There has been plenty of moaning and groaning from England fans and the media following the 1-1 draw in Montenegro on Tuesday night, but there’s no need to panic just yet.
Yes, a win would have been great for Roy Hodgson’s men, but the point earned leaves their fate very much in their own hands, and with three of their remaining four qualifying matches at Wembley they should still book their flights to Rio in 2014.
The trip to Ukraine is the fixture that will probably make or break England’s chances of topping the group, and they have had a habit over the years of producing the goods in those type of games, so they should be okay.
The second-half performance in Montenegro was a worry though, and proved yet again that most of these England players aren’t as good as they think are, or as good as they are told they are week in, week out by fans and pundits alike.
The way the team failed to deal with the Montenegro pressure after the break was disconcerting for every England fan.
Regardless of what the manager says or does, surely international players should have enough about them to react to a change in tempo or tactics by the opposition?
This was Montenegro England were playing, not Spain, Italy or Germany, and in matches like the one of Tuesday, the likes of Steve Gerrard, Ashley Cole, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney should be getting the game by the scruff of the neck and getting everybody organised.
As it was, England were a shambles for about 25 minutes, and were fortunate that the home side decided to settle for a draw once they got their equaliser.
But, as I say, I still think England will have enough to qualify.
The bottom line is that this squad is good enough to get to the World Cup Finals, but everybody might as well get used to the idea that they aren’t going to do anything of note when they get there... as usual!
England supporters whould be happy with their lot
Any England fans feeling a bit sorry for themselves should know that followers of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would love to be in their shoes after a miserable set of results in midweek.
Scotland are already out – they embarrassingly join Andorra and San Marino as the only three European sides that can no longer mathematically qualify for the finals – while Wales and Northern Ireland will soon follow suit, and the Republic have their work cut out to win a place in the play-offs.
So, as deflated as England fans may well be following the performance in Montenegro, they can always console themselves that they aren’t from Scotland, Wales or the Emerald Isle!
If they were, they would be really depressed...
Cobblers can cover loss of Langmead
The Cobblers can make a massive promotion statement when they host Torquay United tonight, but they are going to have to do it without their season-long talisman Kelvin Langmead.
But such is the strength in depth and confidence at Sixfields at the moment, the absence of ‘Langers’ may not be as big a problem as many Cobblers might fear it to be.
The former Shrewsbury and Peterborough defender has been brilliant since the campaign began in August, and had played every single minute of the Cobblers’ season until he was forced off with a knee injury in the 12th minute of last Saturday’s 1-0 win over Oxford United at Sixfields.
Langmead is set to miss ‘three to four weeks’ of action after undergoing surgery, and he is going to be missed as he has, in my opinion, been the club’s best player this season.
He has played a key role at both ends of the pitch, rarely putting a foot wrong in defence and popping up with eight goals at the other end, many of them match savers or match winners.
But what was encouraging for the Cobblers was that the team went on to grind out a win against Oxford without their inspirational captain.
The squad-building work done by manager Aidy Boothroyd should stand the team in good stead.
Lee Collins is an able deputy in defence, and Langmead’s fellow central defender Clarke Carlisle will slip comfortably into the role of skipper in the captain’s absence.
The arrival of Coventry City’s Nathan Cameron on loan also adds strength in depth.
Depending on the afternoon results on Good Friday, the Cobblers will either be needing to win to maintain their fourth place in npower League Two, or they could be going out to win to claim third or even second place in the table.
It’s not ideal to be going into the run-in without Langmead, but even without their Captain Fantastic, I am confident the Cobblers will see off Torquay, claim a 10th home win on the bounce, and maintain their charge for automatic promotion this season.
England still in good shape to retain the Ashes
It wasn’t exactly the result England’s cricketers were expecting from their three-Test series in New Zealand, but the 0-0 draw was far from a disaster.
Alastair Cook’s men were nowhere near their best but they at least showed some fight to save the third Test with a rearguard action on the final day, and escaped with a share of the spoils.
There are concerns ahead of the Ashes.
Skipper Cook’s form has dropped right off along with that of James Anderson, while Monty Panesar bowled like a club spinner (no offence to club spinners).
The sooner Graeme Swann is fit and firing again the better, and it was great this week to hear the former Northants man talking so positively about his fitness.
But I have faith that Andrew Flower will get the team firing on all cylinders ahead of this summer’s Ashes, although the way the Aussies are playing, that might not be necessary!