The mouse that roared?

It pains me to say it, but England were awful against Israel in Tel-Aviv on Saturday evening. In fact, they were beyond awful. Words cannot adequately describe quite how poor they were. And yet we're still as short as 15/2 in a place to reign supreme at next year's European Championships. Do me a favour!
 
The Three Lions are a top-priced 3/100 to beat Andorra on Wednesday, which seems fair considering that they beat them in a hat-canter at Old Trafford in September when beating the visitors by five goals to nil. However, Steve McClaren's men have played six times since, winning just once and scoring a paltry total of two goals in the half-a-dozen matches in question.
 
I have listened to a number of views. Some think that the British press is 'fickle' as the knives were out for McClaren following the stalemate against Israel. But if the press don't turn up the heat on the manager, who will? After all, the powers that be at the FA allowed the gaumless Sven to pocket £5million a year despite offering little return on that sizeable, annual investment.
 
When push comes to shove, players and managers are always preaching with regard to the importance of the fans. And they are right to do so, but do they really mean it, or is it merely a PR exercise? If you're one of the 4,000 fans that travelled to Tel-Aviv to support the lads, you'll not only be disappointed at the result, but also wondering why on earth you parted with your hard-earned to go and watch such tosh.
 
Don't get me wrong, Israel aren't a bad side - and they lost just once on their home patch in seven years - but if England are to have aspirations of making an impact in a tournament such as Euro 2008, then beating teams of Israel's stature should be food and drink to an elite band of players, most of whom ply their trade in the Premiership - widely considered to be the best league in world.
 
To my eyes, England looked all at sea at Saturday. They lacked ideas, lacked industry and, as is often the case these days, they lacked any semblance of cohesion within the team. In the end, the lads reverted to route-one football, but even that approach failed to yield the required result - a goal. And, for all that they were superior in terms of possession, I never really thought they were going to score during the game.
 
Andorra are super minnows in the pond of national sides in Europe but, a they proved when beating Macedonia and holding Finland to a goalless draw during their World Cup 2006 qualification campaign, they are capable of holding their own. As such, if perform against Andorra at Espanyol's Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Wednesday as they did against Israel, then they'll be given a run for their money.
 
However, it's still extremely difficult to envisage England failing to collect three points from this fixture - and they need all three points given that they are only third in Group E, which appeared to be one of the weakest when the draws were announced. But I very much doubt that this will be as straightforward a task as the betting implies. Indeed, a workmanlike victory rather than a resounding one is the more likely outcome.
 
With this in mind, I am going to get seriously stuck into Sporting Odds' offer of 5/4 about Andorra +4 in the handicap result market. For all that the tiny principality of Andorra can boast no players of any great stature, I don't think there are any national sides out there at present that look as disjointed and uninterested as England. And I certainly cannot foresee them scoring more than three on Wednesday, therefore am confident of a profitable evening. 

Verdict - 10pts Andorra +4 in the handicap result market @ 5/4 (Sporting Odds )