Shaun Wright-Phillips emerges from the shadows to be saving grace again

From The Times

February 7, 2008

England 2 Switzerland 1

Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent

Well, Fabio Capello certainly got that Messiah business cleared up early. If there was any lingering belief that, despite his protestations to the contrary, the FA truly had alighted on a saviour for English football, it quickly evaporated with a performance that demonstrated that it will take more than three days of Italian know-how to convert this squad into World Cup winners.

England won, which, for Capello, was always going to be the important thing, but the football was at best ordinary, the redrawn blueprint very much a work in progress and some of his boldest schemes need to be returned, not so much to the drawing-board as deposited in the waste bin.

Capello’s hide was saved by a second-half substitute in the form of the much-maligned Shaun Wright-Phillips, who wiped out a deserved Swiss equaliser within three minutes of it being scored. Wright-Phillips had made way for David Beckham at half-time against Croatia – the match in which England exited Euro 2008 – his contribution unfairly derided, the collateral damage of the Beckham war that has gripped English football since Steve McClaren dropped him.

Last night, he was the hero again, tapping in a cross from Steven Gerrard after a powerful forward run, and alleviating the pressure that would have built the longer Switzerland held on for a draw. They would not have been flattered by such a result, the 58th-minute goal from Eren Derdiyok no more than was deserved for resisting what should have been the unstoppable force of an England team energised by Capello’s arrival.

Switzerland are not much cop, it must be said, but they were more than enough for an England team clearly still smarting from their European Championship elimination.

There were moments, flashes when it could be seen what Capello’s England could look like in six months’ time. Joe Cole had clearly been told to get up in support of Wayne Rooney and, when he did, the partnership had possibilities, while Jermaine Jenas did well on his first start since May 2005, against Colombia in New York. As well as scoring England’s opener, he had a 53rd-minute shot tipped round by Diego Benaglio, the goalkeeper, and when he was substituted for Wright-Phillips three minutes later it was to rare, warm applause.

Although as Gerrard received the man of the match award for another display that left more questions than answers, maybe this audience was better disposed to the team generally than the last lot.

Those who enjoy their view of English football rose-tinted will have it that the single-goal lead courtesy of Jenas came after 40 minutes in which a remodelled England team banished the memories of the cursed Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, under a manager who instantly introduced an efficient, technically ambitious approach that brought the best out of players no longer reliant on the trusted axis of Beckham and Michael Owen. We wish. For long periods the first half was worse than the goalless opening 45 minutes of the match away to Andorra in March last year. Capello’s 4-1-4-1 formation was dull and stagnant, the players looked nervous and intimidated – either by the manager, the situation or both – and every time Switzerland attacked a shiver of trepidation ran around Wembley.

There were boos when Gareth Barry gave a simple pass away, the umpteenth time an England player did that on the night, and songs of support for the overlooked Beckham, most pointedly when David Bentley’s balls from the right proved decidedly ungolden.

Indeed, when England scored, it was at the end of a four-minute period of sustained pressure, their best of the match, but hardly deserving of the advantage, particularly with the Swiss enjoying the best chances of the half.

The goal was a peach, mind you, and was met with fist-clenched gestures of approval from Capello, who had spent much of the evening rigid in the technical area with his arms folded, like a comedy mother-in-law in a Seventies sitcom. He should bring a rolling pin next time out.

Gerrard, a captain in search of a captain’s innings yet again, hit his finest pass of the night, cross-field to Cole on the left, and his twinkling run left Swiss bodies in his wake before the ball was cut back to Jenas, who put it past Benaglio from inside the six-yard box.

And that is England’s problem. This team do have good players, capable of high-quality football, but it is fragile and rarely sustained.

For most of the time before the goal, England had been edgy and wasteful with the ball. Had this team been managed by McClaren, the reaction would have been horrid. Even under a manager on honeymoon it tried the patience.

This was not so much a rebirth as a rerun. England were every bit as ordinary as they were against Austria in November, the opposition every inch as mediocre.

Yet the Swiss should have taken the lead; could easily have done, in fact, such was the gauche nature of England’s defending. Matthew Upson, in particular, had a shaky start, with Wes Brown, Capello’s other surprise defensive selection, not far behind. There is a reason why these players have been around many England squads without winning a regular place and now Capello knows it.

Tranquillo Barnetta had tested David James with a low shot after six minutes when a desperately poor clearance by Brown set him up 13 minutes later, this time his effort travelling just wide.

England continued living dangerously and a reckless challenge by Cole in the 26th minute almost gave the visiting team the lead. Hakan Yakin hit a free kick, which was headed on by Philippe Senderos and met by Mario Eggimann close to goal, but he was too surprised by the event to turn it in.

Capello’s expression was a mixture of stern reproach and bemusement. We may have to get used to it and if there are many more nights like this, so may he.

Opening gambits

Walter Winterbottom (Sept 1946) Northern Ireland 2 England 7 Horatio Carter, 1min

Alf Ramsey (Feb 1963) France 5 England 2 Bobby Smith, 57

Don Revie (Oct 1974) England 3 Czechoslovakia 0 Mick Channon, 72

Ron Greenwood (Sept 1977) England 0 Switzerland 0

Bobby Robson (Sept 1982) Denmark 2 England 2 Trevor Francis, 7

Graham Taylor (Sept 1990) England 1 Hungary 0 Gary Lineker, 44

Terry Venables (March 1994) England 1 Denmark 0 David Platt, 18

Glenn Hoddle (Sept 1996) Moldova 0 England 3 Nicky Barmby, 24

Kevin Keegan (March 1999) England 3 Poland 1 Paul Scholes, 11

Sven-Göran Eriksson (Feb 2001) England 3 Spain 0 Nicky Barmby, 38

Steve McClaren (Aug 2006) England 4 Greece 0 John Terry, 14

Fabio Capello (Feb 2008) England 2 Switzerland 1 Jermaine Jenas, 40