England football team 2008 review: Top 10 key moments for Fabio Capello's side

Over the holiday period the Daily Mirror sports writers will be taking a look back over the significant moments of the past year - and revealing some of their stories behind the stories.

Check back everyday for the latest instalment, but first up is Martin Lipton's rundown of the Top 10 key moments in England's year which have seen Fabio Capello bring the Three Lions to a far better situation than they were in a year ago.

10 Farce in the sun and the game that should never have been June 1

Gareth Barry's first goal, debuts for Dean Ashton, Joe Hart and an easy win over Trinidad which left several players thinking it had been pointless. It truly should have been, too, as England's seventh substitute, Stephen Warnock, meant the game - Trinidad's historical Centenary match - was no longer official under FIFA rules. It would have been wiped form the record books but instead FIFA scapegoated the referee and gave it the all-clear.

9 Golden cap for Goldenballs but England taught a painful lesson March 26

David Beckham's 100th cap is the sole highlight of a shocker of a night in Paris as France are far superior despite relying on Franck Ribery's free-kick. Capello later reveals this was the defining moment of his first year, because he saw evidence - missed by most observers - that England had what it takes. Fair to say the Italian was right.

8 Calm before the storm - the quietest training session of all time September 2

Forget the Three Lions on the tracksuits, at London Colney it was more like the silence of the England Lambs as the fear factor haunting Capello's side hung heavy over the session. Within nine days, it was all so different as the spring returned to their step but you would never have imagined it possible on that wet September morning.

7 Rio Ferdinand admits the circus had to stop October 14

In a lacerating attack on what had gone before, stand-in skipper Ferdinand admitted the scale of the madness under Eriksson and McClaren - "it was like watching a theatre unfolding" - and revealed: "People were worrying more about what they were wearing and where they were going, rather than the England football team." It was what the fans had wanted to hear and from Capello there was a further vow of no repeat of the Baden Baden WAGS-fest.

6 Wayne Rooney on fire as England take another stride forward October 11-15

Two goals against Kazakhstan , two more in Belarus but more importantly the rebirth of the Rooney who had made us all want to believe in him and England in Euro 2004. This was the Rooney we thought we had lost, possibly for ever, drifting into space to make everything happen and adding that killer touch in front of goal, revelling in the freedom granted by Emile Heskey's workrate as the attacking spearhead.

5 Michael Owen left out of World Cup qualifiers August 31

If there were any doubts over who was the boss they were ended as Capello left out the fourth-highest England scorer of all-time for the opening games of the road to South Africa. It was a devastating blow for Owen and could have backfired horrendously but was all the evidence we needed to be sure that Capello would do things his way and believed he had to wean his players off the Owen dependency culture. Is there a way back? Yes but only on Capello's terms.

4 Fabio Capello's first session and game February 4-6

New manager, new England and while it took a while for the work to bear fruit, the change was apparent from moment one of day one, as the breakfast tables were filled by 0830, with the players desperate to create a good impression. Capello sent down a marker by keeping the players on tenterhooks over the team until 5pm and surprise choice Jermaine Jenas scored the first goal of his reign against Switzerland before Shaun Wright-Phillips bagged the winner .

3 John Terry made full-time skipper August 19

Steven Gerrard had first crack, Rio Ferdinand went to Trinidad because he thought the job was his, yet in the end Capello opted for the blood and guts leadership of John Terry. The right choice too, as Terry has demonstrated through the World Cup campaign but proof that Capello knows when pragmatism is the key - and realised English players respond best to an old-fashioned on-field leader.

2 England understudies wow in Berlin to end year on a high November 18

No Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Walcott or Ferdinand but England excel as Capello appears to be building a genuine squad and not just a team. Gabriel Agbonlahor impresses on his debut while John Terry atones for his part in Scott Carson's latest England blooper by heading home a totally deserved winner. England are becoming a team to fear.

1 Theo Walcott lays waste to Croatia as England stand tall again September 10

Theo Walcott's stunning hat-tricks illuminates a Zagreb night that obliterates the anguish of the dark days under Steve McClaren. This was the evening that justified the FA's pursuit of Fabio Capello and the money they are paying the Italian, even better than the 5-1 win in Germany under Sven Goran Eriksson.

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