Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
- Roy Hodgson’s preparations for Euro 2016 got off to a decent enough start yesterday evening at The Stadium Of Light
- A win would have been most welcomed but there will still be a few questions asked after that performance
- The clamour was to start both Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy and Hodgson didn’t disappoint pundits and fans alike
- That may have been down to the fact that they were the only two strikers available but even so it was the ideal opportunity to see what these two can do together
- The partnership started brightly with Vardy having an early effort on the Turkish goal
- And things got even better after just 3 minutes when once again the effective partnership of Dele Alli and Harry Kane paid dividends as Kane slotted home
- Yes he was clearly offside but any good forward puts the ball in the net and worries about the whistle afterwards
- Great instinct by Kane and England were off to a perfect start
- But that wave of optimism was tempered just 10 minutes later as Turkey restored parity and with that their first ever goal against England
- Joe Hart was drawn out of his goal by Volkan Sen which then gave enough time for Sen to square the ball to Hakan Calhanoglu to slot home into an empty net
- Even before the goal England had dealt with a number of scares notably Kyle Walker’s excellent block from Calhanoglu’s close range shot
- In Midfield Jack Wilshere was given the chance to prove his fitness, the only thing he really proved was his petulance after a first half booking
- He lasted 66 minutes and was replaced by Jordan Henderson another Midfielder who hasn’t quite booked his place on the plane
- Henderson especially is going to have to get more game time if he is convince Hodgson that he is worthy of a place in the final 23
- With the scores level at half time, Manager Hodgson tried some tactical variations in the second half
- After going with a 4-3-3 in the first half with Vardy and Raheem Sterling operating out wide there was a change to 4-4-2 and it’s fair to say this suited Vardy a lot better and his performance was more akin to the ones that he has delivered for Leicester en route to winning the Premier League title
- The change of formation allowed Vardy to utilise his strengths fully and as we know one of those is his raw pace
- That pace was up against Mehmet Topal and again Vardy went to the floor in a similar style to the one that got him sent off against West Ham last Month
- But this time around the result was better for Vardy as a Penalty rewarded
- It wasn’t Vardy stepping up to the spot though with Tottenham’s Harry Kane charged with spot kicks
- But it was a modicum of justice for Turkey as Kane dragged his spot kick wide of the post
- Anguish for England but let’s hope that’s the end of the penalty drama this Summer for the Three Lions
- England would get back in front though and it was Leicester’s Vardy who was on hand to fire home after Gary Cahill’s header was initially kept out
- Was it in an own goal, possibly but there was no way Vardy was not claiming what proved to be the winner
- Although England had Joe Hart to thank for that
- His fantastic injury time save from Olcay Sahan kept England in front as Hart had to create more heroics at his regular Etihad home
- Danny Rose was awarded Man of The Match by Glenn Hoddle which seemed to ignite Twitter. Although with their being so few Defenders in the aquad the only real question will be whether Rose starts against Russia on June 11
- So a win for England and what did we learn
- That Vardy is better suited as a two and not shunted out wide
- Jack Wilshere still has some work to do as does Jordan Henderson
- The Centre Back partnership looked okay but not great – Chris Smalling will certainly start come France
- Could a Diamond Midfield with Rooney at the tip be the best way to fit, Kane, Vardy and himself in the starting eleven
- With a couple of friendlies left, it’s not quite the finished article but there are some grounds for optimism
- Next up is Australia on Friday but without Jamie Vardy who has time off due to his wedding
- I guess he’s earned that after all his efforts this season for both club and country
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