Capello's dilemma

It has been a strange start to Fabio Capello's term as England manager as last weekend was the first set of fixtures he was able to watch from the much-hyped premier league.

Up until then he has been left watching either FA Cup third round ties or the semi-finals of the League Cup. He must still be trying to make sense of this hectic seasonal period but at least most of his possible squad were on show at some point.

This is because barring injuries, all of them play in the premier league and don't ply their trade abroad, Beckham excepted, and no one really believes 'Golden Balls' is part of his long-term plans. That is apart from possibly allowing him get his 100th cap in the international against Switzerland next month.

He has already had an impact on this game with 70,000 seats already sold for his home debut with one of this year's European Championship hosts. The irony will not be lost on the thoughtful Italian.

Capello himself played at the old Wembley in 1973 for Italy and scored in a victory that ultimately led to England not qualifying for the 1974 World Cup.

"Playing for my country at the home of football was one of the highlights of my career and to lead out the England team at the new Wembley will be a very big moment," he said.

To be honest while it will not be a defining moment it will certainly be a big moment for a watching public that is fascinated by what decisions he has made both on selection and tactics.

A growing number of previous favourites will be sitting more uncomfortably than usual when he picks his first starting eleven.

Under McClaren and Eriksson many of the self-proclaimed 'Golden Generation' were untouchable which led to some of the most important decisions not being made - most notably that of the Gerrard and Lampard conundrum.

It is highly likely though that this will be the first problem that he addresses. Either he will adopt a system that will suit them both or one of them will be jettisoned - and if it is the latter, then the Chelsea man might find himself out of the international picture in the short term.

Gerrard is a world class player and Capello will probably also turn to him to be his captain in the hope of getting the consistent performances he achieves at Liverpool translated to the international scene.

This will put added pressure on John Terry, currently injured, and under threat from the likes of Micah Richards, Ledley King and even Jonathan Woodgate who still has the potential to perform at this level.

Gerrard aside, only one other player has nothing to worry about and that is Wayne Rooney who Capello has seen play twice with one of those to devastating effect at Villa Park in the FA Cup. In that game he came on, created the first goal and scored the second in a world class 20-minute cameo and Capello must have loved every one of those minutes knowing the player would be at his disposal.

It was an obvious game for him to watch given the established internationals on display for Manchester United but also the young pretenders playing for Aston Villa, most notably Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gareth Barry and Ashley Young. It is Barry that is of most interest as his performances for club and country have been outstanding and a partnership with Gerrard looks the most promising of all.

Behind the back four Paul Robinson looks very vulnerable especially given the dramatic way he has been sidelined by Ramos at Spurs, even to the extent that he has been told he can leave if he wants to.

Given that goalkeepers depend on confidence this could be a tough time for him. In the meantime, Capello may well return to David James, whose form for Portsmouth has been outstanding, until he finds his favourite long term solution.

All other positions are probably up for grabs as well and it will depend on injuries and current form as to who starts that first game in February.

The only thing we can be certain of though, apart from Gerrard and Rooney, is that attitude will play a vital part of any selection he makes for this game and the qualifying games in the future.

No longer will players of talent be able to under perform as much as they have done and it is in this area that the biggest change will take place under the new regime.

Famed for his authoritarian approach he has worked with some of the most talented and high profile names in the game and this group of players are nowhere near this level for him to be intimidated by them.

This will be the most refreshing element of his tenure and may be the key that unlocks the promise and ability his predecessors found beyond them.