You the manager: solve England's midfield dilemma

Martin Samuel argues with his usual impeccable logic in today’s The Times that Steven Gerrard has found his niche in the current England team.

Fabio Capello, the manager, has four good central midfield players in Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry and Owen Hargreaves at his disposal, fighting for just two places. As four into two will not go, the only sensible alternative was to move the Liverpool player to the left side, as happened against the United States on Wednesday night.

Gerrard is not happy there – he views himself as a central midfielder, but has had to fight the same fight at club level, with Rafael Benitez, his manager at Liverpool, often playing him on the right side.

Of course, if Gerrard fills the left-sided berth for England, then where does that leave Joe Cole? As an understudy to Wayne Rooney as a deep-lying second striker, it would appear.

What do you think, if Capello deploys a 4-4-2, as it appears he will from now on, who would your two central midfielders be? Would you play Gerrard on the left and what would you do with Joe Cole?

Work your way through our poll questions below, if you would be so kind, and please leave us a comment explaining your thoughts in the field at the bottom of this post.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Comments

[redfergie]

Capello knows that width will win matches for England and he knows that Joe Cole is not a winger. Downing was the architect of England's early double. He clipped a neat pass down the left, Bridge lifted it in from the byline and Barry steered it home. Downing threaded an even better ball into the box minutes later for Defoe to scramble clear and roll inside the far corner and Bentley was the creator of the third from the right.

[Boris]

Richards--Ferdinand--terry--cole

------------Carrick-------------

----J. Cole------------Barry----

------(Gerrard/Lampard)---------

--------------Rooney------------
---(Ashton/Crouch/Defoe/Owen)---

I really don't think England have a great collection of wingers at the moment. Beckham is still a quality player but is not a long term option. I'm yet to be convinced that Bentley has the skill to play at the top level, right now. Playing players like Cole and Gerrard on the left means that they drift inside too often and completely remove the left side of our team, whilst cluttering the middle. I think we should play with what we have, and go for a strong, compact central midfield, with players that are decent passers. I'm not a massive gerrard fan but he does seem, at least, to be trying to play in a more composed manner under Capello, who has picked up on gerrard's failings very quickly

[Grant]

Rooney Owen

J.Cole Gerrard Hargreaves Beckham

A.Cole Terry Ferdinand Brown

James

[bts]

i think gerrard and lampard should play in the centre,but one in front
of the other but alternating,as both are capable of making the play,and pushing forward while the other covers.
also rooney should stay up as he is told.while team commitment helping out in defence is admirable,we need him at his best up front.

[Eddie]

Hohoho...no prizes for guessing who "Karthik" supports. carrick good at keeping possession? i seem to remember him missing endless passes against barca, he is definitely NOT England material. gerrard has done done well playing a free role in the hole behind torres - except when he's been doubleteamed, eg as he was at anfield by hargreaves AND anderson

[Karthik]

I fail to see why there's so much fuss over Gerrard. He's quick, strong, can tackle, can shoot from distance, can hit the long crossfield passes... but he doesn't have the intelligence or the discipline to play centrally for England. He time and again refuses to play the simple passes and hold on to possession. His first touch is sometimes suspect as well. And he overhits passes.
The last two reasons, for me, rule him out as an in-the-hole player. Which leaves the wings.
As far as I'm concerned, there are three players contesting two central midfield slots: Hargreaves, Barry and Carrick. All of them are defensively sound, technically adept, can retain possession and create enough with intelligent passing.
Coming back to Gerrard on the wing; the question to be asked is: Does England have better options than him? The answer would be yes. Ashley Young, Bentley, Joe Cole, Beckham, Walcott.
Each offers something different. Take your pick according to the formation/state of the game.
So where does that leave Gerrard? The bench.

[Will]

It isn't about the best individual players but who works best as a unit, and on the evidence of the last 12 months or so that's Gerrard and Barry in the centre. Cole on the left because he's usually one of our more creative and effective players. Hargreaves on the right because Beckham hasn't got the legs anymore and would be exposed by a half decent left back.

[Dave Burgess]

Carrick and Gerrard central midfield. Carrick holds his position unlike Hargreaves who I'd play on the right as he can create and cross the ball well. Barry on the left, same reason. This is a godd defensive and offensive set-up.

