The Next England Squad

A lot has been made of the graduates from Germany's Under-21 team in 2009. Such as by me in this piece. But have a look at the England team that played that day.

England U21: Loach, Cranie (Gardner 80), Richards, Onuoha (Mancienne 46), Gibbs, Cattermole, Muamba (Rodwell 77), Noble, Milner, Walcott, Johnson. Subs Not Used: Lewis, Taylor, Stearman, Tomkins, Driver, Rose.

And how about the Class of 2007? Who played when England got to the semi-finals of the European Championships and lost to Holland on penalties? Feast your eyes on this motley crew.

England U21: Carson, Hoyte, Taylor, Onuoha, Baines, Milner, Reo-Coker, Noble, Young, Nugent, Lita. Subs: Hart, Alnwick, Ferdinand, Cahill, Richardson, Routledge, Rosenior, Derbyshire, Vaughan, Whittingham.

The class of 2011? Here's the team that went out in the first round.

England (4-2-3-1): Fielding, Walker, Jones, Smalling, Bertrand; Muamba, Henderson; Cleverley, Sturridge, Sinclair; Welbeck. Subs: McCarthy, Mancienne, Albrighton, Tomkins, Cork, Lansbury, Rodwell, Rose, Delfouneso, Wickham, Steele.

Kimbo wrote:Why does 1 person have to be to blame?

blutgraetsche wrote:

A lot has been made of the graduates from Germany's Under-21 team in 2009. Such as by me in this piece. But have a look at the England team that played that day.

England U21: Loach, Cranie (Gardner 80), Richards, Onuoha (Mancienne 46), Gibbs, Cattermole, Muamba (Rodwell 77), Noble, Milner, Walcott, Johnson. Subs Not Used: Lewis, Taylor, Stearman, Tomkins, Driver, Rose.

And how about the Class of 2007? Who played when England got to the semi-finals of the European Championships and lost to Holland on penalties? Feast your eyes on this motley crew.

England U21: Carson, Hoyte, Taylor, Onuoha, Baines, Milner, Reo-Coker, Noble, Young, Nugent, Lita. Subs: Hart, Alnwick, Ferdinand, Cahill, Richardson, Routledge, Rosenior, Derbyshire, Vaughan, Whittingham.

The class of 2011? Here's the team that went out in the first round.

England (4-2-3-1): Fielding, Walker, Jones, Smalling, Bertrand; Muamba, Henderson; Cleverley, Sturridge, Sinclair; Welbeck. Subs: McCarthy, Mancienne, Albrighton, Tomkins, Cork, Lansbury, Rodwell, Rose, Delfouneso, Wickham, Steele.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jul/10/world-cup-2014-day-29-live#start-of-comments

Hmm...

Steven Gerrard: England captain quits international football

England captain Steven Gerrard retires from international football

• Gerrard made 114 England appearances over 14 years
• ‘It is a sad day for me,’ says Liverpool captain

Steven Gerrard has announced his international retirement with immediate effect, the Football Association has confirmed.

The Liverpool captain, 34, made his debut in 2000 in a 2-0 win over Ukraine at Wembley and went on to win 114 England caps, scoring 21 times as he appeared in six major tournaments.

“I have enjoyed every minute of representing my country and it is a sad day for me knowing that I won’t pull on the England shirt again,” said Gerrard. “However, I do look forward to continuing my strong relationship with the FA and helping out in any way I can going forward. I’d like to firstly thank my family and friends for all their support throughout my England journey.

“I’d also like to thank everyone who has been part of my international career, from the England managers I’ve played under to the staff at the FA and, of course, all the players I’ve been fortunate to play alongside,” Gerrard added. “In particular, the supporters have been amazing, not least in Brazil when they got behind the team despite the disappointing results.

“I’d especially like to thank Roy [Hodgson], firstly for giving me the captaincy permanently when he took the job, making me the proudest man in the country and allowing me to fulfil my childhood dream. He has been very understanding over the past few weeks and is a man I will always hold in the highest regard.

“This has been a very difficult decision, one of the toughest I’ve had to make in my career. I have agonised over this since coming back from Brazil and have spoken to family, friends and people close to me in the game before coming to this point.

