The England Squad - discuss

Mr Alan

Savman, do you think that perhaps the reason that Sven and Cappello are persisting with the "usual suspects" is because they are the best options?

after all these are two men who have forgotten more about football than any of us will ever know.

Esse85

They werent the best options as demonstrated by their failure to even qualify for the european championships.

Mr Alan

strange then that arguably the best manager in the world should come in and still deem them worth their place in the squad.

i guess he is wrong and you're right :rolleyes:

Esse85

The usual suspects may yet do the business for the new manager, Capello may be able to get the best from these players where previous managers failed.

But then who am i to argue with someone with over 7500 posts on an internet forum (most of them, worshiping the ground Benitez walks on), who spends all day every day singing the same old tune:rolleyes:

Savman

Mr Alan wrote: »

Savman, do you think that perhaps the reason that Sven and Cappello are persisting with the "usual suspects" is because they are the best options?

after all these are two men who have forgotten more about football than any of us will ever know.

It's those usual suspects that have England in the mire they are in. They can't qualify for major tournaments and when they do they implode as soon as they meet any kind of worthy opposition. Results matter, and so far they have failed and failed spectacularly. Hence why the change was needed.

So called Premiership superstars like Lampard, Gerrard et al have a lot to answer for in the national side, they barely look half the players they do at club level.

Mr Alan

Esse85 wrote: »

But then who am i to argue with someone with over 7500 posts on an internet forum (most of them, worshiping the ground Benitez walks on), who spends all day every day singing the same old tune:rolleyes:

if you're gonna do something, do it right, after all.........

Fratton Fred

What worries me is that there are so many places open to discussion. There seems to be a nucleas of quality players and then so many Bentleys, youngs, Richards, Johnsons who are good, but none of whom make me go weak at the knees at the thought of them playing for England.

there is no real match winners in that squad, which is why, imho, Beckham is still in there because he is the only one who, it seems, can produce that extra special delivery that wins a game.

for me, there is a lot of "Meh" in that squad.

monkey9

John Terry has been named as Captain!

mousey007

I saw that about Terry alright...i thought Ferdinand might get the nod

chalad07

I think Terrys a great choice for captain. He's a great player, and a great leader. Despite the fact he missed that pen in the Champions League final, he had serious balls to take it in the first place. If anyone should be blamed, it should be Drogba,

I really dont understand the hard time Terry gets in the gutter press, what's he done to deserve this? I think Cappello has got it right with this hard choice. There are so many people on the team who have the potential to be captain (Rio, Gerard, Lamard, Barry), but I think Terry has to be the outstanding candidate,

Damo.Smith

what time is kick-off?should be a cracking game...not looking forward to listening to Lineker, Shearer and Hansen telling us how great England are

Esse85

I dont see what all the fuss is for to be honest, he was captain for the last manager too and they didnt even qualify for the EC08, its a team effort overall.

pesireland

Is the england game tonight or tomorrow night??

Also Gerrard should be Captain , Born leader, ah couldn't care tbh, i just hope england get spanked

mousey007

I don't think we will have to listen to them Damo cos as far as i know the BBC don't have the match. It's on Setanta Sports instead

monkey9

Damo.Smith wrote: »

what time is kick-off?should be a cracking game...not looking forward to listening to Lineker, Shearer and Hansen telling us how great England are

It's not on BBC. Setanta are showing the game!

mousey007

Thank fu*k,don't think i can listen to those fools on the beeb anymore...it's good to see someone new with the coverage

Chardee MacDennis

After Youngs performance against T&T i wouldnt have him in an England squad for a while, surprised agbonlahor was over looked for Heskey...

EDIT: just saw estebancambias made the point about Young already, hate to agree with him but Young was atrocious and the worst part was it didnt look like he cared at all.

Damo.Smith

That is good news about the BBC,Setanta's coverage is quite good

Xavi6

Best man got the job as captain I see. Great choice.

aidan24326

Beats me how Heskey is in the squad. He's never been an international class striker.

The fact Heskey is back in the squad shows that England are desperately short of real quality up front. How they'd love to have Shearer and Sheringham again. Dean Ashton could be the man but he has yet to show that han really cut it at that level.

Beckham is fortunate to still be getting picked imo, he is effectively in semi-retirement playing for a crap team in a substandard league, and he now offers very little as an international player. Someone to throw on for the last 10/15 minutes in the hope of one good cross or freekick, but that's about it.

And Wes Brown is there on merit, I'm surprised so many are questioning his inclusion. Last season he hardly put a foot wrong in an all-conquering team, so what more does he have to do?

zAbbo

Capello want's options, there's no point picking players who are very similar, and with Heskey you have someone who offers a different type of game.

Hesky may not be fashionable, but he's a good player and when played to his strengths he's certainly worth his place.

If Capello want's to change a game, he can use Heskey with widemen like Bentley/Downing providing the crosses, and you've got the likes of Rooney playing off him - with Gerrard/Lampard picking up any knock downs.

