Football Thread

[JamesyJames3]

Yea I agree. Personally I would have taken Ashton, but I think he peaked a bit too late. If he was at West Ham since the start of the season, maybe would have been considered.

 

[Adarsh]

Defoe should have been picked, if not Bent. His goal against West Ham shows how good he can be. picked the ball up on the right, next to the D; one touch and boom. Goal.

 

[BigCrickNan]

The Walcott selection confuses me. Surely he must play some decent football before playing in the world cup? Carragher and Crouch going is something he has done right though, Carragher is our best defender along with Terry and Crouch has been improving all season.

 

[Sureshot]

Defoe isn't good enough for England, not only has he scored 1 in 15, he has never looked tha part.

International strikers need consistency, Defoe scores 6 in 5 then goes baron for 5 games.

Hargreaves?

He's poo.

 

[BigCrickNan]

Defoe isn't good enough for England, not only has he scored 1 in 15, he has never looked tha part.

I agree. Crouch doesn't score 25 goals a season but hes a good support player. Plus you wouldn't see Owen jumping over defenders to head to ball :

 

[puddleduck]

Defoe isn't good enough for England, not only has he scored 1 in 15, he has never looked tha part.

International strikers need consistency, Defoe scores 6 in 5 then goes baron for 5 games.

Hargreaves?

He's poo.

Defoe hasn't had the best season, but he is a player who gets goals out of nowhere. He's done it all his career and on the international stage where you might only get a few sights on goal he's the sort of player you want. He has struggled this season, but then when we played Mido it was permantly being hit long to his head and Defoe is very much a to feet player. This is the first season in a long time where he hasn't scored goals for fun and that's mainly due to Robbie Keane being in the form of his life and as such not getting the run of games that any striker needs to have thats sharpness to grab goals.

 

[Briggsey]

And you shouldn't be telling me what I should or shouldn't think :

Why should I be excited that he has picked a player who's only experience is half a season of championship football? Owen had played premiership football at least.

Why should I be excited that he is using 3 friendly games before the World Cup and the World Cup itself to blood future players?

Why should I be excited that (since you decided to use history) having picked 5-7 players who are all returning from injury he is running the risk of having an entire team of "beckhams from the last world cup".

I happen to agree with Crouch being picked and always have done, my qualms are that he has picked both Hargreaves and Jenas when in reality another striker should have been picked considering Owen is recovering from injury and injury prone at best, that Crouch could have an ineffective game (will be out of his depth against the likes of the Italian centre backs) and that Walcott is very much an unknown quantity.

So again I would like it if you wouldn't tell me what I should be thinking as in my eyes you SHOULD be thinking the above. Obviously I will get behind them when they are out there, but should I not be making my complaints known before the games are played so if it comes off I can eat humble pie, instead of waiting until after it's happened and using the old hindsight is 20-20?

I dont believe I told you what to think, I told you what in hindsight is the best thing everyone should be doing at this moment, obviously some people like yourself dont like the squad Sven has picked, fair enough, but when you consider Owen had no more than a handful of caps for England before the 98 WC, do you not even think it is worth it seeing what a tournament Owen had? Do you not see the potential these 2 players have, not only them but the whole team? Sven has picked players who HE thinks will win the World Cup, and he has obviously had the support of everyone around him when picking them including manager to be McClaren, who knows how to manage and blood youth in big games.

What you should be excited about is that this is the best chance we have had of winning a major tournament in some years, Rooney or no Rooney, the 11 players Sven sends out for the opening game against Paraguay will all be capable of doing the job, whether you see it that way or not.

Instead of focusing on the positive sides of the selection, you seem to have only focused on the negative aspects, do you not realise we still have on paper one of the strongest teams?

Obviously not....

Of course if I am proven wrong at the WC you may feel free to comment, but whatever happens, accept the team, and support the lads fully at the WC, because at the end of the day, thats all we can do.

 

[gold639]

England need to sort their formation and tactics with Rooney potentially missing 50% of the world cup. I say a 5 man midfield which utilises fully our world class midfield players, then 1 striker and start using Joe Cole finally how he should be used, behind the striker - I think he will be incredible at this WC if he is played.

I think Sven intends to do something like that...hence the 4 strikers?

 

[Ste]

I can't believe a guy who hasn't played any top class football at all, Walcott, is being picked? That's a school boy error.

I agree. It was only Saturday that Wenger was saying Walcott should be picked and Sven without any mind of his own sees this and thinks Wenger must be right so picks him. Didnt he think that the fact he hasnt played for Arsenal all season means that Wenger doesnt think he is even ready for the Premiership never mind the World Cup!

