Foresight - England in Brazil, via Southampton & Liverpool

So, we all know England won't win the World Cup. Let's get that clarified straight away.  I won't go into the reasons why, that's for others to debate and dissect.  But as things stand now, we're probably expecting a half-arsed effort and an exit with a whimper in Brazil this summer - just like every other summer in recent memory (except 2008 of course).

But the good new is it doesn't have to be like that.  England could very easily go out of the tournament having delivered a high-octane, energetic and exciting few games, enjoyed by football fans the world over.  And there's no reason such an approach wouldn't see us progress past our usual stumbling block of the quarter-finals. Let's face it, we've nothing to lose at this stage.
So, the question is - how?  How do we prevent the inexorable and inevitable slide towards abject disappointment once again in FIFA's showpiece tournament?

Who is on form?

The answer may come from the two Premier League clubs who have, this season, showcased some of the country's most flourishing talents.  Southampton and Liverpool.

Both clubs have performed exceedingly well in the last year or so, guided as they are by modern, progressive coaches in Mauricio Pochettino and Brendan Rodgers respectively.  Luis Suarez aside, most of the standout players for these teams have been English, and any national coach heading into a major tournament should surely be considering the players at his disposal that are most in form.  He should also consider how best to get such players to replicate that form on the international stage.

Daniel Sturridge and Jay Rodriguez - two English players who have impressed this season

Put very simplistically, you would expect these players to be picked ahead of others, no matter what those other names might be.  However, as we saw against Denmark, it's just not that simple.  In that game, Roy Hodgson did indeed pick several Liverpool players - but rather than employ a system to suit the players, he picked the system first and then decided to make those players try to fit that.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't really work.  England won 1-0 with a goal from Sturridge, but it was a limp and unconvincing team performance, with Sturridge spending much of his time on the field in an unfamiliar wide position.

The English players who are most in form for these two clubs have been: Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez, Rickie Lambert, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge.  There is also Jon Flanagan and Luke Shaw to consider, but I shan't focus much on defenders in this piece.

What system?

Taking the above names, there are a couple of systems you could employ to try and get the best out of them.  I would lean towards a 4-2-3-1 formation, with a view to adapting it into a 4-3-3/4-5-1 as necessary during the course of a game.

Under these considerations, here is the team I'd throw out:

Given this formation, we can then begin to look at how the squad might take shape.  We'd take three goalkeepers, according to FIFA regulations, so obviously that's Hart and whoever you're comfortable with as backups should it come to that.  Personally I'd say Forster and Ruddy, but it's largely irrelevant.

Defenders

I think that back four above picks itself.  Johnson isn't the best right back in the Premier League but he is the best English right back at the moment.  Besides those four, we take three other defenders as cover.  Might sound a risk, but that's sort of the aim of this. Take a risk.  Often England are too cautious.  So we'd need one out-and-out centre back, then a centre back who can also deputise at full back, and finally a full back who can play either side.  I won't name names for these roles; I'm concentrating primarily on the front six here.

Midfield / Forwards

We've already got Gerrard, Henderson, Lallana, Rodriguez and Sterling.  I'd add to that - Carrick, Lampard, Barkley and Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Now, I've long advocated the absence of Lampard from this upcoming tournament.  But in considering the positions and formation we'd be looking at here, I wouldn't be averse to him coming on for 20 minutes.  The thing is, he's unlikely to lose his cool under pressure and if we're leading could easily help to see the game out.  And there are few English central midfielders who are making an outstanding case to be included - though Gareth Barry could be considered in his place, having had a respectable season at Everton.

Carrick can also accomplish the sensible "hold the ball, pass it about" role should it be needed - he has averaged 88.3% pass completion this season.  And, as with Lampard, I don't see anybody immediately making a case to displace him.

Barkely is having a very good season and gets included on merit - if we require a sudden spark of creativity from the midfield, he could be one to provide it; the youngster is 8th in the Premier League for successful dribbles per game.  I don't think he's anywhere near mature enough to start in the World Cup, but he's a great option to have available.

Finally, "the Ox", who is more than capable of playing in the forward line, although he would almost certainly be used off the bench rather than starting.

Captain of club & country - Steven Gerrard has revelled in Liverpool's system this season

Strikers

I've often wondered why England squads that are centred around playing two strikers only include four such players.  But ideally in the system I'm suggesting we'd only ever play with one out-and-out centre forward, so taking four should be fine.  I would suggest: Daniel Sturridge, Wayne Rooney, Rickie Lambert and Danny Welbeck.

Rickie Lambert and Danny Welbeck are purely squad options at this point - Lambert can fulfil the centre forward role effectively, and should slot in comfortably to a team already containing Rodriguez and Lallana.  Welbeck, though perhaps not Manchester United's most potent threat, has put in decent performances for his country, and keeps the ball better than even Sturridge or Rooney (dispossessed 1.7 times per game as opposed to 1.8 and 2.1 respectively).

One Striker, and the Wayne Rooney Conundrum

Yes, I am a Liverpool supporter and yes, I have selected Sturridge to start and left Rooney on the bench.  "Bias!" I hear you cry.  Not so.  If we're talking about only starting one centre forward, it has to be Daniel Sturridge.  He is ahead of Rooney this season in terms of goals, shots per game, successful dribbles, fouls drawn, and (as mentioned) he gives the ball away less.

These are the cold, hard facts.  We must also consider that in the 10 years since Euro 2004, Rooney has never really performed at an international tournament.  Not that he is to blame for England's woes (that's definitely a team effort), but given that he has not struggled for club form in that time, all evidence suggests a repeat of the same in Brazil.

To counter this, there is a positive - Rooney can play as a striker.  He can also play, probably more effectively, behind the striker.  Therefore should the game require changing, Rooney is ready to come into the team and make a difference.  He has 10 assists this season, and is the joint-best Englishman in the Premier League (with Steven Gerrard) for key passes completed per game (average of 2).  He can make a difference.

Plan B?

I toyed seriously with the idea of including a "big man" centre forward in place of Welbeck; probably Andy Carroll.  In the end though, it came down to whether we would look to sacrifice principals.  The moment such a player steps onto the pitch, you are compromising the style of play utilised by the likes of Southampton and Liverpool.  Players would be far too tempted to simply ping the ball up to him in the penalty area.

Brendan Rodgers wasted no time in shipping Carroll out of Liverpool, having concluded that the big Geordie didn't fit his system.  Yet Rodgers does have a "Plan B".  You re-shape the team, the midfield, the defence.  You adapt.  "Plan B" does not necessarily mean that you immediately become West Ham.  

Have Brendan Rodgers and Mauricio Pochettino shown England the way forward?

The biggest obstacle

Unfortunately the biggest obstacle to utilising this strategy is the man who would be tasked with managing it - Roy Hodgson.

Let's get something else straight.  I do not think Hodgson is a bad manager.  For a certain level of team or club, he is actually a very good one.  But we're talking about the sort of club for whom mid-table mediocrity represents a "good season".  He simply isn't a progressive enough coach to successfully deploy the kind of fluid system I'm talking about here, nor get the best out of the sort of talents that make the system work effectively.

Roy Hodgson will be in charge of England in Brazil this summer.  Therefore all of the above is just speculative conjecture.  I'm just asking the question - "what if we did this...?"  Because anything has got to be better than the predictable struggle and inevitable disappointment that surely awaits us.

If the FA actually want to build a potentially successful national team, they should look to the clubs that are already doing some of the groundwork for them.  And then they need to somehow tempt a coach into the job that can recreate it.  It can work.  But it requires the men at the top to be bold - for once.