What England needs is more than Harry Redknapp

The nervy Stuart Pearce did not get out of his seat in the first 20 minutes, whereas his England side looked toothless against a relatively laid-back Netherland team.  2-3 was not a disastrous scoreline, even quite an encouraging one for Pearce the debutant, but pundits will declare this was a night that has exposed the difference in class between the Three Lions and a top international team.

Although fielding most of the European Championship runner-up squad, Netherland was barely fired up for the entire match. England enjoyed most of the possession in midfield, but most of the passes were hardly penetrating, ensuring a relaxing night for the Netherland duo Van Bommel and De Jong.

England has been adopting the three-man midfield formation, which is becoming a trend in modern football, especially when Germany, Netherland and Spain enjoy enormous success with it.  The 4-4-2 formation that England usually plays has a midfield with limited depth and is easily exposed by a capable playmaker. Placing an anchorman in the middle is a sensible move.

However, what England do not realise is, they cannot reach the level Spain is playing at with their current assets, or more accurately, the current squad selection.

This statement does not mean Parker, Barry, Gerrard, Lampard and Wilshere are not good players; but a team would not win by sending all their best players to the field. England fans, remember Gerrard playing on the left? And the apparently-not-so-successful-partnership of Lampard and Gerrard?  The bright side is that all the England midfielders are very all-rounded; but neither of them is a specialist.

By no coincidence, Germany, Spain and Netherland have a very similar midfield combination. There is a more defensive-minded anchorman (Khedira, Busquets, De Jong), an all-rounded playmaker (Scheweinsteger, Xavi, Van Bommel), and a more advanced and penetrating attacking midfielder (Ozil, Iniesta, Sneijder).

But there were clearly no well-defined roles for Parker, Barry and Gerrard on that night. Even though Parker shines in the position just in front of back four, his expertise is his spiritual run-around, rather than the Makelele-style of defensive midfielder. With a partner not a natural defensive midfielder, Parker committed a low-level mistake when he was trying to do too much, that had eventually led to Netherland's first goal.

What they need now is a manager who can appreciate their strength --- wingers.  They have different types of wingers: Pacey runners (Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott), able and prefers to play on the weaker foot side (Ashley Young, Adam Johnson), deadball specialist (Stewart Downing), industrious (James Milner); and a young man with unknown or unlimited potential (Alex Chamberlain).

More importantly, there are a good bunch of strikers who may not be the top of the top-class strikers, but possess various attributes which can get the most out of the wingers. Danny Welbeck is a fan of off-ball movement; Andy Carroll is a huge aerial threat; Defoe and Bent are excellent finishers; while Zamora can be called upon as a skilful target man.

And don't forget the golden boy, Wayne Rooney. No matter as a striker, a deep-lying forward, or even a central midfielder, he is definitely the defenders' nightmare. The fact that he can play in various positions provides additional flexibility to the England's line up.

England needs a manager who understands the players' attributes and is not afraid to give up big names to field the right man in the right position in the best formation.