England will go only as far as they let Sterling take them

The Three Lions weren't very good tonight and were lucky to get the win.  The first half was forgettable at best with England putting on a clinic on how not to win a match.  Tactically, Hodgson further showed he is oblivious to, well, tactics, football, reality, etc.  Starting Sterling in the middle doesn't work if you don't have any players on the pitch who can play wide and create space for him.  In fact, the two goals were both products of our 31 on the flanks, while he seemed lost most of the time in the middle.  Not to mention he had Wilshere, Hendo, and Delph crowding him.

In the second half, England seemed more composed.  They absorbed the attempts on attack from Switzerland well, were more relaxed on the ball in general, and let the match come to them.  By the way, nearly every single legitimate goal chance for the Swiss were offside, though I believe they were only called once.  It was a decent display of defence, especially for Cahill, and even Phil Jones was adequate, though he still did his normal bonehead moves like clearing the ball and conceding a corner despite no opposition players near.

The home side dominated possession at 56% to 44% and were the better passers with a completion rate of 90.6% to England's 88.5% while completing nearly a hundred more passes overall.  Fabian Delph, who put in a solid performance, came up a pass short of perfection, going 38 for 39.  Rickie Lambert posted the highest attacking efficiency rating ever of 1.50 getting an assist on his only official touch of the match.  I am a bit baffled at why people thought Rooney had a good match, his attacking efficiency score was 0.651, while his overall was 0.635.  He was most hurt with his 17 give-aways.

In the end, it was all about Sterling being allowed to do what he does best, even if it was only for a few possessions.  If Hodgson starts Sterling in the middle again, he has to start Milner and Oxalade-Chamberlain on the wings with Sturridge up front when healthy, either Welbeck or Rooney when he isn't.  I know it's sacrilegious not to start the captain, but honestly, he doesn't deserve it anyhow.

There is only one reason Gerrard should ever play for England again

To knock Beckham off his perch and become the top capped outfield player in Three Lions history. That's it, two more matches and he should hang up those boots.  Gerrard is 34 and we need him to put his England days behind him and  focus on LFC.

After the World Cup embarassment, he should probably go ahead and retire, but with my disdain for 'pretty foot', I don't mind if he suits up a couple more matches.  I don't think it'll do England any good though, they've clearly got to give Barkley, Henderson, and Wilshere more playing time, if they want to improve.  They also need to get a better manager.

I've heard Gerrard called a failure on the International level and that's why he isn't 'world class'.  Rubbish, one man does not make a team, though there were times when Gerrard carried his country.  His statistical output for England has been impressive so far, especially when you consider he's played nearly every outfield position.

npgp90	gcp90	ccp90	ap90	ccv
0.22	0.46	1.97	0.24	12.3
pass%	bp%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
80.2	25.9*	46.7	15.3	12.7
gap90	gsp90	gop90	tgop	gopd90
0.81	1.99	1.18	0.99	0.19
tp90	tack%	intp90	clrp90	bsp90
2.52	71.8	1.92	1.3	0.45

Those are solid numbers all around save his turnover rate.  His goals on pitch difference per 90 of 0.19 means he has been worth nearly an extra goal every five matches, +21.66 for his career.  Which isn't surprising when he was actually played a part in a quarter of his side's goals when he plays.

I don't really care if others don't think he's world class, but saying it is because he doesn't perform on the international stage is not valid.  In reality, he's played quite well and if it's because he's never won a Euro or a World Cup, I guess Messi, Ronaldo, Bale, Rooney, Robben, Van Persie, and anybody else who hasn't played for Germany, Spain, Italy, or Brazil in the past 12 years isn't 'world class' either.