Pushing high

Panama may only have been League 2 standard but England's performance in achieving their best ever World Cup result in their second group game was excellent. I've been a supporter of Gareth Southgate as England manager since Allardyce was sacked (see Good Luck Nord, 1 December 2016). I was very impressed with his feet on the ground interview after the game, saying the start and end weren't good and implying the second half was a bit weak but that overall he was very pleased with the team's performance. At last, an intelligent England manager!

Yes, there's a reliance on set plays, but no team would relish playing England at the moment, though the better teams will feel they can force defensive errors. John Stones played well but hit one pass to no-one in particular and Harry McGuire lost possession with a couple of lackadaisical flicks in the middle of the pitch which would have driven any team manager I played for as a centre half apopleptic if any of his defenders had attempted them.

But the only really worrying thing was the manner in which they conceded the goal. I've written before about the tendency for most Premier League teams to defend free kicks with their defensive line too high up the pitch. The World Cup has revealed that this is a more widespread failing - it's the way most countries seem to do it. You could see clearly from the stripes mown on the pitch that England, using one such stripe, set their defensive line 24 yards from their goal for a free kick about 36 yards out towards their right touchline. The yawning gap between Pickford and his defence was an invitation to put the ball on the penalty spot for the onrushing attackers. It didn't demand a high skill level to take the free kick - in my playing days I would have fancied it with my 'wrong' foot. Had England lined up five yards deeper - so still just outside their penalty area reducing the risk of a penalty - the precision needed would have been much higher. Even more so if the man standing in front of the free kick taker had dropped back level with this deeper defensive line: a low delivery would not have got past the first defender, forcing the ball to be put in the air. Engand compounded the problem by not actually holding their line - three defenders were behind the main line when the kick was taken, two of which looked as if they played the goalscorer was onside. Given that the defensive co-ordinator, probably one of the centre backs, had picked a visible line on the pitch that was pretty amateurish.

Rio Ferdinand commented after the game that he thought they should have lined up "a bit deeper", so it's not just me saying it.

This failing could easily be fixed but I fear it won't be as, on this practice at least, Southgate and his coaches are going with the crowd. Come on, Gareth. Put your centre back's brain back in for a minute and get it sorted. Get them to line up at the point where a ball over their heads is most likely the keeper's. You know it makes sense, especially since we are strong in the air.

I could make myself available for a coaching session if it would help......