It's been proved that playing the 11 best players doesn't always work for England as a team.

---

Heskey

---

Downing--Rooney--Bentley
----Barry----Gerrard

---

Those two wide players can be changed for Joe Cole / Walcott and play two up front with Defoe/Heskey/Rooney and the midfield can be changed with Carrick for Gerrard - and pushing Gerrard or Lampard into a more attacking role.

For all those slating Heskey, who would you pick, that would play well with Rooney?

Savman

BastardPrince wrote: »

After Youngs performance against T&T i wouldnt have him in an England squad for a while, surprised agbonlahor was over looked for Heskey...

EDIT: just saw estebancambias made the point about Young already, hate to agree with him but Young was atrocious and the worst part was it didnt look like he cared at all.

Would you blame him? A questionable friendly against questionable opposition only days after the season ended. Ashley Young was at the centre of everything Aston Villa did last season, and we finished 6th.

Show me a young player who doesn't get frustrated and lose the run of themselves on occasion. I can draw parallels to one Wayne Rooney here too, a cocky arrogant little prick but with bags of raw talent that just needs fine tuning.

Young is fairly tenacious and just when you think he's marked out of the game he picks himself up and creates something out of nothing, as us Villa fans have seen time and time again.

If having an "atrocious" game and not looking bothered for England are crimes worth being dropped for, then Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham & co have been living a charmed life for a while now.

_blank_

[QUOTE=pesireland;56958963i just hope england get spanked [/QUOTE]

Do you support a Premiership team?

mike65

The continuity from the McClaren era is striking.

Mike.

Savman

mike65 wrote: »

The continuity from the McClaren era is striking.

Mike.

Very true. Was hoping for a little more adventure considering the feckin players they have at their disposal :eek:

OPENROAD

Damo.Smith wrote: »

That is good news about the BBC,Setanta's coverage is quite good

Setanta coverage is quite poor imo, re the BBC, just like rte with ireland their coverage is geared towards a home audience,rte can be the same about irish team building up certain players.

_blank_

OPENROAD wrote: »

Setanta coverage is quite poor imo, re the BBC, just like rte with ireland their coverage is geared towards a home audience,rte can be the same about irish team building up certain players.

God forbid a national broadcaster taking a national stance.

OPENROAD

Des wrote: »

God forbid a national broadcaster taking a national stance.

exactly just pointing it out to other posters

Boggles

Very odd not having Young in the squad, I wonder did himself and Mr. Capello have a falling out.

LuckyLloyd

Maybe, just maybe, Cappello has decided to use the performances of players in friendly matches as a guiding principle to selection? Is that not the way it should be anyway? Your form in the premiership loses relevance if you can't kick a ball straight in an international jersey. If Cappello is going with what he has seen with his own two eyes in training and games under his charge then good for him - that is surely the way it should be.

Everyone always whines about Heskey - but he has performed well above his premiership level over the past three / four years when he gets a chance at International level. People are now starting to whine about Beckham but he is a model professional on the training ground and still carries a major, major upside that few other players in the world can match. What an impact option to have on the bench!!

Richards is primarily a centre - half these days. And he isn't as good as Terry, Ferdinand, Woodgate in that position.

And finally, just because it is the same players as the previous two regimes doesn't mean that they will do the same thing tactically or give the same in terms of level of performance.

Ye can laugh at Mr. Alan all you like. But the man who picked this squad is one of the most accomplished footballing men ever to walk the earth. Just because a player has a good season in the premiership doesn't mean he might not be a flash in the pan - or not have the right tools to succeed at the very highest level.

But we shall see as the qualifying campaign progresses.

OPENROAD

2-1 to England under 21's Richards and Milner.

eagle eye

I think that apart from Ashley Young its the best squad available to him. Young has plenty of time to prove himself anyways, I'm sure he will play his way into the squad before too long.

As far as the Captaincy goes, I would have went for Gerrard personally. I don't support any of the top four teams but he has always looked like a leader to me. Terry missed a crucial penalty and leaders don't do that. I think Ferdinand would be my second choice.

Bounty Hunter

leaders dont miss penalties WTF? everyone misses penalties, wearing an armband doesent change how good you are at spotkicks however maybe it did mean that he stepped up as nobody else was willing to and he did his captains duty.

Savman

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

But we shall see as the qualifying campaign progresses.

OPEN ROAD (1hr later) wrote:

2-1 to England under 21's Richards

Oh, the ironing

eagle eye

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

leaders dont miss penalties WTF? everyone misses penalties, wearing an armband doesent change how good you are at spotkicks however maybe it did mean that he stepped up as nobody else was willing to and he did his captains duty.

He slipped as he hit the ball, it was not a good save, it was not a good shot, it was a horrible mistake by him.

Give me a good reason to place him ahead of Gerard and Ferdinand?

Bounty Hunter

I wasnt argueing that he is a better captain although IMO he is a good one just that saying the following is just silly and should have no impact on captancy.

