Depending on whether you are a glass half full or half empty type you may have conflicting emotions after England's hard fought draw in the Ukraine midweek. Using the words 'hard fought' neatly sums up the England conundrum plenty of blood and guts, sweat and tears but precious little ball retention or chances created. England may be sitting pretty now with two home victories against Montenegro and Poland guaranteeing our participation in Rio but even the most one eyed supporter can't possibly see us lifting the trophy. Roy Hodgson's game plan seems to be making England hard to beat and see if we can sneak a goal on the break using Walcott's pace or score from a set piece. This is the reason we have failed to beat any of our three challengers' for the converted position at the top of the group. It would be churlish not to point out neither have any of those teams beaten us and perhaps Ukraine, Poland and Montenegro are the level we are at now. The main problem with England, highlighted by Rooney's injury, is the lack of striking options and creativity in the squad. As much as I admire Lambert's attitude and Milner's application are they really players that should come anywhere near the England team? If as expected England does qualify for next summer's tournament the best we can expect is a place in the quarter finals. Then we will come up against a top ranked side and the best we can hope for is a performance like Tuesday's were we strangle the game and escape with a draw. The trouble with that plan is unlike qualifying in knock out football it goes to penalties.!!! I would prefer Roy to release the shackles make England a much more offensive team and take a few more risks even if this makes us more susceptible to being broken down by the classier teams at least it would be more exciting. There must be a plan in place if we are going do a 'Greg Dyke' and win the 2022 World Cup. Would like to know what other England fans think and how they would improve the team.
