England National football team thread

[War]

The truth about England under Roy Hodgson: Young players are making real progress - Telegraph

Thoughts? @SpitfiresKent @Lee1981 @MasterBlaster76 @ste_mc_efc @Skater

 

[SpitfiresKent]

I like the look of this new, young England team but ultimately it's the results which matter. Glen Hoddle was spot on after the Switzerland game saying that we look a real threat on the counter attack but we're a side who needs to be in front and not chasing the game in order to play this way. In a strange way I hope we go a goal behind in one of these euro qualifiers so I can see how we deal with the pressure.

I also like the 4-4-2 diamond formation but Wilshere playing the holding role is a risk as he likes to run with the ball past the opposition and you simply cannot do this whilst playing in that position. We're crying out for a new Gerrard, someone who can pick those long pin point passes, Huddlestone could play this role IMO.

 

[Lee1981]

The truth about England under Roy Hodgson: Young players are making real progress - Telegraph

Thoughts? @SpitfiresKent @Lee1981 @MasterBlaster76 @ste_mc_efc @Skater

Good read, Gary Neville is a top pundit and when he talks I listen.

Improvement?

This I cannot agree with, are we any better now than euro 2012?

Yes we have the youngsters in, something I have wanted for a long long time, however to think that it is the key to our success which most believe is very naive

We went into the World Cup with a new revolutionary plan (play with pace) like no one had ever thought of that, we've had some quick players before
Lennon
Wright-Philips
Downing
Walcott

Probably more but cannot remember them, point is having quick players means nothing if you cannot work out how to utilise them.

England need an identity/ blueprint and one we are gonna stick with for the next 10 years, we want to be like Germany, Spain, Holland, we are not them and most likely never will be.

Yes we need to keep possession more, that is not the main point, keep the ball where it matters any team can keep it along the back line and in their own half but can we make things happen in the oppositions half over and over again.?

For me that is the key, we have players who given the chances will score and that believe it or not includes Welbeck, if you can give these guys plenty of opportunity to score eventually laws of averages say you are gonna put them away.

We don't threaten teams enough, we seem to now wanna keep the ball for the sake of it as it's "fashionable" thanks to Barca and Spain, we need players who can create things from nothing, can see that little through ball that none else can.

Have we got anyone who can do that? This I do not know but it has to be the answer, creating 2-3 chances a match is not enough, we need to be banging on the door the whole match, not sit back and hope someone is gonna nick us a goal on the break.

We have got some good prospects
Sterling
Barkley

But are these enough, I don't see all these wonderful prospects I read about, yes they could all be good players, but we don't need good players to improve we need great players and we don't produce them enough, and I'm someone who does not buy into the whole to many foreigners problem

If your good enough then your in no matter what country you are from, it's just an excuse for our "average" English players to hide behind, ask these players this, "are you" Doing enough to get the most out of your abilities or are you just doing the standard amounts.

You here that these "foreigners" the ones ruining our national team are the first ones at training and are the ones staying on to practice more, where are our boys?
Shopping
Golf
Bookies
Casino
Pub

We are where we are because our attitude as a whole is poor, the influx of this foreign talent should be spurring our players on, not using them as something to mask our lack of ability.

Things are gonna improve that is for certain, that is really only because let's be honest things cannot get any bloody worse.

 

[Skater]

The truth about England under Roy Hodgson: Young players are making real progress - Telegraph

Thoughts? @SpitfiresKent @Lee1981 @MasterBlaster76 @ste_mc_efc @Skater

I have always felt Danny Welbeck's reputation is undeserved. He takes dog's abuse yet he's actually a pretty good striker. He has suffered from being played on the left by both Man United and England. Given a chance to play where he should always be - a striker right in the middle - he will do well, like he did in Switzerland on Monday. His first goal was an example of him being in the right place at the right time, really important for a striker to have, and his second was an excellent finish under pressure. Welbeck's good, as is Sturridge. So is, contrary to popular belief, Wayne Rooney - he's a good footballer. He's not the world class player he might have looked when he started, and he's not looked after himself very well, but I believe the England team would be weaker without Rooney in it and since becoming the captain in the two games he has shown more responsibility than I've ever known from him. We could do with more quality strikers. These three will not be enough.

Raheem Sterling is an exceptional talent, and it's hard to believe at times that he is still only 19. Him and Ross Barkley, when he gets fit, can be huge parts of the England midfield for years to come. I have barely noticed that Gerrard and Lampard have retired. I also agree with @SpitfiresKent that Tom Huddlestone may be worth a try. Fabian Delph might not be good enough for England, but I give Roy Hodgson credit for giving him a try. I don't want the England squad to become a closed shop again. That hasn't worked for us in the past.

My last point is simple - we are not a 'top tier' nation like Germany, Spain or Argentina. Getting to the quarter finals of World Cups and Euros is about as good as we have been for the last 15 years. That's not saying that won't change in the future, but there has always been so much unwarranted expectation on the national team that no one has benefited from it.

 

[ste_mc_efc]

"
That disappointed me because I have seen the progress of the last two years. When we first sat down, before Euro 2012, there was no grand plan because Roy’s appointment came so late in the day. It was all fire-fighting to do as well as we could in a tournament.
But we knew we had four years to work in. There was a feeling that it would be impossible to transition the young players in the qualifying group we were in, with Ukraine, Montenegro and Poland.

