Michael Kimb Jones

Blimey it was a bad game for Robbo and not a great match all round. It was also a nightmare match for McLaren, no matter what he or the pundits say when England loose to Germany, it hurts.

Smith and Owen played half-decently. Smith showed real promise as a play maker and Owen lapped up the very few chances given to him but lacked the sharp finishing of years gone by. Both players need more 90-minutes to their name this season before they can shine like they used to. Thankfully Sam Allardyce is well known for getting the best out of players that are showing career fatigue.

Elsewhere on the pitch Micah Richards again showed how he is quickly becoming the golden boy of the back 4 and Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and David Beckham all shined at times.

Game shame

After a great start the game became painfully inconsistent. The 2nd half was a shambles and a torment to watch with only the inclusion of Shawn Wright-Phillips giving fans anything to get excited about.

On the plus side England did play the better football over the full 90 and had the most chances. Plus it was good to see David James getting a re-call, if only as a faith card from the manager.

I can’t help but dwell on the game where others will say “Wait for Israel in 2 weeks time”.

Sure it was a friendly, but it was at the new Wembley and against our longest standing football adversaries. We should have grabbed the game by the horns and beat the opposition into submission. The feeling of morale coming out of such a result would have done wonders in the England camp and made the weight on McLaren’s shoulders just that little bit lighter.