B is for bad

Or perhaps "bizarre". Both adjectives could equally be applied to England B's 2-1 loss to Belarus yesterday.

It was an odd little match. On the play that led to Jermaine Jenas's goal for England, Michael Owen was a mile offside, but it went unnoticed. There was as blatant a handball as you'll ever see that when uncalled. but weirder still was the first Belarus goal. England keeper Robert Green badly shanked the ball straight to an opposing player, falling to the ground in agony as he did so, whereupon the Belarussian striker calmly (and perhaps unsportingly) shot the ball into an empty net. Green, who was only the third choice England keeper, is now out of the World Cup.

Overall. England looked like they were sleeping through this game. Tons of misplaced passes, and a general sense of torpor about the England midfield and backline. Carrick and Jenas alwys seemed to me to be a bit far away from their strikers; Owen and Crouch were constantly tracking back.

The two bright spots were Crouch, who generally looked dangerous, and Aaron Lennon, who tormented the visitor's defense all night long. Eventually, the defender marking Lennon clearly just gave up and started wantonly fouling him, a strategy that hilariously brought him two yellow cards in a matter of seconds. And Theo Walcott did have some time at the end of the match; he had one nice volley and a few good moments, but really Lennon was the star. The problem is that Lennon plays in David Beckham's position, so there's virtually no chance he will start. I'd look for him to be inserted in games at around the 70 minute mark; against tired defenders, he could be truly monumental.