[Russ]

Midfield for

4-4-2.

Bentley, Hargreaves, J Cole, Young/Barry/Downing.

It's balanced and uses England's best flair/skilled/creative player in the middle. Ok I'll concede and say that Gerrard could play alongside Hargreaves.

4-2-3-1.

Hargreaves, Carrick/Barry.
Bentley, Rooney/Owen, J Cole.

It's balanced. Uses a combination of terrier like hard work and tackling plus excellent passers of the ball for the deeper midfield players. The three attacking midfield players are chosen for their ability to interchange positions and play right across the pitch. Ok, I'll concede again and say that Gerrard could/should be in the three attacking midfield places too. I think a Walcott could also potentially get in the three.

Who are these Lampard, Beckham (and Gerrard) people? /devilish.

[blagman]

We have plenty of midfield options, but no strikers, so Gerrard should play up front with Rooney (who ever) and we maintain Cole on the left; he was one of our best players in the last World Cup. It's a hard call for Gerrard, but he is a great player (coming from a Chelsea fan) and England need a great striker and 'the cause' is greater than any players whim or history. Gerrard is good enough to cut it in most positions (dunno about goal keeper!)..... think outside the box and get the 'ard man in there!

[David]

I find it interesting how many times Michael Carrick gets mentioned when you present a list of 4 potential England midfielders that does not mention him.

I think he is creatively superior to all of the candidates mentioned and wonder why Capello ignores his claims.

Any thoughts Mr Samuel?

[Zed]

Joe Cole--Gerrard--Lampard--Becks

should be our 4 man midfield.

Becks is the best crosser in the world.

Gerrard and Lamps are our 2 best centre-mids who can score lots of goals from midfield.

Joe Cole is our most creative player--our mini-Zizou if you will.

[lawrie]

Gerrard says he's happy to play in whatever position Capello deems fit. Nevertheless if this unproductive postion hopping continues I can see a scenario developing where he does a Scholes and retires prematurely from the National game.

[JBC]

I think that the only system that will bring fluid football to the team has to take the most out of Beckham and his pin-point crossing and great vision of the game, Rooney and his flare up-front (I think that, to be honest, he's missed his "Second Striker" phase), Ashley Young's freshness and pace on the left-wing (to be honest, Joe Cole hasn't been producing anything interesting and I'm amazed how he was elected Chelsea player of the year; to me, Ballack or Lampard deserve it more). It is also crucial to take full advantage of how well Steven Gerrard can take a playmaking role "in the hole", just has he's been doing brilliantly in Liverpool, behind Torres.

This is the only scheme I find adequate:

4-2-3-1

James

Brown - Ferdinand - Terry - Cole

Hargreaves - Barry

Beckham - Gerrard - Young

Rooney

[Bob]

Crouch/Owen Rooney

J.Cole Lampard Hargreaves Gerrard

A.Cole Terry Ferdinand G.Nevile

James

You cannot leave out Joe Cole. He is probably the most consistent player in an England shirt. On his day Gerrard is quite a handfull too.

[Emery Spencer]

Why not try a 4-3-3 similar to what Newcastle play. Stop snickering it wasn't meant to be funny!

We get Owen, Rooney and one other up front (pick one from Crouch, Heskey, Ashton). Our most potent goalscorer in the position he's been scoring goals from of late, someone to hold the line and act as a target man. The idea that Rooney is going to hold the line and pull defenders apart is bordering on the criminally insane. It is well known that he prefers to *work hard* chasing fullbacks and winning defensive headers when we don't have possession and drop deep to pick up the ball and run at the defense when we do have it. Playing some one else to lead the line affords him the freedom to do so.

In the midfield three we can choose any of Barry, Hargreaves, Carrick, Gerrard and Lampard. I would suggest that the 3 chosen for a particular match should be based on the opposition etc. We can play our three most disciplined midfielders (Hargreaves, Carrick and Barry) or we can choose two of those three and play either Gerrard or Lampard without having to worry about Gerrard's positional indiscipline or Lampard's dynamism. Additionally, we have Cole, Young, Defoe, Bentley and Beckham how can all come in to alter shape, tactics or give us something different.