“Most importantly, Brendan [Rodgers] has been fantastic and obviously I have to look after my body as much as possible to ensure I can give everything when I take to the field.

“To ensure I can keep playing to a high level and giving everything to Liverpool Football Club I believe this is the right decision, and having Champions League football back at Anfield is another big factor in my decision.”

blutgraetsche wrote:114 caps, one more than Lahm. Who is going to be the next England captain? Or who should be the next captain rather?

debaser wrote:Who gets given captaincy shouldn't be that important in and of itself (though I daresay players egos make it so), but we need leaders in the team & that may well be where Gerrard is most missed.

yeah it'll most likely be Rooney who is picked. it'd be justified in the sense that he's by far most senior player in terms of caps now (assuming Lampard also gone). but I don't like that that'll make him even more cemented as automatic pick regardless of formation/tactics. and while he has matured a bit, I'm not convinced he's a leader.

only other one I could see being picked is Hart. Jagielka would be okay but don't think he'll still be 1st choice in a year or two.

blutgraetsche wrote:Who would you consider as undroppable in the current squad? Who is the first name on the team sheet?

I prefer to have midfielders or defenders as captain.

Kimbo wrote:

debaser wrote:Who gets given captaincy shouldn't be that important in and of itself (though I daresay players egos make it so), but we need leaders in the team & that may well be where Gerrard is most missed.

yeah it'll most likely be Rooney who is picked. it'd be justified in the sense that he's by far most senior player in terms of caps now (assuming Lampard also gone). but I don't like that that'll make him even more cemented as automatic pick regardless of formation/tactics. and while he has matured a bit, I'm not convinced he's a leader.

only other one I could see being picked is Hart. Jagielka would be okay but don't think he'll still be 1st choice in a year or two.

Gerrard wasn't a leader though, England haven't had one for years, and i'm not sure where the next one comes from.

COTR wrote:

Kimbo wrote:

debaser wrote:Who gets given captaincy shouldn't be that important in and of itself (though I daresay players egos make it so), but we need leaders in the team & that may well be where Gerrard is most missed.

yeah it'll most likely be Rooney who is picked. it'd be justified in the sense that he's by far most senior player in terms of caps now (assuming Lampard also gone). but I don't like that that'll make him even more cemented as automatic pick regardless of formation/tactics. and while he has matured a bit, I'm not convinced he's a leader.

only other one I could see being picked is Hart. Jagielka would be okay but don't think he'll still be 1st choice in a year or two.

Gerrard wasn't a leader though, England haven't had one for years, and i'm not sure where the next one comes from.

In the sense he didn't do a John Terry lionheart roaaaarrrrrr every time he took the field ?

Gerrard was the most respected England player by a mile. If he said something the players would have listened. No obvious candidate to fill that void now, not that it is even important.

COTR wrote:

Kimbo wrote:

debaser wrote:Who gets given captaincy shouldn't be that important in and of itself (though I daresay players egos make it so), but we need leaders in the team & that may well be where Gerrard is most missed.

yeah it'll most likely be Rooney who is picked. it'd be justified in the sense that he's by far most senior player in terms of caps now (assuming Lampard also gone). but I don't like that that'll make him even more cemented as automatic pick regardless of formation/tactics. and while he has matured a bit, I'm not convinced he's a leader.

only other one I could see being picked is Hart. Jagielka would be okay but don't think he'll still be 1st choice in a year or two.

Gerrard wasn't a leader though, England haven't had one for years, and i'm not sure where the next one comes from.

In the sense he didn't do a John Terry lionheart roaaaarrrrrr every time he took the field ?

Gerrard was the most respected England player by a mile. If he said something the players would have listened. No obvious candidate to fill that void now, not that it is even important.

blutgraetsche wrote:I wonder who'll be remembered more fondly once they finish their careers. Gerrard will probably be favoured in England, while on the continent, Lampard was / is rated higher.

blutgraetsche wrote:I wonder who'll be remembered more fondly once they finish their careers. Gerrard will probably be favoured in England, while on the continent, Lampard was / is rated higher.