ENGLAND ARE SMILES BETTERBy Frank Malley, PA Chief Sports Writer
http://www.sportinglife.com/fanzine/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=soccer/07/09/08/SOCCER_England_Comment.html#Steve McClaren scribbled away furiously on the touchline.
And for once in his troubled reign we did not need to speculate that it was a note of resignation.
Instead, as England beat Israel 3-0 to aid their chances of qualifying for Euro 2008 the drums were beating and Wembley rocked to the sound of euphoria.
Appreciation for a job well done. And what a relief that is to report.
Give McClaren his due. All week he had promised that England, even this patched-up version swirling with pain-killers and missing key personnel, would "deliver".
And so they did, at times brilliantly. Which is why McClaren's scribblings should have been filled with so many ticks and positives.
For such as Joe Cole who proved what a dangerous twister and turner he can be when his head is screwed on the right way.
For Shaun Wright-Phillips who supplied the all-important first goal with a volleyed finish which put another man-of-the-match garnish on the sublime 20-minutes he produced against Germany.
For Michael Owen, whose swivel and thunderous shot for England's second announced that England once more possess a striker capable of shaking the world. And Micah Richards, who headed the third. And Steven Gerrard and... well, just about anyone in a white shirt.
And that includes Emile Heskey. Yes, Heskey.
Up front Heskey gave England a pleasing balance. And that is a sentence I never thought I would write.
But it was true. He held up the ball, won crucial headers, supplied vital flicks, provided a target, a wall if you like for England's midfielders to hit in the knowledge that the ball would not be handed immediately to a man in an opposition shirt.
And for that McClaren has to be given credit.
After all, Heskey had not played since Euro 2004 against France. He had been cast into the international wilderness to ply his trade at Birmingham and Wigan, destined it seemed to be remembered for a career of serial underachievement.
His recall, with Peter Crouch suspended and Wayne Rooney injured, was not just a rational flash of inspiration by McClaren. It was brave.
Heskey is never going to score lots of goals and a more natural goal-scorer would have buried the chance which came to him, courtesy of a roll-back by Owen, after 10 minutes.
But the fact is that for the first time in some while there was intelligent movement and a physical presence in the opposing penalty box.No wonder Owen looked close to his best. And no wonder Heskey received arguably the biggest cheer of the evening when he was replaced after 70 minutes by Andrew Johnson.
A word of warning.
This was Israel, a nation with a population the size of London and a football team who languish at 33 in the world rankings.
True, they have forged something of a reputation for being tough to beat back in Tel Aviv.
But at Wembley, the home of football, they looked anything but at home.
Even allowing for Liverpool's Yossi Benayoun and Chelsea's Tal Ben Haim they were a team lacking in ideas and seemingly devoid of desire. Put it this way, on this showing they might struggle in the Coca-Cola Championship.
Undoubtedly, Russia on Wednesday will present a more stubborn test.
But so often sport is about momentum and as the Mexican Wave trundled around Wembley to denote this game had been well and truly won long before the final whistle blew the force was with England.
Belief rippled around the stands, conviction oozed from the players and McClaren wore that toothpaste-commercial smile.
England once more looked a football team. Finish the job on Wednesday and that truly is something to smile about.
