovic depending on your point of view, but while England prompted and probed they could not land the blow of a champion. “This is football,” said Capello ruefully afterwards. “It’s not boxing where you win by punching the opponent more.”
England’s trip to Wales next March is now crucial as they look to re-establish their credentials in a group from which only the winners are guaranteed to progress.
The intervening friendlies with France at Wembley next month and Argentina, on neutral soil in February, have extra significance attached.
It is four years since England failed to score on home soil, the last time being at Old Trafford in October 2006 when Macedonia secured a goalless stalemate in a result that severely undermined Steve McClaren’s tenure.
Capello must hope that this is not so costly. Signs that this was going to be difficult evening against opponents who have now not conceded in four games, were soon apparent.
Any disappointment Steven Gerrard felt about not retaining the captaincy was not detectable and his performance was arguably one of the few that rose above the general lethargy that gripped the rest of his team-mates. He almost chiselled out opportunities for Peter Crouch and Ashley Young when a clever free-kick played wide to Glen Johnson resulted in the clearest opening of a turgid opening passage.
The centre was aimed towards Crouch and the striker, under slight pressure from Marko Basa, was right to chide himself as his header flew wastefully over.
It was a miss that denied England the fillip of an early goal and also allowed Montenegro the luxury of sticking to their blueprint and sitting deep.
The visitors focused on containment first and foremost rather than summoning the courage to break forward and test Rio Ferdinand, whose comeback as skipper was both a genteel and, ultimately, dispiriting affair.
In response, England struggled to function at a tempo that stretched Montenegro and Ashley Young and Adam Johnson, who were so crucial to Capello’s masterplan, suffered as a result.
They offered flashes of inspiration, Adam Johnson more than Young, but the build-up play around them was, more often than not, so slow that the duo seldom found themselves one on one against their markers.
When Young did in the second half, he dived to try to win a penalty and was rightly booked by German official Manuel Grafe. It was disappointing that with England dominating possession, Capello did not send on Jack Wilshere and ask him to replicate the angled, clever passing he has showcased for Arsenal.
In the end, Wilshere’s withdrawal from the Under-21s served no purpose and the sight of Shaun Wright-Phillips coming on for another of those forgettable cameos summed up the lack of ideas.
“I thought a lot about bringing Wilshere on, but physically they were really strong,” said Capello. “I needed someone strong in the box so that is why I brought on Kevin Davies.”
At 33, Davies became England’s oldest debutant since 1950 when he replaced Crouch with 20 minutes remaining. Enough time for him to collect a booking rather than lay down a marker that he should be included again.
Yet, rather than the likes of Young, Adam Johnson and Davies providing inspiration, Capello is entitled to have expected more from his senior players – Gerrard apart.
Gareth Barry found the red shirts of Montenegro with more precision than his team-mates and Rooney, cautioned for a crude foul on Elsad Zverotic, continues to struggle to hit the heights.
If Sir Alex Ferguson was hoping representing his country would pep his confidence then, not for the first time, England duly disappointed him. It proved that type of night all round.