I bet Arsene is langing his head off, he gets to see Walcott play at a top level without any risk coming to Arsenal!

If Arsene Wenger said that he thinks I should be in the team I bet Sven would pick me!

Whatever you say about Defoe at least he is proven that he can score goals at the top level, he has had some problems this season but he should be in the proper squad. Fowler would have been better though!

Dont get me started on the number of injured players being picked as well!

I wonder what odds I can get laying England on Betfair.

!!!!!!

 

[BigCrickNan]

Another thing, with his great form at the end of the season, why hasn't Robbie Fowler been given a chance?

The play-off semi between Leeds and Preston is just about to end. Leeds 2-0 up. the floodlights went off at halftime and delayed the game half an hour :laugh. Some awful refereeing though

 

[Skater]

I listened to a discussion of the provisional squad on the radio this evening and heard someone say something along the lines of maybe Sven-Goran Eriksson thought 'well, this is my last World Cup, let's take some gambles and see what happens'. To an extent I agree with that statement. :onpc

I was glad to see Robert Green in the squad, he's a decent goalkeeper who will one day play for England regularly. I just hope that he is at Norwich when that happens!

 

[Ste]

I listened to a discussion of the provisional squad on the radio this evening and heard someone say something along the lines of maybe Sven-Goran Eriksson thought 'well, this is my last World Cup, let's take some gambles and see what happens'. To an extent I agree with that statement. :onpc

Or maybe he thought who cares what happens. He is tainted now and will find it hard to get a job elsewhere anyway!

I was glad to see Robert Green in the squad, he's a decent goalkeeper who will one day play for England regularly. I just hope that he is at Norwich when that happens!

Isnt he injured at the moment?

 

[JamesyJames3]

Preston are gone! I can hear all the Leeds fans from my room, they must be going mental.

Leeds deserved it based on the second half performance.

 

[Skater]

No, Robert Green's ankle is fine now.

 

[puddleduck]

I dont believe I told you what to think, I told you what in hindsight is the best thing everyone should be doing at this moment, obviously some people like yourself dont like the squad Sven has picked, fair enough, but when you consider Owen had no more than a handful of caps for England before the 98 WC, do you not even think it is worth it seeing what a tournament Owen had? Do you not see the potential these 2 players have, not only them but the whole team? Sven has picked players who HE thinks will win the World Cup, and he has obviously had the support of everyone around him when picking them including manager to be McClaren, who knows how to manage and blood youth in big games.

What you should be excited about is that this is the best chance we have had of winning a major tournament in some years, Rooney or no Rooney, the 11 players Sven sends out for the opening game against Paraguay will all be capable of doing the job, whether you see it that way or not.

Instead of focusing on the positive sides of the selection, you seem to have only focused on the negative aspects, do you not realise we still have on paper one of the strongest teams?

Obviously not....

Of course if I am proven wrong at the WC you may feel free to comment, but whatever happens, accept the team, and support the lads fully at the WC, because at the end of the day, thats all we can do.

Spot on Ste. On what grounds has Sven picked Walcott? U17 games? Half a season in the championship? Reserve Matches? What he read in the papers? The fact that he isn't good enough to have even played one game for Arsenal this season means he is good enough to play for England?

Sorry Briggsey but in my eyes you keep digging yourself deeper into a hole. You keep mentioned Owen, this is the same Owen who had an entire season of Premiership football and had scored goals. The same Owen that had played as you said a handful of England games already. How is it the same as Walcott who has only played half a season of Championship football and only ever watched Premiership football on Tv, let alone international football?

Of course I see the potential he has, but since when was the England national team at a World Cup the time to blood players into international football? Why would I focus on the postive sides? It is not like anything surprising in those areas happened. Picking Gerrard or Lampard was hardly inspired was it? End of the day Sven has never seemed to get it right regarding where to play those two but I do happen to think that Rooneys absence will actually force him to get it right.

As gold has said I am pretty sure Sven will now go with 5 midfielders giving Lampard and in particular Gerrard far more reign to attack which will bring the best out of him.

Of course the team that takes the field against Paraguay will be able to do a job, if it couldn't that would be shocking. Qualifying from our group should by all accounts be simple, it is whether we have the tools to beat the top sides that will matter. In previous big games Sven has often looked clueless when things aren't going his way, sending on players who are completely untried to change a game is a massive gamble.

I don't see how my posting in a football thread on a cricket forum is going to change anything, like you I am just voicing my opinion. Instead of most pundits I am prepared to lay down my thoughts before the event takes place and am fully prepared and indeed hopeful that it is the case that I get to eat some humble pie.

I did say in my post that come the tournament he could pick whoever he wants and I will get behind them, but again that does not stop me from having an opinion.