Armchair management

All this impatient criticism of the England team seems like a classic case of build ‘em up & knock ‘em down by the media.

Naturally the game was one of the main topics of conversation at work today.

Interestingly though, even one of my usually cynical colleagues pointed out that many-a-world-cup-winning team has made a slow start to the tournament – take Greece in Euro 2004 for instance.

Good point.

Okay so Argentina may have steamrollered Serbia & Montenegro, but have they peaked too soon?

If fate would have offered up two wins, a clean sheet and qualification for the last 16 before the tournament, any sane England fan would have taken it.

Of course there’s plenty of room for improvement, but this team could come to the boil at just the right time.

Rooney’s back, Lennon’s looking impressive and Gerrard scored a blinder.

The ingredients are there, we just need to cook things for a little bit longer.