The Next England Squad

Kimbo wrote:

Jaime wrote:

Kimbo wrote:If only football was played with the shins 100% of the time. Shinball.

Romario scored with his shin a few times.

Ah well  I would like to see the Welbeck/Romario comparison more. Jack Colback got called up to the England squad because Adrian Durham wrote an article calling him the ginger Pirlo.

Spoiler:

Of course it was mostly a joke but I still feel that nothing he does will satisfy you.

Jaime wrote:Of course it was mostly a joke but I still feel that nothing he does will satisfy you.

To be honest at international level i'm only going to judge players on tournament performances, so in qualifying they can only lose in my eyes.

christmasborocooper wrote:

debaser wrote:good start on paper that's the hardest game. Welbeck staking strong claim to start.

same formation but Sturridge in for Rooney next time

That would be great but it's never going to happen. He needs an injury to take him out of the team.

I know, I know. but if Sturridge + Sterling continue to combine well at club level, and Welbeck starts scoring regularly for Arsenal, it's gonna be hard for him to leave any of them three out.

anyhow, one good thing about starting strongly in this group is that later on we should have competitive games with less at stake in which to try different players/formations/systems. at some point Hodgson has got to try a Rooney-less one.

I'd drop Wilshere for a while too. He was shit again.

why is hodgson still the national team manager?, I'm just wondering.

messiah wrote:why is hodgson still the national team manager?, I'm just wondering.

FA like him 'cause he's an establishment man who doesn't rock the boat. and there's a pretty chronic lack of alternatives amongst English coaches.

also expectations amongst fans are a lot lower nowadays so there was no big backlash against the manager about failure at world cup & with no momentum from press or fans to change the manager, FA gonna be happy to keep him on for the next couple of years. I think he'll go after the Euros, 'cause then his contract will be up and he'll be nearly 70.

debaser wrote:there's a pretty chronic lack of alternatives amongst English coaches.

The London media seems to love Pardew.

I would...



... if they hired him!

can't see that happening. Redknapp was 100x more popular with cockney media and still didn't get it.

Am I being harsh on Rooney? People seem to be giving him decent ratings. I thought he was shit

christmasborocooper wrote:Am I being harsh on Rooney? People seem to be giving him decent ratings. I thought he was shit

He was pretty poor IMO, just had the odd moment, but as we saw at the world cup that's enough for people to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The BBC gave him a 7... The independent an 8!.
Can't figure it out. But then they also said of Wilshere "too easily knocked off the ball and gave it away too often.... But enjoyed freedom" 7...and of Delph they more or less said "impressive debut, rarely gave the ball away" 7...

Senseless

10 in 27 for the "New Heskey"

The "Old Welbeck" had 7 in 62.

Kimbo wrote:

christmasborocooper wrote:Am I being harsh on Rooney? People seem to be giving him decent ratings. I thought he was shit

He was pretty poor IMO, just had the odd moment, but as we saw at the world cup that's enough for people to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I think you are being a bit harsh, Rooney tried very hard and was a mixed bag I would say. He was involved in the first goal, had a shot from a sterling pass, and forced the keeper into a good save another time and yes, he also gave it a away a few times, didn't always link up well and so on.

Wilshere on the other hand was pretty bad all over, held the ball too long, dribbled into people, gave away possession time and again leading to counter attacks, never made himself available for a pass from the central defenders etc. Pretty much the opposite of what he should have been doing in the position he played.

I quite like the whoscored ratings:
http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/812278/LiveStatistics/International-EURO-Cup-2014-2015-Switzerland-England
Wilshere got the lowest score on the England team so seems about right.

Deluded F*ck™ wrote:10 in 27 for the "New Heskey"

The "Old Welbeck" had 7 in 62.

Should he be upgraded to the new Peter Crouch?

Wilshere was better than Gerrard would of been in that role and that shows just how bad we are at this time. His game is total positioning nothing else. For some reason he just cannot make himself available for a defenders pass out when required.
Gerrard would send the ball out where you can see Hodgson has changed that method and Wilshere is been relied upon to settle the middle and hold the ball up something on here we use to scream about that our team cannot do.

