Off Topic International Break Thread

We've obviously had too much Premier League football after three games, so it's back to internationals.
Allardyce has picked his first squad and here it is:

Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley).

Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur).

Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Michail Antonio (West Ham United), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Danny Drinkwater (Leicester City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).

Strikers: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City).

No big changes, but Drinkwater's back in and Antonio gets his first call-up.

 

So little change. More of the same or will he use the same players with different tactics?

 

My ideal week is for Clyne to play ahead of Walker, for Shaw to play ahead of Rose and for every other Spurs player to withdraw because of "groin strains".

 

I'm pleased to see Drinkwater selected. He's not a great player, but his performances over the past 15 months, warrant him given a chance to step up.

 

So, the first test of Fat Sam and the Sky 4 phantom "injuries" .

 

Jermain Defoe is the only England player who suffers type 'page 3' groin strains.

 

Has Big Sam named a captain yet?

 

An international break already

FFS

 

Every bloody year this international break pisses me off

 

FFS

 

And it gets better-Rooney is still captain.

We might as well have kept Roy.

 

Another reason to keep avoiding England internationals like the plague. As the wiseman Roger Daltrey once say, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

 

Sam's not as big as he'd like us to think

 

The FA do not learn a single thing from each tournament debacle, do they.
This goes back as far as when Cloughie was being touted as an England manager.

 

Cribbed from the OS...

Tuesday, August 30
Victor Wanyama – Kenya away friendly against Uganda – kick-off 2pm

Wednesday, August 31
Christian Eriksen – Denmark home friendly against Liechtenstein – kick-off 7pm

Thursday, September 1
Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen – Belgium home friendly against Spain – kick-off 7.45pm
Vincent Janssen – Netherlands home friendly against Greece – kick-off 7.45pm
Heung-Min Son – South Korea home 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against China – kick-off 12pm
Josh Onomah and Kyle Walker-Peters – England Under-20s home friendly against Brazil – kick-off 3pm
Jaden Brown and Jon Dinzeyi – England Under-18s home match against Italy – kick-off 7pm

Friday, September 2
Erik Lamela – Argentina home 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Uruguay – kick-off 12.30am

Saturday, September 3
Clinton Njie – Cameroon home Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Gambia – kick-off 3.30pm

Sunday, September 4
Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Harry Kane, Danny Rose and Kyle Walker – England away 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Slovakia – kick-off 5pm
Nabil Bentaleb – Algeria home Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Lesotho – kick-off 8.30pm
Christian Eriksen – Denmark home 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Armenia – kick-off 5pm
Victor Wanyama – Kenya away Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia – kick-off 4.30pm
Josh Onomah and Kyle Walker-Peters – England Under-20s home friendly against Brazil – kick-off 2.30pm

Monday, September 5
Ben Davies – Wales home 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Moldova – kick-off 7.45pm
Kevin Wimmer – Austria away 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Georgia – kick-off 5pm
Jaden Brown and Jon Dinzeyi – England Under-18s home match against Israel – kick-off 7pm

Tuesday, September 6
Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen – Belgium away 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Cyprus – kick-off 7.45pm
Vincent Janssen – Netherlands away 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Sweden – kick-off 7.45pm
Clinton Njie – Cameroon home friendly against Gabon – kick-off 7pm

Wednesday, September 7
Erik Lamela – Argentina away 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Venezuela – kick-off 12am

 

How the **** have Korea called Son up for this? They've literally only given him back last week.
Brazil to England to Korea to Macau (to play Syria), then back again in the space of a couple of weeks.
What a joke.

 

Why on earth are Syria bothering with football at this moment in time?

 

Their league is still going, apparently. All fixtures are played in Damascus, which is still under government control.

 

It's a bit unusual of Rooney to announce his retirement 2 years in advance. What's the point? I suspect he thinks putting a time limit on his international career increases his chances of getting picked for the next couple of years.