England Again... It Didn't Take Long

As I start to write this I only intend it to be a short blog, so we'll see how that goes. The reason it's short is because I didn't get to properly watch the England v Norway game tonight as I was working, but I got the gist of what was going on from what I saw.

As some of you may have seen, I have written a few blogs about England over the past few months, and as expected tonight just proved that whilst there is great talk of change and building for the future and all that sort of stuff, nothing has actually changed.

Under Roy Hodgson England are still far too defensive. They're still playing a 4-2-3-1 formation. And most annoyingly, they're still accommodating Wayne Rooney. Worse than that, they've even made him captain. I've said on many occasions that right now in football to be a top team it is integral that you are playing two strikers. I've said it about Liverpool that it's not even that important who they are, as long as you are playing two. People argue in Rooney's favour saying that he is not being played as a striker and that's why he's not performing, but in all honesty that doesn't even matter. Rooney can not play that strikers role anyway. Rooney's game, as I've said many times before, consists solely of dropping deep to get the ball, playing a long diagonal ball to the wing, then getting in the box for a cross. That's all he does.

I'm not saying that Rooney was not, at one time, a good striker. I am not saying that Rooney was not, at one time, a good player. But now that his game consists solely of dropping deep to get the ball, playing a long diagonal ball to the wing, then getting in the box for a cross, he is not good enough to play for England. Players have to adapt their game as they get older, just look at Steven Gerrard having to become a holding midfielder for Liverpool, but the way Rooney has developed his game into what it is today there is no way he can be adapted to fit the team. He can not play as a striker, and there are better players than him in midfield who would have to miss out just to accommodate him in that position. Doing what Rooney does now he is nowhere near the best player in the England squad in his position. Rooney is average and a lot of players can do what he does. Someone like Joey Barton could do what Rooney is doing now and do it just as well.

Sticking with Rooney is just moronic, and the view some fans have is detrimental to the national team, believing Rooney deserves his place in the team based on the chance he may do something special, even though there's no evidence to suggest he will. As I said, Rooney's game has changed now he's got older and to believe he may somehow become the player he was in 2004 is just stupid. Especially picking him for a team, actually accommodating him in a team and leaving out other players for him.

As I said on twitter tonight, people are still clinging on to the idea that Rooney is a good player. England is clinging on to the idea that Rooney is a good player. And this is what is stopping them from moving forward.