England driven by unfinished business, says captain Terry

ohn Terry, England's captain, has rallied his team-mates before Wednesday's daunting trip to Zagreb by insisting that they have "unfinished business" with Slaven Bilic's side as they attempt to become the first visiting team to win a qualifying tie in Croatia for 14 years.

The Croats have never been beaten in a European Championship or World Cup qualifier at home since they began competing as a nation in 1994, and the convincing 2-0 victory they inflicted on Steve McClaren's side in October 2007 still smarts. Bilic's team followed that up with the decisive 3-2 success at Wembley which cost the England coach his job and the nation a place at Euro 2008.

"I think we have got unfinished business with Croatia," Terry said, after the Croats eased past Kazakhstan at the Maksimir stadium to extend their unbeaten competitive home run to 35 matches. "This is a new campaign and we are going there to pick up three points. If we can get off to a good six-point start, we'll take that. We know it's going to be tough again but, hopefully, they will come at us a bit more than Andorra did.

"You just try and rise to the challenge whenever you go back to a ground where you have bad memories. We know it's difficult and we know they have not been beaten there for a long time. We have the same at Aston Villa with Chelsea - we have not won there for a few years and every year we go back to Villa Park and we know it's going to be difficult, but we try our hardest. We have to go there with a clean slate and not think about the last game there or the last game at Wembley."

England's medical staff will assess Terry's centre-back partner, Rio Ferdinand, who has been sidelined with a recurrence of a back injury and is in doubt for the Group Six match.

Fabio Capello must also decide whether to recall David Beckham to the starting line-up after describing Theo Walcott's performance against Andorra as "excellent". Beckham's experience could prove crucial at the intimidating Maksimir. "We've got experience in the squad, players who have played in some of the biggest games in the world," said the 33-year-old. "We've got that experience and we will need it on Wednesday."

Capello: the story so far

Analysis

What is clear as England move towards their first competitive matches under Fabio Capello is that a revolution has yet to take place. There was a belief that the Italian would change drastically the side that failed so abjectly under Steve McClaren but, if anything, the status quo has remained.

New faces have been introduced, such as David Wheater and most recently Jimmy Bullard, and others have received their first caps under the new regime, such as Joe Hart and Stephen Warnock, but overall the same faces are filling their regular spots. Indeed, all the players who have appeared in four or more of Capello's six squads so far were capped under a previous manager, and every player who started in England's most recent match, the 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic, had been a full international for at least four years.

It could even be argued that Capello is going backwards in term of selection policy. Having called up Aston Villa's Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor in his initial squads, he discarded the pair for his most recent and instead turned to Emile Heskey, who first played for England in 1999.

There is one way, however, in which England are progressing. In each of Capello's five matches in charge the side have maintained more possession than their opponents, even in the 1-0 defeat in France, where the visitors had 56.6% of the ball. The figure was even higher in the supposedly muddled draw against the Czech Republic - 56.8%. England also passed the ball better than their five opponents, reaching a 87.7% completion rate in Paris.

Interestingly, the team are tackling less as Capello's regime develops. They made 22, 24 and 22 tackles in his first three matches in charge but only 12 in each of the last two. Their tackle success-rate is, though, improving overall, from 77.3% in the 2-1 victory over Switzerland to 83.3% in the most recent fixture. What this all suggests is that although Capello's England may look very similar to the team that went before, they are playing in a more composed manner, consistently keeping the ball better than their opponents and showing a decisive, measured approach in the tackle.

There is also a sting to this side. England have had 64 shots on goal under Capello, resulting in nine goals, compared with a total of only 37 by their five opponents.

I am leaving a strong legacy for England, claims departing Barwick

Brian Barwick is confident Fabio Capello will lead England to success over the next few years after it was confirmed that the Football Association chief executive will leave his post on December 31 following a major difference of opinion with chairman Lord Triesman over the precise nature of his job.

Barwick has a host of credits to his name, although he was also responsible for the farce that accompanied the announcement of Sven-Goran Eriksson's successor and the botched attempt to hire Luiz Felipe Scolari. However, he did get Capello on board and is predicting big things for the future. "I'm convinced that in Fabio Capello, the England team has the right manager and a genuine chance of success," said Barwick.

After the eras of Mark Palios, Adam Crozier and Graham Kelly, Barwick will at least leave the FA free of any stigma of controversy. He may also point to his strong record, which includes building Wembley and gaining agreement for the National Football Centre in Burton, as well as the record TV deals he negotiated, as proof his departure is to the detriment of the organisation.

