Source: Liverpool_Echo
England 0 Montenegro 0: Dominic King sees the Three Lions fall short
AND back down to earth again with a bump; as ever with England qualification campaigns, the difference between expectation and reality are worlds apart.[LNB]After opening up Group G with routine victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland, it was widely anticipated that Fabio Capello's men would all but stamp their passage to the next European Championships by swatting Montenegro swiftly aside.[LNB]Bitter lessons down the years should have taught those who had taken odds of 1/4 on an England victory not to be so presumptuous but it seems lessons will never be learned - that's why it should come as no surprise that Fabio Capello's men came up short against doughty opponents.[LNB]True, England were denied two clear penalties in a second half of constant pressure but to say they were unlucky would be wrong; that Capello resorted to tactics that involved launching the ball to Kevin Davies says everything you need to know.[LNB] While it may be poetic licence to imply Capello was screeching 'non possiamo giocare diretta!' - the Italian for 'can we not knock it?!' - in the closing stages, there is no doubt he lost his cool as two points were frittered away; if he felt hard done to, he wasn't the only one.[LNB]Having cut such an impressive figure through that torturous summer in South Africa and into the first phase of the recovery, Steven Gerrard had good reason to be aggrieved as England tackled the next hurdle in their way on the path to Euro 2012.[LNB]The more he wore the armband, the more he grew into the role of England captain and those who saw him walking around the children's ward of Watford General Hospital at the weekend spoke in glowing terms about the way in which he conducted himself.[LNB]But, then again, that should not have come as a surprise; when he has had to face the media in recent months, dealing with questions about Capello's future and Wayne Rooney's love life, he possessed the savvy to answer with eloquence but not whip up a storm.[LNB]What's more, when his team needed him - like when England trailed in a friendly against Hungary here in August - he has consistently stepped up to the plate; his performance in the qualifier in Basel last month, for instance, was magnificent.[LNB]Such a shame. Yet, given Rio Ferdinand's questionable fitness record in recent seasons, it would take a brave man to suggest Gerrard has led his team out for the last time and to say he needs the armband to produce tip-top form is, in a word, bunkum.[LNB]Which, quite neatly, is also the word you could use to describe Rooney's current form; though the first half was dull, with nothing other than free-kicks from Ashley Young and Adam Johnson to mention in terms of action, it was easy to spot the players who had confidence.[LNB]Gerrard, for instance, moved gracefully from left to right, always popping up within range of a loose ball; Manchester City's Johnson, similarly, is getting more polished the more he gets familiar with having Three Lions on his shirt.