Terry missed a crucial penalty and leaders don't do that

anyone could have slipped, anyone could have missed. He showed some bottle stepping up to take it, that is all id take from the penalty situation.

Personally id lean towards Gerrard, I actually expected Ferdinand for some odd reason but Im not surprised by Terry and any of the three are suitable captains.

Savman

eagle eye wrote: »

Terry missed a crucial penalty and leaders don't do that.

That's a dumb analogy. Dozens of great players have all missed peno's, that's what helps them on the road to greatness. If you don't understand that, I'm afraid you don't understand football.

eagle eye

Savman wrote: »

That's a dumb analogy. Dozens of great players have all missed peno's, that's what helps them on the road to greatness. If you don't understand that, I'm afraid you don't understand football.

I fully agree with you that great players miss penalties. We are not talking about a players greatness here, its about a captain, a leader, and for me he is behind Gerard and Ferdinand. That penalty miss was horrendous, he slipped and thats not good enough, I was gutted for him when it happened but thinking about it afterward it was an unforgivable mistake. If he misses a penalty normally like blasting it over or it being saved thats ok but slipping is not. I like the guy but he has led England before and he has not done a good job imo.

mike65

I'm glad Gerrard did not get picked in retrospect - leave him free to be himself and anyway Captains see more at the back.

Mike.

Boggles

eagle eye wrote: »

I fully agree with you that great players miss penalties. We are not talking about a players greatness here, its about a captain, a leader, and for me he is behind Gerard and Ferdinand. That penalty miss was horrendous, he slipped and thats not good enough, I was gutted for him when it happened but thinking about it afterward it was an unforgivable mistake. If he misses a penalty normally like blasting it over or it being saved thats ok but slipping is not. I like the guy but he has led England before and he has not done a good job imo.

Absolute Drival.

SantryRed

eagle eye wrote: »

I fully agree with you that great players miss penalties. We are not talking about a players greatness here, its about a captain, a leader, and for me he is behind Gerard and Ferdinand. That penalty miss was horrendous, he slipped and thats not good enough, I was gutted for him when it happened but thinking about it afterward it was an unforgivable mistake. If he misses a penalty normally like blasting it over or it being saved thats ok but slipping is not. I like the guy but he has led England before and he has not done a good job imo.

Jesus Christ, that is the biggest load of bollocks I've EVER read on this forum.

Savman

eagle eye wrote: »

I fully agree with you that great players miss penalties. We are not talking about a players greatness here, its about a captain, a leader, and for me he is behind Gerard and Ferdinand. That penalty miss was horrendous, he slipped and thats not good enough, I was gutted for him when it happened but thinking about it afterward it was an unforgivable mistake. If he misses a penalty normally like blasting it over or it being saved thats ok but slipping is not. I like the guy but he has led England before and he has not done a good job imo.

ROFL! Words escape me.You've obviously never played the game, otherwise you'd know that despite the money and the fame, these players aren't machines. If you want predictable rubbish, there's always wrestling.

Better players than John Terry have missed spot kicks, and will continue to do so.

eagle eye

Savman wrote: »

ROFL! Words escape me.You've obviously never played the game, otherwise you'd know that despite the money and the fame, these players aren't machines. If you want predictable rubbish, there's always wrestling.

Better players than John Terry have missed spot kicks, and will continue to do so.

Maybe you should read what you quote, especially the first line. I played soccer for a number of years also.

Bounty Hunter

how does missing a penalty have any correlation to how good a captain Terry is then?

SantryRed

eagle eye wrote: »

Maybe you should read what you quote, especially the first line. I played soccer for a number of years also.

And you've never slipped before?:rolleyes:

Seriously man. That's such bollocks.

MagicMarker

I think some people are forgetting that this is a friendly match.

eagle eye

SantryRed wrote: »

Jesus Christ, that is the biggest load of bollocks I've EVER read on this forum.

Have you played the game? If yes, did you think about what you were doing when you played? If you had to take a penalty what sort of planning went into it before you took it?

MagicMarker

eagle eye wrote: »

Have you played the game? If yes, did you think about what you were doing when you played? If you had to take a penalty what sort of planning went into it before you took it?

Well, personally, i always plan to slip:rolleyes:

eagle eye

SantryRed wrote: »

And you've never slipped before?:rolleyes:

Seriously man. That's such bollocks.

Theres a huge difference between slipping during a game and slipping while taking a penalty or free kick and I never slipped taking a penalty. I didn't take free kicks.

SantryRed

eagle eye wrote: »

Have you played the game? If yes, did you think about what you were doing when you played? If you had to take a penalty what sort of planning went into it before you took it?

Yes I play the game at the highest level at my age.

I play in goal, and once or twice taking goal kicks I've slipped, you'd think Terry was a machine. He was very unlucky for it to happen then but it did and he's going to have to live with that. He was by far the best choice for captain IMO.