Jamie Carragher's lack of pace has left England in trouble

First of all, I have to admit that it came as a surprise. Having decided before the first World Cup game that Robert Green represented his best bet, Fabio Capello showed a neat turn of heel to swiftly change his mind.

It goes without saying that Green’s mistake against the United States was pretty bad. But the England manager obviously didn’t have much faith in the West Ham keeper in the first place to then plump for David James so readily.

Moving it on logically, Capello can’t think that James offers a whole lot more. Bringing Joe Hart into the equation, all three, in short, must be much of a muchness in the England manager’s eyes.

James did nothing to dispel that feeling either when, after waiting 11 minutes for his first touch, it involved punching a cross away unconvincingly under pressure.

At that stage, Capello must have been wondering what on earth lay in store, whether he was going to live to regret the contentious change of goalie. In the end, he didn’t, not so much because of anything James did or didn’t do, but because Algeria faded as the match wore on.

Yet that called for concentration between the sticks and, to give him credit, James responded on cue by racing out of his box and clearing when Karim Matmour threatened to catch a through ball.

For once, the problems didn’t lie in goal. Before Slovenia, Capello has too many other areas to try to get sorted out.

Defence:

It was never ideal, this move to pair Jamie Carragher with John Terry. The resulting lack of pace at the heart of England’s defence was always going to be a worry against nippy opponents.

On the plus side, Algeria’s lone central striker, Karim Matmour, has never been the sort to show a clean pair of heels. But if that was a relief to those concerned, it didn’t make Carragher or Terry any more assured in the first half when asked to defend.

Carragher, in fact, seemed to be struggling badly. Red-faced and panting, often bent double, it was as if he just couldn’t gain his second wind. The Liverpool man was also lucky when slashing at a cross. Having sliced it horribly, David James was waiting behind to catch it in the slips.

What this pair normally boast, however, is good positional sense, the wherewithal to compensate for any speed deficiencies by cleverly reading the game. At times, though, even that let them down. Too often, they were caught on the stretch. Terry, in particular, was going to ground when a bit more composure would surely have sufficed.

It did get better as the match wore on, with Carragher settling down after those early mishaps. Unfortunately, he was then shown the yellow card after Karim Ziani turned the ball round the corner and crashed to ground on bumping into his marker. That means Carragher will be suspended for the Slovenia game, so forcing yet another shuffle in central defence.

Attack:

Emile Heskey’s inclusion last time out seemed almost pointless seeing as he couldn’t quite manage to fulfil his main role. That, if you need reminding, was to get the best out of Wayne Rooney in a way Fabio Capello feels no other option can properly match.

For sure, you’re not going to keep picking someone with a lame goal record like Heskey’s if he doesn’t contribute something else useful to the team. It’s a point the Italian may now want to consider having witnessed a display that just won’t do. The Aston Villa man couldn’t reach the levels he did in Rustenburg. The ball kept bouncing off him as he became embroiled in a tug-of-war with Rafik Halliche.

Mind you, that’s not to blame Heskey for Rooney’s travails. If anything, England’s No 10 was even poorer than he was against the United States. Virtually everything the Manchester United striker tried came to nothing. The ball simply wouldn’t behave at his feet like it normally does. Anybody would have thought that Rooney’s less gifted but identical twin brother had sneaked onto the pitch to have a crack.

That’s how bad it was by Rooney’s high standards. It was as poor as he’s played in an England shirt.

By the 74th minute Capello had seen enough. Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe replaced Heskey to improve things straight away. Not nearly enough though. Something needs to change - and quickly.