Excellent England!

Did anyone expect me to write that as a title? I said on Saturday that if we came out of these two games with six points then it was mission accomplished for Capello. Given yesterday's performance, it was more than that. It was the best England performance for well over two years, and I actually enjoyed watching it!

I went to the Czech Republic friendly less than a month ago, and came home very concerned. There was no shape to the team, and no passion from the players. Capello, to his credit, made the necessary changes, and it worked! Beckham showed he was past it, so a brave decision to play Walcott was made, and it paid off! Lets hope this isn't a one-off from Walcott. Gerrard's absence clearly helped, and the midfield pair of Lampard and Barry were good if not exceptional. What happens when Gerrard returns remains to be seen. Joe Cole deservedly got his place in the team, and did well. Heskey worked well with Rooney, who also did well. The whole team's performance, most importantly, was good. After weathering the early storm, England took the lead, and always looked in control. The sending off didn't change anything, and the win was comfortable.

Refereeing the encounter was Lubos Michel. The match wasn't particularly easy to referee, being full of incidents. I thought Michel controlled the game very well, letting it flow where he could in the first half (notably on Simunic's yellow card, where he played a good advantage before booking him), but clamping down more when things got heated in the second half.

Lots of big decisions though, and this is where Michel fell down. Heskey had a first half penalty appeal, which is a tricky one. You don't often see them given, but that doesn't necessarily make it right, and it did look like he was pulled down. Simunic should have walked in the second half for a cynical block on Rooney, which would have earned him a second yellow card. Inexplicable really once Michel has given the free kick. The Croatian goal shouldn't have stood - there was a high foot in the challenge with John Terry in the build up. On a more positive note, the decision to rule out Lampard's goal appeared correct for a foul off the ball by Heskey.

But the most interesting incident is the sending off. Opinions seem to vary on this - I heard a radio report last night describe it as "harsh", yet several internet reports suggest it was correct! I subscribe to the former view I think. Kovac, as far as I can see, has jumped up to challenge for the ball, not to deliberately elbow Joe Cole. Indeed, I don't think he has used an elbow, and he actually caught him with a flailing arm. I don't think there was deliberate malicious intent. That said, given that the incident occured in a challenge for the ball, it would be viewed as "serious foul play" if Kovac is sent off. For this to be correct, he must have used "excessive force" or have "endangered safety" in his challenge. It could easily be argued that, given Joe Cole's injury, he has used excessive force and his safety was most certainly endangered! But I worry about judging challenges merely by the injuries they cause - many harmless challenges can lead to serious injuries while players suffering horrendous challenges can escape without injury. Overall, I'd suggest a yellow card for recklessness, but not a red. In any case, Simunic should have walked less than five minutes before, and the red card was clearly coming, but I don't think it was correct.

Given the number of big decisions that Lubos Michel faltered on, it can't really be considered a good showing. He has really gone off form in the last 12 months - at the 2006 World Cup he looked imperious. The Champions League final wasn't his finest hour, and nor was Euro 2008, and he needs to recapture some of his form of previous years to put himself back among UEFA's elite. Not a good night for him, but a great night for England.

Looking forward now, we have two intriguing TV matches when the Premier League returns on Saturday. Liverpool vs Manchester United is always fiercely contested, and Howard Webb will unsurprisingly be in charge of this one. Manchester City vs Chelsea is the battle of the big spenders against the even bigger spenders, and it will be interesting to see how the now moneybags Manchester City perform. Mark Halsey should hopefully handle that one in his usual understated manner. Lots to look forward to then!