Fat, Dumb & Happy

England Flags photo by sk8geek via Flickr

England struggled to an unconvincing 1-nil win over a spirited bunch from Wales on Tuesday night at Wembley, in a match more notable for the lack of ambition and cohesion from the England squad than anything else.  Liverpool's Steward Downing combined with Manchester United's Ashley Young to put the English in front shortly before the half, yet the home side was unable to convincingly put the contest to bed in the match's second half, despite a starting lineup containing considerable EPL 'star power.'  My belief is that this stems from a central midfield that played as if fat, dumb and happy, coasting through the game at three-quarters speed, and lacking the required creativity and quality to link up with the man up top, a bonafide goal scorer who goes by the name of Wayne Rooney.

o In fact, England spent the last fifteen minutes of the match on the back heel, as Wales threw attack after attack at their nearby neighbors.  Sure, the English eventually held out and took all three points for Euro qualifying , but at the risk of being obvious, let me point something out. This was Wales they were playing, not Germany or Holland. At home.

o Indeed, England were very fortunate not to end up with a draw, as Rob Earnshaw somehow conspired to miss a wide open net from point blank range with roughly 15 minutes left, well after England had grown content with their slim one goal lead. I can't figure out how a team spearheaded by Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young can look so blase on offense, but Fabio Capello apparently has. Maybe it has something to do with the forcefield that is Gareth Barry in the midfield.

Over-Matched vs. Over-Hyped

The Welsh National Team in Pre-game Warm Ups
photo by Jon Evans	via PhotoRee

So, the United Kingdom?  It was somewhat surprising -- to this American at least -- to hear the Welsh crowd in Cardiff yesterday booing the English national anthem. And then the English repaid the favor (or is it favour?).  Her Majesty must have been very pleased with her subjects by the time the game kicked off.

Herewith, a few other brief observations on a contest that was essentially over before it began:

• The Welsh managed to pull off a neat trick: not only did they look like The Ronald McDonald All-stars in their red, white and yellow kits, they played like them, as well, as England jumped out to a quick 2-nil lead in the game's first 20 minutes.

• England looked sharp early on, but let's remember this was a Welsh side that's been leaking goals under bossman Gary Speed. It's a bit like testing out your gameplan on a boys' U-7 side (and the B-team, at that).