However, Triesman is a man who clearly likes to get his own way. The Labour peer has made sweeping changes since becoming the first independent chairman of the FA at the start of the year. He was not close to Barwick and felt he lacked the necessary business skills to modernise the organisation. Barwick did not chair the weekly management board meeting on Tuesday. He then pulled out of the presentation party for England's 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic last night with no explanation offered.

"I am sad to be leaving the FA - an organisation it has been a privilege to lead - but I believe it is in the best interests of all parties," said Barwick in a statement. "I have always endeavoured to do my job with passion, decency and integrity, and I believe I am leaving a strong legacy for the future. We have achieved a lot over the past three-and-a-half years: opening the new Wembley Stadium, implementing the structural review and increasing our broadcast and commercial contracts to record income levels.

"The organisation is in better financial health than ever before, and I am also delighted to afhave seen the recent launch of the Respect programme, which is very important to me. I would like to pay tribute to the FA board for their strong support, and especially thank my colleagues at the FA for their tremendous efforts during my tenure."

Triesman also paid tribute to Barwick despite being the pivotal figure in his departure. "On behalf of everyone at the FA, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Brian for the stability and growth that he has brought to the organisation," he said. "Brian leaves with our best wishes for the future and will always be welcome back as our guest at Wembley."

Speculation will immediately begin as to Barwick's likely successor. The Manchester United chief executive David Gill has steadily grown in influence at the FA and his work at Old Trafford is held in high esteem. However, it is hardly likely the current salary of £450,000 per annum will appeal to someone who earns in excess of double that figure. Also, if Barwick thought his wings were being clipped, the role as Triesman sees it is unlikely to suit Gill. A more plausible candidate could be the FA's chief operating officer, Alex Horne, the former boss of Wembley, who had already been handed many of Barwick's responsibilities.

'We are killing Gerrard by playing him left midfield'

Fabio Capello insisted he was pleased with aspects of England's display in last night's draw with the Czechs and sought to justify his selection of Steven Gerrard in an unfamiliar role despite claims, notably by the Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, that this was one of the worst performances by England in recent memory.

The final whistle prompted boos from sections from the home support, despite England having equalised in stoppage time, with Redknapp using his platform as a TV pundit to declare that their second-half performance was "diabolical". He was left bemused by Gerrard's deployment on the left: "We have one of the finest midfielders in the world in Steven Gerrard. He plays for Liverpool and is like Roy of the Rovers, a colossus. But he's not a left midfielder. He has to be in the centre. We are killing Gerrard."

Capello insisted: "He was not playing on the left, I'm sorry. We played 4-3-2-1. We played [Jermain] Defoe, Gerrard and [Wayne] Rooney and three midfielders behind them. The position he had to play was between the line of the backs and the midfielders. Mr Redknapp has to say something but he didn't play on the left. Sorry. With his movement - he went on the left and to the middle - he moved but he never played on the left.

"I'm happy for the draw because the reaction to the team to the last minute was good, was important. And I think, also, that the first half we played with good football, good style and created a lot of chances to score goals. And the team played together with different style. There was only one thing I didn't like, in the first half: sometimes, when the Czechs had counter-attacks, we suffered. That was the problem. We have to prepare something to combat that problem."

Asked whether he thought this performance suggested England were ready for next month's opening World Cup qualifiers and the game against Croatia in Zagreb, he added: "I think tonight we took another step. I'm happy. I saw a lot of things which I had doubts on, and the players' fitness levels are still not at their best but I think we'll be ready for both the games next month."

His newly appointed captain, John Terry, appeared less convinced. This was the latest sloppy performance from players who excel in the Champions League and Premiership yet flounder on the international stage. "It has been a problem for the past four or five years and it's something we need to address as quickly as possible," said Terry. "I don't know what it is and, as a group, we are trying to put our fingers on it."

Yet those present who made their displeasure known at the final whistle might agree more with Redknapp's assessment. The Portsmouth manager drew support from Terry Venables, now a pundit on TV. "If we were experimenting a bit it would worry me less but that seems to be his team," said the former England coach. "I only thought set-pieces would win us the game."

"That was one of the worst performances I have seen from an England team," added Redknapp. "The second half was diabolical. Some of the players are unrecognisable from those who play in the Premier League. I was full of optimism before the game, but then I saw the teamsheet.

"We keep chopping and changing the manager but the performances don't change and we don't improve. We change the manager, but pick the same players. We keep picking them and they are the best players, but they come here and play for England and don't perform."