I saw him standing about when the defenders already had the ball and they had of been looking up to pass to another channel. His game is delayed either he does not know the position or his fitness is not good and of course once he gets the ball other players around him cannot read what he wants to do with the ball to make an early run.

Rooney was not that bad. As for Sturridge he is not all the good either both are far from perfect.

Before the game the pundits were saying that Wilshere isn't going to be playing those long diagonal balls like Gerrard does, like it's a negative, I was thinking "thank fuck for that". I'm thinking Delph, Henderson, and Huddlestone is the way to go, but it'll never happen.

Kimbo wrote:Before the game the pundits were saying that Wilshere isn't going to be playing those long diagonal balls like Gerrard does, like it's a negative, I was thinking "thank fuck for that". I'm thinking Delph, Henderson, and Huddlestone is the way to go, but it'll never happen.

Huddlestone could not do any worse than Wilshere that's for sure. Delph had a fair game with Henderson would make a good trio..

Brian 2468 wrote:Daniel Sturridge - he's not afraid to shoot is he ?

If Welbeck had put in that performance he would get slaughtered.



Four Star

Clyne
Richards
Williamson
Shaw/Gibbs

Wilshere
?????????

Oxlade-Chamberlain
Henderson
Sterling

Welbeck

Don't tie down Henderson to a CM spot and play your best CF.

Simple.

Delph was a daft pick, Roy was lucky he didn't get sent off early.

So we're done with Delph because he was a bit impetuous early on?

Pierre Littbarski wrote:

Brian 2468 wrote:Daniel Sturridge - he's not afraid to shoot is he ?

If Welbeck had put in that performance he would get slaughtered.



Four Star

Clyne
Richards
Williamson
Shaw/Gibbs

Wilshere
?????????

Oxlade-Chamberlain
Henderson
Sterling

Welbeck

Don't tie down Henderson to a CM spot and play your best CF.

Simple.

Delph was a daft pick, Roy was lucky he didn't get sent off early.

Delph screwed up early on true but gave a fair performance.

Rooney is Rooney the last of the old school what can he said that has not before.

Metal in the middle seems to be a careful path onwards for now until they Have an ENGLAND B Team

Welbeck to me is like the rest of the team has to grow

Sturridge can miss the target to.

Brian 2468 wrote:Sturridge can miss the target to.

...to where?

Delph did fine. was risky early on, but he's no Cattermole. tends to pick up bookings but never been sent off in his career. Pierre has his favourites (e.g. Micah Richards as his laughable and entirely theoretical CB choice) and shits on anyone else..

Delph had the highest pass completion rate of any England player. (97%)

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/5-things-learned-aston-villa-7739444

Not sure what the issue is with his inclusion. Refreshing that Roy is looking outside of the same tired small group.

Pierre's agendas are consistently hilarious. If he had his way Richards would be starting despite not playing football for years, Sturridge is obviously one he doesn't like now, because he's scored goals and is rated presumably. He'd rather see England line up with Welbeck and Marvin Sordell up front, another player he continues to hype seemingly with no justification other than "did ok at Watford for 5 minutes".

If he could've nationalised Bouazza he'd have had him too, probably over Sterling as he got sent off in one of, if not the, first game(s) he played, which apparently is a instant black mark.

Slight over-reaction from Debaser/Coops

Delph played very well and has good attributes - could have easily been sent off though and the fact that he hasn't been sent off in EPL means nothing, it is essentially a different set of rules.

Sterling is a great talent but I'm still not comfortable with players his age going straight into the senior team after a handful of U21 caps - same with barkley.

There aren't really any successful footballing countries who do this.

Sterling's decision making was generally very poor - great assist though.

Like this from Joey Barton:


Barton has some illuminating thoughts on Rooney, England and the individual’s place in the collective. “I’ve spent only 11 minutes as an England player [against Spain in 2007] but I watch them from a distance as a passionate Englishman and it’s all about being a big fish in a big pond. It’s not about the collective. We’ve got a really good opportunity now because we’ve been so s*** for so long to actually take the individuals out of the process.

