England Crouching Tiger Ready For Disaster

Steve McClaren is ready to ditch his usual 4-4-2 for a more defensive 5 man midfield and lone striker, with Liverpool's Peter Crouch leading the frontline against Croatia in their crunch Euro 2008 qualifier on Wednesday. If so, it would not be surprising given his managerial record for fielding dour lineups and defensive mentality - without the results.

While his hands may be tied due to the injury woes experienced by the hosts, England are still playing at home, backed by their partisan fans and against a team that, despite claims to the contrary, should be looking ahead to the finals instead of worrying about not losing. Trust the flaccid McClaren to play it safe and in doing so, putting his nation's hopes in jeopardy.

Everyone knows that if you play for a draw, if the opponents were to peg you back with a goal, it would be a huge psychological blow and place huge amounts of stress on the team. Test the Croatian team's mentality and put them under intense pressure. It would not make any sense to try to snuff them out in midfield to get a draw when 9 times out of 10, a team that has already secured their place would not be bothered at all.

The only hope for England now is not the players or the manager. It is for Terry Venables to advise McClaren otherwise and do it the Venables Way.