Roy Hodgson has his critics, and I'll admit I wasn't overjoyed by his appointment, but he does seem to recognise that England have to play without the ball for large portions of the game. Since Barcelona and Spain's assault on world football through their heavy possession system, there has been a shift towards counter attacking and transitional play, headed by Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, both of whom became European giants.
This shift has meant that teams like Crystal Palace and West Ham have been able to upset the odds a bit, by sitting in, keeping their shape and exploiting the space left as teams try to break down the stubborn defence. Dominant, powerful defenders tend to flourish under this system, but sometimes these defenders need to be calm under pressure, especially with the ball.
England have to adopt this style in order to have any chance of doing anything, it seems. They have plenty of pace to hit teams on the counter, fit, energetic midfielders and two of the best young defenders in Europe, in Smalling and Stones. Defensively, England can certainly adopt this style, though there are question marks over the holding midfield position. My personal choice would be Jack Cork, but Eric Dier has proven himself a very good player in that role and his physical size would be handy with Stones' slightly less imposing figure. Smalling has blossomed into a commanding and strong defender who can organise people. Two years ago, it would seem absurd to say Smalling could captain England, but now I think he'd make a good choice, in a few years.
In Clyne and Bertrand, England have full backs who can defend - which is often regarded as a rarity in the modern game - who have bags of pace to join the attack should they get a chance. Clyne has proven himself very good going forward and capable of scoring and creating with semi-regularity. Luke Shaw will hopefully come back from his injury and re-find his form, which would give the England manager some headaches over that position. Shaw offers a wonderful attacking outlet from deep but I think Bertrand is more solid defensively - both are very solid picks.
Out wide, we have Raheem Sterling, a talented but frustrating player who is yet to make his mark in international football. Given space, however, he can be destructive, and this system would look to create space for him to roam into. He's a very intelligent player as well, so should be able to take good positions to transition from defence to attack very quickly. Intelligence is such an important attribute for an attacking midfielder/wide forward and Sterling should suit this style for that reason.
The right hand side is tricky. Walcott has electric pace, but cannot be a mainstay in the side due to his injury record, whilst Oxlade-Chamberlain's inconsistencies and lack of game time mean he isn't a reliable choice. Chamberlain would make a great choice on the right side too, as he is fervent in defence and carries the ball at frightening speed. England have a few options to play on that side - Sturridge could work cutting in on his left foot, which would also mean that Harry Kane could play, but if you have an inverted wide forward on the left, you usually want more of a traditional winger on the other side to keep the width and stretch the pitch; think Bolasie - Zaha or Lanzini - Moses.However, Sturridge moving in from the right would suit Kane's style, as he could drop deeper and leave that space for Sturridge to move in to. Kane loves to play as a hybrid 9 and 10, a 9 and a half if you will, so he can come deep and allow Sturridge to make runs into the right half-space beyond him.
Should Walcott be injured for Euro 2016, or looking forward, the World Cup in 2018, England could do worse than look at Nathan Redmond, a skilful winger with a great right foot who looks to be maturing into a very decent player, if they opt to go for a right footer on that side. Redmond could turn out to be a lethal player as he shows flashes of great finishing and powerful shooting. Jesse Lingard has just received a call up, and he can play on either flank and could be a handy player to have around the squad because of it. He can fill in for Sterling and is probably a more natural goalscorer from the left, or he can play down the right and offer some width and a threat from the other side.
Central midfield is often a problem area for England. It used to be we had too many good central midfielders, but now it's finding that balance. Ross Barkley has bags of ability and will likely be the best choice to play as the playmaker, but one should not rule out Adam Lallana, who could shine in a counter attacking system. Lallana is often used as a secondary playmaker, shunted out wide or alongside another attacking midfielder, but his deft touch and quick turns could be utilised to turn defence into attack with immediacy. Collecting a pass from a defender on the half turn is something that few England players have been able to do since Paul Scholes, but Lallana has the ability to quickly transition and this can be extremely effective when teams come to attack.
Barkley can do it too, and I think he'll be the player who gets the chance, but I've always liked Lallana as a player and think he needs to find a role that suits his skillset. Barkley has the added bonus of physicality - he's quick, strong and fitter than Lallana and given that responsibility he could definitely be one of the shining players at the Euros and World Cup.
Alongside him, Henderson seems the obvious choice, as he is able to be disciplined and sit in but also has an eye for a pass and can harry opposition attackers all day. When you don't have the ball for the majority of the game, you have to be fit and able to press in the 88th minute as well as the 8th. Henderson will give you that, which makes him the obvious choice. Ryan Mason is a similar player who could act as a good back-up, and Shelvey would be a better player if we are looking to dominate, due to his passing range and ability to control the tempo.
Up top is an interesting dilemma. I would personally plump for Harry Kane, due to his defensive benefits as well as his ability to link the play. Under pressure, he need to be able to play it direct to him sometimes, and he can bring the ball down and find a team mate. He's not slow either, and can certainly run in behind some of the less athletic defences. He won't be beating Varane for pace, but he isn't slow by any means. Sturridge offers a more direct option, and on the counter his pace and skill would be priceless, but his link up play can be a bit lacking at times and with his injury record there is no guarantee that he will be fit to play at any point.
Wayne Rooney is an issue at the moment, and it's plain for all to see. His touch isn't there, he looks slow, ponderous and a shadow of the player he was five years ago. For the good of the side, and the development of Harry Kane in this side, leaving Rooney out of the first team would be beneficial. Even if you keep him around for his presence and leadership, I would not start him unless he suddenly halts this decline that, statistically, has been happening for quite a few years now.
That's my vision for England in the next 2-3 years. We have some very good young talent and we should look to blood as many of them as possible. Players like Alli and Shelvey should get chances to impress and though I wouldn't start them in 2016/18 on what I've seen so far, there's a chance that they could become regulars. James Ward-Prowse will likely be in the squad by 2018, and some of the talent in the Championship too might be good enough - the highly-rated Demarai Gray, Lewis Cook or Will Hughes could be close to the team by then.
We have to invest in the youth and try and create a team, rather than always picking the best players. Use Germany as a model, who created a team from young players and stuck with them - and they came out alright.