[Paul]

Goal: James
Defence: Richards/Terry/Ferdinand/A.Cole
Midfield: Bently(Lennon/Wrigt-Phillips)/Barry(Carrick)/Gerrard(Jenas/Owen in a 4-3-1-2 system)/J.Cole
Forwards:Rooney(Defoe)/Ashton

[Paul]

I think Capello should play with Barry (or Carrick) in front of the back four, allowing Gerrad to break forward to support the strikers.
Joe Cole is a very good player on the left, so I do not see why he should be replaced by someone who cannot play as well as him.

[Mark]

I would let Rooney and Gerrard have completely free roles just behind a lone striker to get the most out of our only creative outlet in the team. Just behind them would be a solid, balanced platform of Barry, Hargreaves and Beckham.
No Lampard for me as he too often goes missing in games. Beckham is needed because to be honest England are just not that good so his set-pieces are essential at the moment.
Defoe could be an ideal lone striker to poach goals in the box but he really needs to start taking his chances.

[Stu]

I think Capello may have finally discovered the winning formula in the 2nd half against the US. Forget about Lampard, he's good around the box, but useless in all other areas of the pitch. Hargreaves and Barry in tandem in the centre will do wonders for England's historically poor ball retention & distribution. Both tackle & track back well, and Barry in particular is a brilliant passer. Have Gerrard, Cole & Rooney interchange with eachother on the wings and in the hole, each can play in either of the 3 positions and with the freedom of having Hargreaves & Barry behind them they'll cause chaos going forward. All we need now is a fast, powerful, top finisher in the mold of Torres - while the search goes on I guess we'll have to make do with Defoe or Owen, Defoe has great movement off the ball opening up spaces, Owen ticks the finishing box, but we don't seem to have a front man that can do it all.
Oh, I almost forgot, Beckham's washed up.

[Monzon]

As shown the other night, Gerrard can't be relied on to stick to a position out wide, either left or right. If he isn't getting the ball regularly, he tends to go looking for it (Rooney also 'suffers' from this). Against better teams this hole would be exploited too easily.

To my eyes, the system suited to make best use of our top players would be the 4-3-3/4-2-1-3 (4-5-1 when we haven't go the ball) that would allow Gerrard to play forward centrally with Barry providing cover for Rooney to move inside and link with the main striker. We simply don't have wide players at the moment that offer the pace needed along with required class for the international game (yes, you SWP and Aaron Lennon). It's got to be:

JAMES

BROWN(RICHARDS)-FERDINAND-TERRY- A.COLE

HARGREAVES-GERRARD-BARRY

J.COLE -OWEN - ROONEY

[michael]

we cdould always play Joe Cole on the right. Or Gerrard there with Cole on the left. I think we should go back to Capello's original idea of 2 energetic holding midfielders, three attacking midfielders that can all do the wing work and then Rooney up front. We've all seen that Rooney can play well up front alone, and so if Gerrard, Joe Cole and whoever else can sort their act out and get some supply to him it should work.
I'd play it like this:
James, Brown, Rio, JT, Cole, Barry, Hargreaves, then Lampard in an aggressive central role flanked by Joe and Gerrard, with Rooney up top.
442 is dying for england. We don't have good enough wingers for it.

[Ian]

4-2-3-1

james in goal
johnson-ferdinand-terry-lescott
hargreaves(carrick)-barry(lampard)
beckham-gerrard-cole
owen(rooney)

Result: EVERYONE HAPPY !

[Graeme Taplin - Norwich, U.K.]

I'm forever gobsmacked at the amount of lineage and airtime given over to the opinions of commentators and punters alike on which position our illustrious, poncey footballers should occupy on the pitch. On the left; on the right;down the middle? Blimey, it's a simple game...you get the damn ball and you kick it... to a teammate or in the bloomin' net!
A bloke getting paid 125 gazillion pounds a week should be capable of playing on the moon!

[Jimmy]

Carrick should play centrally. Rooney in front of him. Agbonlahor and Walcott either side. Bentley and Cole wide and the usual suspects in defence.

Lampard/Gerrard/Hargreaves should start on the bench.