Joe Cole - England's man without a position

This is a great article from the London Times, that describes how Joe Cole has become England's attacking midfielder / forward without an assigned position. Personally, I think this strategy is long overdue as Cole has always shown so much more of his ability when he was allowed to roam around and wasn't confined to one of the wide midfield positions. He is a natural forward, there is not doubt about that. In order to get the best out of him though England need to overcome their reluctance to abandon a strict 4-4-2 type of lineup and give Cole the freedom that he needs. They are a much more effective and powerful team when they have a player like that, going back in modern times to Paul Gascoigne and even further back to Glenn Hoddle, who never was given enough chances within the England squad.

As the article points out the modern game has changed so much and the days of playing someone like Joe Cole purely behind two forwards is long gone. Its too predictable of a lineup and too easy to mark him out of the game. In order to keep the defenses off balance they need Joe Cole at his best. That will go a long way to overcoming the Croatian challenge that they will face on Wednesday.