England will consider it a case of "job done" as they departed the Euro 2004 meeting with Liechtenstein with three points, no injuries and no upsets.
It was, however, a very disappointing England performance and not necessarily what the nation wanted as they look for something to give them optimism ahead of the game against Turkey.
England's passing wasn't good, their defending was unsatisfactory, Liechtenstein had good chances, and the tempo of the display just wasn't right for me.
It was patchy, the tempo wasn't right and it was scrappy throughout.
England also should have created more, given the amount of possession they had in and around the penalty area.
England are becoming too predictable, too staid. The system is back to the old style 4-4-2, we don't change, we make simple one-for-one substitutions.
They need to perform better against Turkey, and I genuinely believe England will - but their performance in Liechtenstein was disappointing.
England's players will consider the criticism unjustified, believing they have produced a professional performance and a win.
 England are becoming too predictable, too staid Former England captain Terry Butcher |
But England have got to produce more, and have got to give the public more to stimulate the country and increase their confidence before they face a very talented and fresh Turkey side.
If we were looking for plus points, I thought Steven Gerrard was easily England's best player.
I was disappointed when he was taken off, even though I understand coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was ensuring he did not pick up a booking that would rule him out against Turkey.
Gerrard's passing was good and he, for one, had a sense of urgency about his game.
I felt England should have gone for it more in the closing stages, and thrown Wayne Rooney on as part of a three-man attack alongside Michael Owen and Emile Heskey.
One concern for Eriksson is that Kieron Dyer didn't work on the left hand side in the way he would have liked.
Dyer did okay, but this is not his best position and we have got to try and do more.
Eriksson, in my opinion, should try a three-man midfield of either Dyer or Danny Murphy, with Gerrard and David Beckham.
This would enable England to utilise Paul Scholes more, because I don't think he is being used to best effect.
I wouldn't think about changing personnel as much as changing the shape of the midfield to face Turkey.
Scholes would be better employed playing in the space behind England's strikers, because once again he was anonymous against Liechtenstein and his recent goal record at international level is not good.
He doesn't get into positions where he is going to score goals, perhaps because he is being asked to do too much work defensively.
I think, with the freedom of him playing behind the strikers, that offers far more attacking potency.
If the ball is lost he can drop back into midfield and resume the natural shape of the team.
England need something fresh for Wednesday - and they certainly need a win.
MMIX
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