Fluent Fabio Capello starting to realise he must stick to the 'English way'

He used phrases like 'English spirit' and 'intensity and pace' and spoke of a desire to perform against the USA at Wembley this evening by adopting 'a more English way of playing'.

The Italian clearly possesses a touch of sophistication and class that was so lacking in his more recent predecessors, but it all sounded a little bit worrying.

Evidence, perhaps, that after two games in charge Capello is already beginning to reach a depressing conclusion.

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Striking differences: Wayne Rooney will link up with target man (pictured below)

He cannot change the way the English play, only make them play to their strengths.

The training sessions he has taken in the last few days would suggest even that is proving difficult, however.

Capello could yet spring a surprise and name a team later today that is vastly different to the one he has examined at London Colney but if the team is what it appeared to be yesterday the English public could be subjected to another go-slow demonstration.

Dean Ashton struggles to move much faster than a fuel blockade lorry and if Capello does then deploy David Bentley, Frank Lampard, Owen Hargreaves and Steven Gerrard from right to left in a four-man midfield, a much-needed injection of pace, after that stuttering display against France in March, is going to be hard to find.

"I try to find a good position for Gerrard," said Capello.

Try telling Gerrard that it is on the left wing.

In fairness to Capello, he has made one very important observation.

Wayne Rooney is England's most gifted and therefore most important player and the manager's efforts now seem to be geared towards getting the very best out of the Manchester United striker.

Capello has abandoned the idea of using Rooney as a centre-forward, just as he appears to have abandoned the idea of Gerrard in the supporting role.

No bad thing after Paris but not exactly a cause for celebration when the alternative is the relatively mediocre Ashton.

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Dean Ashton

Clearly, though, Capello thinks he can overcome the deficiencies of individuals, as well as a dearth of experienced international wingers, by adopting a more aggressive style.

He said: "The distance between the lines will be very important," and added: "The other players have to press. Be more compact."

Again, it all sounded very English. A high-intensity, pressing game with a big lad up front that runners can feed off.

Gerrard could burst in from the left, Rooney from deep, Lampard from midfield. Potentially exciting against ordinary opposition, but not terribly innovative.

For England, Rooney has been most effective in the role that is now intended for him.

Capello no doubt hopes he can rediscover the international form he so memorably produced during Euro 2004.

That said, the way his colleagues are likely to be organised around him still seems slightly unsatisfactory.

Rooney can make more of an impact when working off another forward, but surely it would make more sense to build the team with other key players in their correct positions as well.

"I am a central midfielder," said Gerrard after that defeat against France, and central midfield is where Liverpool's captain should be.

It might be that Capello thinks so too. We will see this evening. But it will be a significant leap from what he has so far tried if he does opt for a 4-3-3 formation that still provides Rooney with support but also boasts pace as well as a perfectlybalanced three-man midfield.

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The squad get put through their paces

Capello should look at Hargreaves in the holding role with Lampard to his left and Gerrard to his right - a midfield that gives Lampard and Gerrard the opportunity to push forward while giving them responsibility for a familiar area of the pitch.

Ahead of them he could then have Ashton - if that really is the best option at the moment - with Rooney tucked in on the left and someone with pace, or perhaps even Joe Cole or Bentley, on the right. Rooney has started to the left of Carlos Tevez - with Cristiano Ronaldo deployed to the right in a three-man attack - a number of times for United this season and with considerable success.

He still gets to play the role of 'second striker' and still gets the freedom to roam. He just has to be mindful of his responsibilities when England do not have the ball.

Right now, Capello appears to be more concerned with the attitude of players so lacking in confidence when he succeeded Steve McClaren.

He might pick his team from a squad that boasts eight members of the starting line-ups in last week's Champions League Final, but the same players have struggled to excel in an England shirt.

"It's very important to play without fear," he said. "With big confidence and in a very English spirit. I ask them to play like that. Sure, they won't be fresh like the USA players, but I think we need to play with spirit and intensity."

Lifting spirits would appear to be the name of the game, and making John Terry his captain for this game should help the Chelsea skipper.

Typically of Capello, he did say he had not mentioned that penalty to Terry. But then something less typical.

Like Terry in Moscow, he had been reduced to tears on a football pitch.

"Saying goodbye to Milan," he explained.

Empathy, as well as half-decent English.