Roy Hodgson admits Englands pitch problems after victory over Slovenia
Perhaps the strangest moment of England's latest amble through this qualifying process came an hour or so after the final whistle, deep in the bowels of Wembley, as the Slovenia manager, Srecko Katanec, and his official spokesman, Matjaz Krajnik, tried to explain what had gone wrong with their preparations and, in the process, highlighted the bureaucracy of the people in Uefa blazers.
Slovenia's team had been staying at the Wembley Hilton and the clue really is in the name. At most, it is 50 metres from the stadium, in a pedestrianised part of the complex. "We wanted to walk," Katanec explained.
Yet when Uefa got wind of it Slovenia were told it was forbidden and could mean being charged with disciplinary breaches. According to the rules, teams have to travel by bus and Slovenia were informed the traffic around Wembley could be so jammed they would have to leave 30 minutes spare to drive away from the hotel on Lakeside Way, turn right on to the A479 and then back up on themselves on Engineers Way to the stadium, roughly 300 yards in total.
"It was ridiculous," Krajnik said. "The stadium is 50 metres from the hotel. Yet we were told we had to leave early because apparently there could have been a traffic jam. It took us seven minutes on the bus." And the problem, according to Katanec, was that setting off so early disrupted their thinking. "We had half an hour after we arrived when the players had nothing to do, it was not how we planned it at all."
It was an odd footnote to the slightly unorthodox day when Wayne Rooney won his 100th England cap, Wembley watched a football match with NFL markings still visible on the pitch and Roy Hodgson's team waited until the 55th minute before managing their first shot on target, then rattled in three goals in the space of 13 minutes.
It was some response to Jordan Henderson's own goal but, equally, these are strange moments for Hodgson's men. Everyone has known since the opening win in Switzerland they are all but qualified and for long spells this game had a going-through-the-motions vibe not particularly helpful for Hodgson when he is looking to improve the team's sharpness.
Hodgson said he was planning to make changes for the friendly against Scotland in Glasgow and Joe Hart's return to Manchester City is an early indicator of his plans. The England manager also revealed that Stewart Downing, with a twisted knee, had been unavailable against Slovenia but should be fine for Tuesday's game and "that's good news because I would like to see him in an England shirt at some stage". This time Hodgson has the luxury of being able
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