Roy’s idea was that we needed to take our time a bit, to protect the results, but once we qualified for the World Cup we could marry the older group with the future. The reason Luke Shaw, Ross Barkley and Sterling were picked - not to mention Sturridge, Welbeck, Jordan Henderson and Wilshere - was because there needed to be a bedding-in of the younger players in a tournament."

this bit is interesting. the whole article is, of course, but this hints at the fear within england.

Of course euro 2012 there was little hodgson could do. try and get them organised and difficult to beat was the only option, still took italy to pens so he did a decent job there. not much to say about it, really.

but look at the world cup qualifying group. Poland and ukraine are solid sides who will threaten WC qualification most times, but with hosting the euros had little recent competitive experience. Montenegro have some decent players so are tough for 4th seeds but have been a team for what 2-3 years? they were with serbia in 2010 still, iirc. For me a lot more could have been done in qualifying to get these young players ready for the world cup against these sides who were not elite but there was too much fear about not qualifying for the world cup. it would be too big a failure.

It's all well and good saying they needed bedding in in a tournament, but that process is a lot easier if they play in more qualifiers.

As it stands with the group draw and the expanded euro tournament it's almost impossible for england not to qualify, so there's a lot of room for the younger players to play tough, competitive games with little fear, which is a good thing but i feel he got the process wrong during the last qualifying campaign.

It just seemed he was desperate to get through, then when they got through they were criticised for the manner (side note I actually thought the ukraine game/result was basically perfect and he got far too much stick for it) so he decided to stick youth in the WC. It doesn't seem like a gradual, thought out process. It seemed like he was still putting out fires.

 

[War]

Good discussion fellas, agree with pretty much everything.

Also, as i sort of mentioned before earlier, the idea of youngsters playing in the under 21s tournaments after they have already made the senior team has tended to be a touchy subject for the last 2-3 tournaments. But this time i sense, Hodgson is gonna take it seriously - BBC Sport - Senior England players may play at Under-21 finals - Hodgson

So presuming the U21s beat Croatia in the playoff's who on this forum would like to see Sterling, Wilshere, Jones, Barkley, Stones, Chambers, The Ox at next summers tournament?

 

[Skater]

Jones and Wilshere would be too old but I agree with the overall sentiment.

 

[War]

Jones and Wilshere would be too old but I agree with the overall sentiment.

Ye, Jones played in a u-21 b4 & Wilshere given his injury history, if he manages to play a full-injury free season this year - it might be best if he gets the summer off.

So the team could look very strong if other players are picked:

GK - Butland, Johnstone

DEF: Stones, Dier, Chambers, Blackett, Shaw, Flanagan, Jenkinson

MID: Barkley, Sterling, The Ox, Chalobah, Ward-Prowse, Shelvey, Morrison, Carroll, Redmond

FOR: Behrahino, Wickham, Kane, Zaha

Tom Ince, Will Hughes, Andre Wisdom, E Fryers, Jack Robinson, Nick Powell, McEachran, Michael Keane could also get it depending on circumstances...

Won't overstate this squad despite the obvious talent that could be available, but unless the Germans & Spanish have some other fresh under-21 youngsters of super skill, that I aint hear about - that ENG team should be among the best in next years tournament.

 

[War]

Connor Wickham is Sunderland's No 1 striker, Gus Poyet tells Steven Fletcher | Daily Mail Online

Good for ENG...

 

[War]

BBC Sport - England squad: Nathaniel Clyne and Jonjo Shelvey called up

Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), John Stones (Everton)

Midfielders: Fabian Delph (Aston Villa), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea City), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Andros Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

Forwards: Rickie Lambert (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)

BBC Sport - Man Utd's Luke Shaw named in England Under-21 squad

Goalkeepers: Jonathan Bond (Watford), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Sam Johnstone (Manchester United)

Defenders: Calum Chambers (Arsenal), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Garbutt (Everton), Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough), Carl Jenkinson (West Ham United, on loan from Arsenal), Michael Keane (Burnley, on loan from Manchester United), Jamaal Lascelles (Nottingham Forest, on loan from Newcastle United), Liam Moore (Leicester City), Luke Shaw (Manchester United)

Midfielders: Lewis Baker (Chelsea), Tom Carroll (Swansea City, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Jake Forster-Caskey (Brighton & Hove Albion), Will Hughes (Derby County), Thomas Ince (Hull City), Alex Pritchard (Brentford, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Nathan Redmond (Norwich City)

Forwards: Patrick Bamford (Middlesbrough, on loan from Chelsea), Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Cauley Woodrow (Fulham)

On current form Nathan Dyer definitely should be picked over Townsend, so Uncle Roy is guilty of slight favoritism their, but otherwise straightforward senior squad.

For once the under-21 matches will have far more interest than the senior ones. Not sure if they all are injured, but i'd was expecting to see Wickham, McEachran, Morrison, Zeki Fryers, Wisdom, Chalobah, Zaha called up.

 

[War]

FA guru Dave Reddin highlights the problems with England's World Cup campaign - Telegraph

 

[thedon5]

Not sure why Chambers isn't in the main squad, deserves to get a chance.

Townsend is a joke. Never been worthy of playing for England.

 

[War]

Daniel Sturridge, Gary Cahill and Jordan Henderson appointed 'unit leaders' by England boss Roy Hodgson | Daily Mail Online

 

[War]

Paul Scholes column: We must take Under-21 football seriously. It cannot be regarded by our best young players as a punishment - News & Comment - Football - The Independent

 

[War]

Roy Hodgson should look to Tom Huddlestone as an holding midfielder in his England diamond | Daily Mail Online

Yep enough people has mentioned it on this forum already...