I'm fighting Lions with a strong chest and a broken left arm

The England equation is a simple one and has been since Paul Scholes, someone Zinedine Zidane remarked amongst his favourite players and arguably (or though I do not see another candidate) the ablest and most dexterous attacking midfielder of England's past, was shipped out to the left, a position he not only doesn't play but isn't equipped to play. You could argue that this means our problem is on the left; this is not the case. When a manager looks at the players at his disposal and sees many talented central midfielders that play in the same position, he notices the strength in depth in that area. Automatically it seems the right policy to try and incorporate a system where all of the most talented players play, a policy which proved effective against giants like Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The difference is that at the World Cup there is a considerable step up in the opposition, both Algeria and Slovenia beat seasoned opponents to make it this far and we have underestimated them.

However, this is not a concrete excuse for a dismal performances in the last two group games, England should have beaten both of them with a team containing our talents. The problem as ever is not confidence, not lack of effort, or chances, it is a glaringly simple reason. We are playing our best midfielder, who plays either behind the striker or in an advanced position on the left wing, a position, like Paul Scholes he doesn't play and isn't equipped to play. We are not playing someone who attacks the left flank as a result (or effectively down the right either), who will give what should be two aerially dominant strikers in Rooney and Heskey even half chances resulting in a bastardised version of Spain's passing football, great exchanges through midfield, then tragically nothing else.

Fabio Capello is paid £6million a year, a similar amount to his predecessors, to make this England team play well, but more covertly and sinisterly he is paid that sum to make that difficult choice. Lampard or Gerrard. In the 442 that we see now only one can play in the attacking midfield position, their position. We treat them as if they are professionals and use old adages like "they can play together". This is a falsehood, they are not central midfielders, but attackers and as a result one must make way. Traditionally, (from 2002) England Managers have decided that the more talented player should move to the left, incorporating the most talented players into the team and retaining Frank Lampard in the centre. This has the effect of braking a Gladiator's left arm and throwing him into combat, even though he is strong in the heart and chest area, his central cage, without his left arm he doesn't stand a chance against those Lions. If England are to salvage anything from this campaign he must be dropped. In theory this means we now can play two wide men, probably Joe Cole and Lennon and cross the ball. I would much prefer to play Rooney on his own up front and use pacey wingers who might be able to catch up with the recklessly deficient Jabulani ball, but we unfortunately left Theo Walcott and Adam Johnson at home. Shaun Wright-Phillips is allergic to the left flank. As such it seems like we may plod along with the same stubbornness to our eventual demise, but like a Gladiator with a broken arm fighting lions, the effort will be cruel, inevitable, and perhaps even comically bad.