“We don’t have any world-class players. I said that to Sir Clive Woodward [on Radio 5 live] about Rooney and he was annoyed. I had an hour with Wayne on the phone, saying ‘look I can only dream of being as talented as you are but I gave an honest opinion. I’m not going to grovel and apologise. That’s how I see the truth. I didn’t say it to be offensive to you. You’re the one English footballer I like watching.’

“The last couple of years haven’t been vintage for Rooney but he’s a warrior, a champion, you look at him against Switzerland and he ran his balls off. He cares. Raheem Sterling’s star rising will help Rooney because teams will focus on Sterling which will free Rooney. I’ve read a lot on Louis van Gaal, who’s a Rinus Michels disciple, and is all about the team ethic, and he will find the best in Rooney. For Wayne, this could be massive turning point for him.

“In the build-up to the Italy game at the World Cup, Rooney was under pressure with people like me saying he wasn’t world class. Rooney crossed the ball for [Daniel] Sturridge, who finished it well, and instead of running to Rooney and saying ‘what a f****** ball mate’, he runs away and does that stupid dance. If someone in your team is under that kind of pressure as Rooney was, and puts that kind of ball in for you, you go straight to him. The All Blacks do it – they are a team. In the Newcastle promotion season [of 2009-10], we sacrificed for each other. In the promotion season here, everyone was saying “yeah I’ll f****** sacrifice for you’.

“England wouldn’t have won the game in Switzerland with Sturridge because he’s a very, very talented individual. I spent a lot of time with him when he was a kid [at City]. His first thought is ‘can I score a goal’, then ‘can I do a trick to get a shot away’, then ‘pass’. The amount of times in the Norway game I saw Rooney going ‘f****** pass the ball’. Danny Welbeck is not as good an individual as Sturridge but he’s much better for the team, a much more selfless player, he runs himself into the ground, creates opportunities that Sturridge wouldn’t give you.

“Germany won the World Cup because they had the best preparation, they were a team, and they didn’t carry any individuals, probably barring Mesut Ozil and he was tied into the framework. Look at Thomas Muller, scores twice then rugby-tackles the geezer [Shaun Maloney, to prevent a Scottish breakaway last Sunday]. That’s the difference in our psyche. I hate that ‘gallant loser’.”

wtf, he spent an hour on the phone with Rooney because he said he wasn't world class? What sort of egomaniac is Rooney???

No overreaction from me Pierre. You are indeed hilarious.

Huge games against San Marino and Estonia coming up, it's do or die.

F Forster (Southampton), B Foster (West Brom), J Hart (Manchester City);
L Baines (Everton), G Cahill (Chelsea), N Clyne (Southampton), K Gibbs (Arsenal), P Jagielka (Everton), J Stones (Everton);
F Delph (Aston Villa), J Henderson (Liverpool), A Lallana (Liverpool), J Milner (Manchester City), A Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), J Shelvey (Swansea), R Sterling (Liverpool), A Townsend (Tottenham), J Wilshere (Arsenal);
R Lambert (Liverpool), W Rooney (Manchester United), D Welbeck (Arsenal)

Not sure how Townsend gets a look in.
And on the subject of Colback he is a really bad player and should never get another look in, he literally just follows the ball around and is barely even average at anything, Tiote had twice as many touches in our last game, poor old lightbulb head has to do the job of 2 men.

glad Clyne finally gets a chance.

find it strange he is only picking 3 CBs and one of them is Stones who is very raw - surely Shawcross deserves another chance, or Caulker/Curtis Davies? Need to have more options in that position 'cause Jones/Smalling are always injured & Jagielka's getting on - would've thought games like this ideal to try others.

and yeah continual picking of Townsend is getting silly now. the guy doesn't play - surely that one goal in a qualifier last year isn't enough to get him in the squad forever more.

no replacement for Sturridge shows the weakness in depth of strikers too. probably going to be looking at Kane and Berahino before long 'cause there ain't many options.

debaser wrote:Jones/Smalling are always injured

and shite

I think Jones is alright. Smalling, not so much.