England 2-3 Holland - A positive performance?

With all the problems surrounding English football at the time, England had a tricky fixture against the 3rd best national team in the world. With Robin Van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben featuring in a star studded line-up, England seemed to have their work cut out for them. This was also Stuart Pearce's first game in charge as caretaker manager, and there was no doubt he wanted to make an impression right from the off. The whole of England was undoubtedly anxious whether their country can hold their own against arguably the best attacking nation in the world, and Stuart Pearce's young line up made them all the more nervous.

There was a lot of encouragement in Pearce's line-up, with a young positive vibe replacing the over-rated egos of the past. Hart started in goal, behind a back 4 of Richards, Smalling, Cahill and Baines. This was followed by a 5 of Johnson, Parker, Gerrard, Milner and Young behind a lonesome Welbeck up front. Although there were positives surrounding an ambitious, youthful decision to include the likes of Welbeck and Smalling, there were huge doubts whether the inexperienced and youthful back four could handle the world class Dutch attack.

Robben scores his second, and a late winner for the Dutch

However England more then held their own in the first half, looking comfortable on the ball and playing with a sense of composure, but neither side were able to fashion out any real clear cut chance. The second half was somewhat different, with the game seeming to spring alight due to wonderful play from Arjen Robben, who ghosted through a shell shocked England defence before sweeping the ball masterfully into the bottom left hand corner of Joe Hart’s goal. This was quickly followed by Huntelaar converting a teasing Dirk Kuyt cross, but England fought back. Cahill showed predator instincts to side foot past Sketelenburg, before young restored parity. However England were once again undone by an inspired Robben, who curled the ball into the net from just inside the edge of the box, aided by a Leighton Baines deflection.

However was the performance encouraging? For me you can argue both ways. It was great seeing the likes of Sturridge and Richards come into their own and perform well against the third best side in the world. In addition, the way that England fought back after going 2 goals down to an accomplished national side was admirable, making me feel proud at the true grit and determination displayed to grind out 2 goals and achieve parity. You could also argue that England were beaten by the genius that is Arjen Robben, and that the youth players conducted themselves well against 3rd best in the world but didn’t have the experience to handle in my opinion the best winger in the world.

Sturrdiges performance was particuarly encouraging for
England fans

But the result takes a gloss of some of the young player’s performances. With England at home, you'd expect them to come away with at least a draw. Or have our expectations dropped? Wembley should be a fortress: teams should be scared at the thought of playing at the home of football in front of 90,000 screaming, passionate fans.  Or maybe that's the problem with fans these days? Their not passionate, their not screaming. These days, people are content with losing, thinking a good performance is more important than the final result. Well it's not. Cups are won by finishing the game with more goals than your opponent. Simple. When looking through the history books, you don't recall how you played, you just recall the winners. I ask you now? What would you rather: a team playing good football but not winning anything (Arsenal) or a team grinding out results through determination and grit and coming away with something to show for it. That's the England we should be.

Nevertheless, I think there are definitely some positives to take out the game. It is great to see England looking to the future and picking some of the bright and up and coming talents that are sure to be in the frame for years to come. Richards and Sturridge are two of those, and their individual performances were encouraging and good to see from an England fan's perspective. Sadly the final result casts a shadow over their performance, and being beaten at home can simply not be tolerated in any other circumstances. However, the game is surely a stepping stone in the right direction for a troubled England side, and hopefully with the aid of the enthusiasm displayed by the young players, England could be a force in this years European Championships. Hopefully.