GERRARD NOT LEFT OUT
Stevie G shines in his new role
PAUL INCE had a face like thunder which, in those days, was unusual.
At the time, he was a bright-eyed smiling youngster at West Ham who was just about to make his debut for the England Under-21 team in Albania.
It wasn't just the horrific state of the pre-match meal that was eating away at Incey but the decision of coach Dave Sexton to put him out wide on the right.
Ince, who later that year would move on to greater things at Manchester United, was so upset he hadn't been given a free roaming central role that he told me he was seriously thinking of pulling out of the game with a moody hamstring.
In the end, Ince played well and went on to have a fine England career.
After the game, I asked Sexton why he had played Ince on the flank rather than his usual position.
The shrewd Sexton explained that in international football, teams congest the middle. He reasoned if your best player had a wide starting position he could be picked out more easily.
From there the player could drift across the pitch or go round the outside. In getting more possession he could influence the game more.
There are brilliantly gifted playmakers who can pull the strings from the 'hole' but they are few and far between. Too many players who are given free rein end up disappearing down a black hole.
I once asked Terry Butcher why Glenn Hoddle never really did the business for England as a player. Butch explained that at Tottenham ALL the play went through Hoddle.
For England, though, he wasn't the only turn in a midfield which also included Bryan Robson and Ray Wilkins.
Centre-back Butcher stressed that when he looked up to make a pass he could usually see Robson or Wilkins, because they had dropped off or moved wide to make an angle.
Hoddle, so used to being the pivot at Spurs, simply got lost in the crowd. No possession, no playmaker.
In contrast, Zinedine Zidane, one of the all-time greats, had no qualms of starting wide on the left.
When Fabio Capello took over England, he reasoned the best way to solve the conundrum of playing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard was by playing Gerrard, who has greater mobility, on the left.
At first, Gerrard seemed baffled and got it into his head he was playing as an orthodox left midfielder.
Now we are seeing the tactical twist Capello was after, with a role for Gerrard that offers a vaster canvas than mere left wing.
If you look at the 'hot spot' diagrams of where Gerrard ends up as moves develop, you'll see him all the over the pitch, his position protected by Lampard and Gareth Barry. Gerrard's style may be more about energy than deftness but slowly Capello is turning Gerrard into England's Zidane.
And as Gerrard and Lampard lock horns again at Anfield on Wednesday night, thank goodness the debate about them playing together for their country is over.
In bringing it to a close, Capello might just have earned a slice of his £6million annual salary . . . even if old Dave Sexton would have solved the puzzle for free.
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