England Squad for Germany?

[Tommy Trophy]

Robinson, Kirkland, ANO (Not James - proven liability under pressure)

Neville, Carragher, Ferdinand, Terry, Campbell, Cole, Dyer, King

Beckham, Wright-Phillips, Gerrard, Cole, Lampard, Parker, Carrick, Barry

Owen, Rooney, Defoe & Heskey

Left out Bridge, Jenas, Crouch & Hargreaves from expected squad as well as Woodgate who is too injury prone?

Put in Dyer who is a better right back (Ipswich days!) than Luke Young and would give energy down right. Gareth Barry as back up left back and could play left midfield. Heskey ahead of Crouch all day long.

Only argument with self would be Parker or Carrick out for another forward - someone who can link midfield or attack - noone springs to mind, though Cole can do that job?

[wtfamu]

Here goes then

GK: Robison, Kirkland, Martyn.

Def: G Neville, Ferdinand, Terry, King, Carragher, A Cole, Carragher, P Neville.

Midfield: Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, J Cole, Jenas, Parker, Wright-Phillips.

Forward: Owen, Rooney, Defoe, Davis.


So thats Campbell, James and Crouch out of expected squad.

The decision on who starts at centre back needs to be made before squad is selected, if as i suspect Campbell isn't going to start i dont see alot of point in taking an injury prone centre back as cover. P Neville in for his versatility.
Martyn wont need alot of convincing to come out of international retirement.
Davis is easily the best English player in the prem when it comes to keeping the ball up front!

Would have considered Woodgate and Dyer if there was a chance of them staying fit!

[jb]

thats a bit harsh naming carragher twice thus denying campbell a place!!! are yo a bitter spurs fan?!?!? :lol:

[wtfamu]

Well done jb you win the prize for spotting the deliberate mistake!

Thaks for pointing it out, means i can put another forward in now, any sugestions?

[tom flynn]

Bobby Zamora!!!!!1

[jb]

i'd take matt taylor instead of p neville and either k nolan or n butt as the extra player you require due to the carragher mistake.
mind you there are quite a few players staking there claim and if they continue their good form they'll be in with a shout(d bent,m etherington,g barry and j milner to name just a few)
the left side problem still is an issue which needs to be resolved so who would people play there?

[ianh]

Bobby Zamora!!!!!1

You cant win the World Cup without West Ham players :lol:

[wtfamu]

JB, good shout with Nolan i think i might take you up on that one.
I dont go with the theory that whoever plays in the "problem" left sided midfield role has to be a predominantly left footed player.
If you want proof of that just take a look at where Ronaldino has been playing recently! Then again we dont have a Ronaldino in our squad.

[lozzaman]

I think Carrick could nick a spot on the coach to the world cup!

[Tommy Trophy]

What about some outsiders who probably won't go but are playing really well?

Jason Roberts and Jimmy Bullard for example at Wigan, Stephen Warnock at Liverpool, Darius Vassell and Joey Barton at Man City. New paragraph

???

[lozzaman]

All quality players but only 25 can go? am I right. You have to ask yourself would u have joey barton, carrick, roberts, etc.. in your 25?

[Cham1]

Bullard. Should get a go though. He has got to be better than Hargreaves. The only problem is that with Gerrard and Lampard he would struggle to dislodge them. Shame that as he has had a brilliant season and a half after he was stolen from POSH or should I say mugged.

[nolils]

The squad should be

GK: Robinson, James, ANO (The other keepers are there to warm Robinson up)
Def: G.Neville, Young, Terry, Campbell, Ferdinand, King, A.Cole, Carragher
Mid:Beckham, J.Cole, Gerrard, Lampard, Carrick, ANO (Jenas, Dyer, Nolan, Parker and any other bench warmers can apply)
Fwd: Owen, Rooney, Vassell, Crouch, Defoe

Left out Kirkland cause the world cup is over 6 months away and who knows what domestic injury he's going to suffer next. Woodgate and Dyer are in the same category. Left out Heskey cause Swen won't pick him. King covers both Midfield and Defence so I've added another striker and Campbell is still good enough to make it. Don't forget he was the best defender in the last 2 tournaments

[lozzaman]

Looks about right in my mind, the main 15players are easily picked dont you think? its just the others.

