FIFA World Cup 2014: Hodgson's choices cost England in Brazil

Roy Hodgson: The main culprit?

One 45-minute spell earlier this season sums up why Roy Hodgson's England failed at the World Cup. It wasn't an England match, and in the larger scheme of things it is unlikely to be remembered.

It was Liverpool vs Aston Villa in February, and it was expected that Brendan Rodgers would use his favoured 4-3-3, the formation most likely to yield a quick win. Instead, Rodgers went with an untested 4-2-4, with Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson the central midfielders behind an advanced Philippe Coutinho.

Aston Villa had been woeful all season, but at Anfield they ran riot in the 1st half, taking a 2-0 lead thanks to some sharp counter-attacking by Gabby Agbonlahor. Liverpool's attackers were all in good form, but broken from the midfield duo and devoid of supply. At the back, Martin Skrtel and an increasingly nervy Kolo Toure weren't getting any screening from the midfield. Gerrard and Henderson were trying to do too much, and ending up doing nothing. It was the worst performance all season for both players.

In the 2nd half, Rodgers brought on Lucas Leiva and things stabilized. Lucas is a more natural destroyer than Gerrard, and his arrival shut off Villa's attacks. Henderson was left free to run at the midfielders and carry the ball forward. But the biggest impact was on Gerrard, who now had a more relaxed role. The raking passes began to flow, and one found Raheem Sterling in the 53rd minute, leading to Liverpool's equalizer from a Gerrard penalty.

The parallels are numbing: a brilliant but isolated attack, Gerrard and Henderson overrun in midfield, an untrustworthy defence; all this will sound nastily familiar to England fans. It's hard to believe Hodgson wasn't aware that Gerrard is no longer the rampaging box-to-box midfielder of yore. He has a physical presence and is still one of the best long passers around, but at 34 lacks the pace or the energy to move constantly. He's at his best in a midfield trio, or better still as one of the 2 in a 4-2-3-1.

By sending out a 4-2-4 without instructing Sterling and Wayne Rooney to track back and help out, Hodgson committed tactical suicide even before a ball was kicked. The whole point of tactics is to get the best out of your players: the mediocre ones start playing out of their skins, while the good ones reach world-class level. Hodgson did the exact opposite, making even his best players look ordinary. In happier times under the same manager, Gerrard led England through an undefeated Euro 2012 campaign, and was in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. In Brazil he was twice pitched in a 2 vs 5 midfield battle. He might as well have waved the white flag.

What Hodgson should have done (and belatedly will do against Costa Rica) is play Rickie Lambert, James Milner and perhaps Adam Lallana out wide. That will give England much-needed protection on the flanks, where both Italy and Uruguay opened them up. Milner is at best a more experienced version of Henderson, but provides a crucial ability to hit through-balls. Lallana can play out wide, and drops back to help out - something Rooney was never comfortable doing. At 6'2" Lambert adds an aerial option as well who can hold up the ball well for speedy strikers like Daniel Sturridge to rush on to.

Gerrard will not play this game, handing over his position and captaincy to Frank Lampard. The former Chelsea man is hardly an improvement on Gerrard (even more indisciplined, if anything) but Hodgson obviously hopes fresher legs can better withstand Costa Rica's physical onslaught and salvage some pride. Before the tournament, commentators spoke of how England could benefit from a large Liverpool presence, the way Spain, Germany and Italy have done from the success of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus. That template could still work, but Hodgson needs to quickly understand that picking names is the easy part - to have an impact, the national team needs to also play the way Liverpool do.