5 ways England can become serious World Cup contenders

England National Football team

“England have the potential to win things but it is very difficult because everyone wants to win a trophy. If you play Brazil or Spain, the chances are you will lose”. - John Barnes said the other night.

When someone with 79 Three Lions cap to his name sounds so pessimistic, you know something is wrong. Well, the qualification to the finals looks pretty straight forward as they lead the group H, ahead of Ukraine and Montenegro, with two home matches to wrap up the qualification. But the story after that isn’t sweet for any English fan.

47 long years have rolled by and English football has failed to add a single silverware to their National Football Museum in Preston. Why does the team with few of the best names in the game and the most lucrative domestic league setup in the world end up trophy less year in year out at the international stage?

Although, the drought in trophies hasn’t reduced any bit of optimism among the Royal Loyal, but the chances of them disappointing next summer seems more inevitable as the finals come closer.

Can the Three Lions come up with a performance against all odds?

Roy Hodgson’s top 5 in the To-do list may just make the summer interesting for all English football Fans.

Bribe Club Managers

Arsene Wenger

The list topper has to be an assorted gift basket with French croissant and wines along with Scottish Abernathy biscuits and shilling Ales. Arsenal and Manchester United has most of the probable starters for the next World Cup. So, if Hodgson can manage to sway Arsene Wenger into giving Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, Carl Jenkinson regular starts, he can have three fast and agile young players to look up on next summer.

Arsenal’s rooster of English players consists of the most injury-prone ones too. So, it becomes even more important, how Walcott, Wilshere and Chamberlain are utilized in the built up to Brazil ’14.

David Moyes has Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverly, Michael Carrick and Phil Jones along with the marquee man, Wayne Rooney. The much needed exposure to these players may end up boasting an unbelievable English glory. A character of Rooney’s volatility also needs to be kept under control to maintain a good atmosphere in the Three Lions dressing room next year.

Gary Cahill and Jerome Defoe’s meagre playing time must have led to Hodgson’s adding Mourinho and Villa Boas to his gift-basket list.