England's points lack pizazz

THE talents of Glenn Hoddle seem boundless. As a player he was an acknowledged master of the footballing arts, although few would have given him a degree in applied physics. As England coach, having already established himself as psychologist and confessor, he is now a qualified anaesthetist.

The surgery in Tblisi on Saturday was brief. Goals from Sheringham, after 14 minutes, and Ferdinand, after 36, put England's third World Cup qualifer under Hoddle virtually beyond Georgia's reach and laid the groundwork for a victory - accomplished without Shearer - which has left them top of Group Two with nine points, three more than Italy, who visit Wembley on February 12th.

Yet the win owed less to the scalpel than the ether. Having gone two up, England sent the match, the opposition, the crowd - almost everyone, in fact, except the army band which had been thoughtfully placed in front of the press box - to sleep for the best part of an hour.

As entertainment it often compared unfavourably with a post office queue, but in the context of what was required, especially after the flawed 2-1 win over Poland at Wembley a month earlier, it was exactly right. Qualifying competitions impose their own disciplines and no points are awarded for artistic impression.

Hoddle knew that, given half a chance, Georgia would have run his defenders ragged, much as they had done against Italy after half time in Perugia, when only the goalkeeping of Toldo preserved the Italians' 1-0 lead. So he set out to deny England's opponents possession in midfield, and time and space near goal when they did have the ball.

That this mission was accomplished so successfully was due principally to the efforts of a player whose inclusion in the squad, let alone the team, had been the subject for serious debate. On his previous international appearance he had been seen to aim a gratuitous kick at an opponent, and since then he had been involved in an unseemly public brawl with a partner.

In Tblisi, however, David Batty was the epitome of restraint and good judgment. Perhaps Hoddle once removed a thorn from his paw. True, Batty did offer Kinkladze a late reminder that his capacity for inflicting pain was undiminished. Otherwise both he and Ince obeyed Hoddle's instructions to shepherd the Manchester City player into cul de sacs.

The paradox of Hoddle picking Batty, akin to Rachmaninov asking Les Dawson if he did requests, was put to the England coach. "I don't pick the team in my own image," he grinned. "We'd never win the ball off anyone.

Batty and Ince were also there to provide a platform for whatever attacking inspiration Paul Gascoigne could provide five days after a public apology for hitting his wife and amid growing evidence that he no longer has the stamina for matches at this level.

On Saturday, Gascoigne featured in the build ups to both goals and crafted his instincts as an individualist to the needs of the team. Hoddle saw hopeful signs in his performance.

"What you lose when you come to 29, 30 and 31 you can gain in another way," the England coach observed. "There are other sides to the game and other things Paul can put into the game. He's at an age where there is another set of curtains to be opened for him."

Either way it will surely be curtains for Gazza soon. His inability to take on opposing defenders because he no longer has a change of pace was still in evidence, along with the difficulty he has getting up and back, even in a forward role. At times in Tblisi he was following the play like a man trying to pick up a piece of paper on a breezy day.

Still, Gascoigne's was the ball to Sheringham that led to England's opening goal. Sheringham sidestepped Shelia's challenge before producing a shot which looped off Tshadadze's lunging leg and beyond the reach of Zoidze.

For the other goal Sheringham gathered a pass from Gascoigne and sent Ferdinand past a weak challenge from Lobjanidze. With Tskhadadze trailing in his wake, and to universal amazement, the Newcastle striker drove the ball past Zoidze with his left foot. Previously it had been assumed that the sole purpose of Ferdinand's left foot was to save him having to hop through life.

With Campbell impressive at the back in his first full international, Beckham industrious and perceptive as a right wing back, and Adams's authority on the field undiminished by his problems with alcohol off it, Hoddle was entitled to be delighted with a highly satisfactory conclusion to an awkward fixture which had had a fraught prologue.

The England coach has now matched Bobby Robson's achievement, in 1984, of winning his first three World Cup qualifiers. Now he has to wait for three months to find out whether the sound defensive habits acquired in Tblisi will still be there against Italy on Ash Wednesday.