Fabio benefits as Rooney and Walcott blossom

There is nothing quite so valuable in football as the gift of timing.

Fabio Capello is being hailed as the saviour of English football, the man who has turned round our ailing team, but how much of that is down to sheer bloody luck?

Steve McClaren may have had has failings but it can also be said, while he was blessed with talented players during his time at the England helm, certain factors went against him.

When you look at the England team's attacking thrust in the past few games, much of it has come from the rejuvenated Wayne Rooney and the maturing Theo Walcott.

As the two continued their fine form in Europe last night, it made me think back a couple of years to McClaren's tenure when Rooney was struggling for goals in the national side and Walcott was hardly getting any playing time at Arsenal.

Emile Heskey, too, has undergone a renaissance to coincide with the Capello era and Frank Lampard - England fans player of the year in 2004 and 2005 before becoming the target of the boo boys in the late Eriksson years and under McClaren - also appears to be enjoying international football again.

Of course the other argument is that Capello is the reason behind these dramatic turnarounds and maybe in Lampard's case - when you look at the way he played at club level during McClaren's tenure - the argument that the Italian is finally getting the best out of him at international level is persuasive.

But it is club football where the other upward spirals of the other three have stemmed from.

When McClaren was in charge Rooney was a more of a team player who went through a succession of goal droughts for club and country and was as likely to track back and concede a penalty for England as score in a competitive game.

Walcott was experiencing the kind of growing pains that many teenagers experience as he showed only fleeting signs of his talent in his few first team opportunities.

This season is a different story. Sir Alex Ferguson has castigated Rooney for being too selfless and has worked hard to focus his huge energy into the role of attacking playmaker and goal threat – cue a Ronaldo-esque run of scoring from the former Everton man.

Walcott is no longer a bit part player at Arsenal and is having an impact on big games from the start not just from the bench.

And Heskey finally seems happy in his role as foil, particularly with the all-action Amr Zaki's arrival at Wigan, and team player that is so respected by boss Steve Bruce.

Yes Capello has had to fit these players together and you can't argue with his results, but spare a thought for our dear old wally with a brolly who must be looking on Rooney and Walcott's form with green-eyed envy.