Before reflecting on the many positive aspects of England's performances against Ghana and Wales, Fabio Capello was keen to address one particular issue. When he said he needed only  100 words  to communicate with his players, he actually meant '100 technical words'.

Had 'technical' been one of the 100 he has mastered, he no doubt would have said so at the time.

But he needn't have laboured the point because he did say it in the context of discussing 'tactics' with his squad and, for the most part, he was quoted accurately. It's just better to avoid putting a number on such things. Especially when it's a relatively small one.

New direction: Fabio Capello has changed England's system and blooded several youngsters

But it is now time to move on from these squabbles, from what, in some respects, has been an  uncomfortable fortnight for the England manager, and focus instead on what matters most: the encouraging progress being made by his team.

Being a man of few words, Capello is not prone to hyperbole. But there is something to be said for this comparison with the Germany side that has emerged over the last couple of years; a side that proved far superior to England at last summer's World Cup.

Germany benefited from the emergence of young players who had enjoyed success for their Under 21 team. Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Jerome Boateng and Manuel Neuer followed their defeat of England in the European Under 21 Championship in 2009 by beating the senior team in Bloemfontein 12 months later, producing some of the finest football of the World Cup.

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