The rebuilding of the Three Lions

First of all, for the purposes of full disclosure, I am a rabid England fan, always have been and always will be. Unfortunately, cheering for England, is like cheering for the Maple Leafs (which I never will do), fans live in hope rather than expectation.

It frankly is embarassing that teams like Spain, Germany, Holland, Brazil and Argentina, to name a few can put together teams that are competitve at the world level and England cannot. You have players who regularly compete at the top levels for their clubs but cannot do it in an England shirt. This is not a problem strictly related to England but is disgraceful none the less.

Now onto the rebuilding process. Fabio Capello's neck is on the line here, and I'm going to give Don Fabio a little help. First of all, pick based on form not on names. The big names haven't done it, get rid of them and pick 11 players who would die for the shirt, and believe me they are there. I would rather see a less talented England team that has pride then what passed for a team in South Africa.

Second, pick players who value the ball. What do 3 of the final four in the World Cup have in common? They will pass you off the park if given the chance. They have realized that without the ball, you can't do anything, so they value the ball. Possession is 9/10 of the law Fabio! Third and here's the key pick players in familiar positions. Does Holland tell RVP to play attacking midfielder? Does Spain tell Xabi Alonso to play as a striker? Does Germany tell Phillip Lahm to play as a right winger? Nope, no and no. Why is it only for England that players play in positions they either can't, don't want to or never have? That recipe is doomed to fail! With that said, here is my England starting eleven moving forward in a 4-3-2-1 formation.

GK-Joe Hart
LB-A Cole
CB-Michael Dawson
CB-Rio Ferdinand (if fit) if not Ryan Shawcross/Gary Cahill
RB-G Johnson
CM-Michael Carrick
CM-Owen Hargreaves
CM-Frank Lampard/Steven Gerrard (for now)
LM-Adam Johnson
RM-James Milner
S-Wayne Rooney
Bench-Ben Foster-will get regular work at Birmingham, Agbonlahor, Bent, Ashley Young, Shawcross/Cahill, Lampard/Gerrard

Any thoughts?