YOU’D have thought Roy Hodgson had named the Chuckle Brothers at full-back by the huffing and puffing Lee Dixon did before kick-off last night.

Ignoring the fact there wasn’t a hair’s breadth between Kyle Walker/Danny Rose and Ryan Bertrand/Nathaniel Clyne before the tournament started, Dixon appeared incandescent that the England boss had swapped two ingredients in his back four.

By making six changes Hodgson had put himself in the firing line if things didn’t go right. But the full-backs, or any aspect of the defence was the least of our worries.

Slaven Bilic clearly didn’t agree with his methods. The Croat hasn’t been so animated since climbing on the table when Dimitri Payet scored for France against Albania.

For once in this tournament, however, I disagreed with what he said. England don’t need to be “thinking about their next game” – Hodgson needed to pick a side who could beat Slovakia. This one was more than capable and should have done just that.

Picking the same team game in, game out, is okay for the 11 selected but no good for the 12 lads whose morale is just as important. This, to me, was a concession England had to make.

Mark Pougatch hit the nail on the head as he turned to Peter Crouch and said: “He has made six changes but they’re not exactly a bunch of green uns.”

In other news, Stoke City are slowly taking over this championship. With Dixon and Peter Crouch in one studio, over at ITV4 Mark Hughes and Tony Pulis were among those offering their views on the Wales game.

We are one Rory Delap away from this becoming a Potters love-in.

Back in their physical Pulis prime, the Britannia boys would have been proud of the forearm delivered by Bertrand to Peter Pekarik.

Glenn Hoddle, MD, described it as “not an elbow” before watching the replay and delivering a second diagnosis: “Well, it’s slightly an elbow.”

My school days are well behind me but if any anatomy experts can pinpoint the exact location of the “slightly an elbow” please get in touch.