[jb]

i still cant believe matt taylor hasn't been given a go on the left of midfield. at the very worst he's the best english player in that position behind joe cole. i know he's at an unfashional club with regard to enlish internationals but so are people like young and konchesky and they were given a chance and are now on thr fringes of the squad with a good chance. who else do we have as back up on the left side? any suggestions?

[lozzaman]

Well I can say that owens injury is a bit of an upset, but on the otherhand at least he will be back for the world cup with no chance of him getting injured closer to the world cup.

[jb]

and he wont have to get dragged down to newcastles level before the world cup!!!

[lozzaman]

yer, shame newcastle couldm't win today either

[Hyypia]

Jb - what about Gareth Barry? Naturally left footed, not world class admittedly but can whip a good ball into the box. Think Joe Cole will get the nod
I reckon shouts for Kevin Nolan to be included are a good call, he's having a wicked season, although not happy that his over head kick beat Pedersen's and Tugay's awesome goals in the same game against Fulham for goal of the month.
Jason Roberts is a good outsider. If you don't think so just ask the Man City and West Ham defenders - he barged his way through all of em during the festive fixtures. Gerrard and Lamps best midfielders by far but can they play together? I'm not so sure and think Sven may try to accomodate 5 midfielders to allow for this (probably King or even Carrick if he gets to go). But then again, it's rare for teams to play 3 at the back nowadays unless they only stick 1 up top and that aint gonna happen!!

[jb]

i see your point about barry's delivery but we need some pace on at least 1 wing(we certainly wont get that on the right!) as we will run the risk of being too 1 dimentional which proved to be our downfall at the last world cup.
people have mentioned mathew etherington to me but i dont think he'll ever be an england international.
ashley cole and wayne bridge did an excellent job together on the left hand side a few years back so if they're both fit that may well happen.

on a plus side one of the most exciting young left wingers for years is starting to emerge at posh in jamie day. he is at least 10 times better than mathew etherington was at the same age and has the right attitude,commitment and work rate which also puts him above etherington. if it wasn't for a serious injury last season the chances are he would've signed for man utd as they've had him up there a few times and were rumoured to be about to make a move for him.
watch this space.............

[lozzaman]

especially now how Joe Cole hoggs the ball all the time, what about downing?

[spec]

You can on and on about young players coming through but historically every England manager has gone with experience, they never take a chance with younger players at major tournaments and perhaps that's why we never win them, young players have no fear and are not bothered about taking players on and doing a trick or two to create a chance, they never get picked though because our stupid game plan is always the same, pass it about 40 times until we reach the last third then give it away and get caught on the break, I think we might just have been sussed by now though !

[jb]

downing's was a good shout but i think hes been unjured for a long time. not sure if he's back but if he is then he certainly isn't setting the premiership alight as he has in previous years.

[lozzaman]

Think that was a bit harsh there Spec, didn't you see the england argentina game?

[spec]

Saw it Lozzaman and I think we might even have got seeded according to the result as well, It was a friendly and which team ever shows their true colours in one of those, just think Eriksson lacks bottle and tactical awareness to change a game if it needs it.

[wtfamu]

Gotta go with Spec on this one, i bet everybody wasn't proclaiming us as potential world champs before Argentina took pity on us by substituting their best players.

I have seen absolutely NOTHING from Eriksson that leads me to believe that if we are 1-0 down to one of the major teams, he will be able to change tactics successfully.

[lozzaman]

true, i must agree it is usually left to the players to decide their fate

[Tommy Trophy]

Spec's contribution to the ET earlier in the week was spot on - there are question marks against James, Green, Cole, Campbell, Bridge, Jenas, Owen, Rooney, Downing, Lennon & Walcott over fitness, form or experience and that is before we start talking about if some of the others are good enough.

Surely the job of an England manager is to prepare the side in 4 year cycles for the World Cup yet his selection shows how clueless he is, how his preparation has been a joke and how 1 injury throws his game plan out of the window.

In a squad of 20 outfield players for me you need your starting 10, 5 who can replace them and 5 who will make good subs in either a defensive or offensive situation. Against Brazil in the last World Cup we had no plan B with no individuals who were good impact players from the bench (except maybe Joe Cole who should have come on) - we will at least be slightly better positioned this time, but we should have had Defoe and Bent rather than Walcott & Jenas and for me Wes Brown & Scott Parker rather than Campbell & Bridge