Rebuilding the pride of lions? There is hope yet for Roy Hodgson’s young pride

By All Blue Daze. When England flew out of Brazil a few months ago, hobbled by disappointment and burdened by disillusion, any early redemption seemed a distant hope. What was, at best, a laboured single-goal victory over pedestrian opposition in a half-empty Wembley against Norway was then hardly the stuff of great promise. 

There’s a saying that ‘one swallow doesn’t make a summer’ and it’s also true that one victory doesn’t mean that Roy Hodgson’s Three Lions are on the path to some kind of footballing nirvana. In the game against Switzerland however, there was just a hint that even if a significant corner hasn’t yet been turned, at least one is may be coming into view.

Travelling to Basel to take on the strongest team in the group –at least as defined by Fifa ranking – was supposedly a difficult task if not perhaps exactly one of the mountains the Swiss are famous for. Returning with what was ultimately a deserved two-goal victory was therefore creditable as a result on its own merits, but the encouraging performances of some of the players gave a glimpse of what could be very encouraging developments.

Although the less-extended of the two goalkeepers, Joe Hart still performed well, and exceptionally so, when faced with a one-on-one situation. In front of him, Gary Cahill continues to grow into the part as the dominating presence that his club captain was when he wore the England shirt. Phil Jones put his usual energetic shift alongside the Chelsea man, but still looks naïve at times, which is hardly surprising for a player deployed in multiple roles by both club and country. John Stones is still a novice with only a handful of first team games for Everton behind him, but there’s definitely something to work on there.

In midfield, Wilshire remains unconvincing to many at the base of any diamond if Hodgson wants to deploy his forces in that format, but in front of him both Fabian Delph and Jordan Henderson excelled. Delph has long been championed by Aston Villa fans, but was seen by many as bit of a loose cannon. It seemed a reputation he was determined to live up to as an early booking threatened to presage a red one and expulsion from the game as he careered around intent to impress. A calming down period followed however, and his display from there was characterised by a discipline that never quelled his drive and determination.  Henderson has now grown into the player that England probably cannot function without. Fetching, carrying, harrying and prompting, he dovetailed neatly with Delph. It could be the start of a beautiful relationship.

All of which was encouraging of course, as was the estimable Danny Welbeck’s  performance taking over the central striking role from Daniel Sturridge. The new Arsenal man has often been criticised as having a ‘Bambi-on-ice’ persona about him at times, and more than few eyes will rolled as he squandered a first-half chance with a poor cross after galloping clear on the right. Taking his two goals with aplomb though showed that there’s a class striker in there. Arsene Wenger could be the ideal coach to polish this particular diamond in the rough.

Surely however, the star of the night was 19-year-old Raheem Sterling. Pace and poise, with a work rate to shame many, the young Liverpool player could turn into a world star and make the £600,000 that Rafa Benitez paid to take the youngster from QPR to Anfield some kind of steal bordering on the scale of grand larceny. What of Rooney you ask? Against Norway he looked a player out of sorts with an under-performing team. Against Switzerland, with encouraging signs developing around him, there was more of the old Rooney that threatened to be a world power.

So, are England on the way back? It’s too early to say; much too early. Hope springs eternal though and after the bedraggled retreat from Brazil, when a 0-0 with Costa Rica was the best result, there’s some measure of improvement. Hodgson needs to build on this, moving forwards. If he can manage that, there’ll be a more compelling case for the country to take increasing pride in its Three Lions.

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