Owen brace seals the deal as England beat Russia 3-0! Video highlights and full match reaction

ALL THE GOALS ARE RIGHT HERE! 

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to post but the past few weeks are over and done with, so let’s get back on with the football.

In the past six days, England have single-handedly saved their qualification for Euro 2008. Things were looking especially bleak leading into the Israel game and we should all be giving Steve Mclaren credit where credit is due- his gambles worked and effectively saved his job. I think England have now learned the benefit of using players who are in-form, not just the best 10 players from the big four plus Paul Robinson.

Think about it- the three key players (aside from the abso-fucking-lutely talismanic Steven Gerrard)  were Michael Owen, Emile Heskey and Gareth Barry. Those three play for Newcastle, Wigan and Aston Villa for christ’s sake yet we still spanked the Russians. Owen’s second goal was world class.
These past two games could have seriously damaged Frank Lampard’s guaranteed place in the side and as well they should have. Many of us have long suspected that Gerrard and Lampard effectively cancel each other out, and the injection of Gareth Barry into a more central “playmakers” role suited him perfectly. And to be honest, I’m not the biggest Frank Lampard fan, but I actually like the concept of keeping him on the bench for a while, possibly bringing him on as an impact substitute if things aren’t going our way in the last 30 minutes or so. Personally, the idea of Gerrard-Barry and Lampard-Hargreaves sounds like two great midfield partnerships.

John Terry likes to yell a lot, but I’ve never been a fan of captain’s leading from the back. I think Gerrard should have been given the England captaincy.

Micah Richards and Shawn Wright-Phillips are going to provide space and penetration down the right flank for the next 3 World Cups, at least. With these two, we have something that we never had with England coming down the flanks- genuine width. Richards is so good at unsettling defenders with his well-timed runs and overlaps that I think he has been extremely key to our victories in the past two games. Additionally, he is a bit of an unknown quantity on the international scene (one of the benefits of being a City player) and it was obvious over the past two games that both teams did not know what to expect from Richards. They both payed the price.

We now top our group and lead on goal difference. Steady lads. True British grit will see us scrape into another International tournament. Let’s just hope that Steve Mclaren has learned that form doesn’t lie.

All the goal highlights are available right here! It’s good to be back guys.

PS: Rooney trained with the Manchester United side today and could be on the bench against the Toffees this weekend.