I couldn't think of another winger at the time....... Rooney is our best player, i am a huge admiere of him, yet i don't class him as one for the future anymore, or a youngster. I accept Young isn't young anymore i just don't rate Oxlade-Chamberlain as highly as others so didn't want to put him in there.
But you'd surely pick Rooney in any England team until he's at least 32, as long as he keeps up his level of play - and probably beyond that?
You picked a team for 4-5 years down the line, including a player who's both inferior to and older than Rooney (and Young is a winger - a position where players peak and decline sooner due to the need for pace) - and yet you didn't pick Rooney in there. I don't understand the logic.
But does mean that playing alongside Gerrard there'd be less of a clash through them both trying to play the same role. I think some people are forgetting that the English FA have control over a B team squad this season with the Olympics (alright U23 but you get the point). Why name someone like Jones to go to the Euros as 4th choice behind Terry, Ferdinand, and Cahill? If we're using our 4th choice CB we're not exactly in a good position, so you may as well take Lescott in that role. There's not that much difference, with some people saying they'd take him instead of Ferdinand anyway, but by taking him to the Euros you free up Jones to go to the Olympics, where he'd be starting alongside Smalling every game and picking up tournament experiance at a higher level than U21s. Same thing with Gibbs, taking him to the Euros is a gamble because either Cole gets injured and you're relying on him or he doesn't play at all. Send him to the Junior tournament, and test him at a higher level of international football than he has been before.
I'd just take the best 23 to the Euros Ricardo, it's far more important than the Olympics. If the situation arises that we need a 4th CB I want it to be the best one we have.
Olympics, Schmolympics. I couldn't care less about Olympic football - it shouldn't be an Olympic event (along with tennis, rugby sevens etc).
I'll admit I've not seen enough PL football this season to be able pick a squad for myself, but with Lescott vs Jones there's a debate earlier about whether Lescott should go ahead of Ferdinand never mind Jones so I don't see a tradeoff in the quality. The reason to take Jones ahead of Lescott in that situation would be the benefit for the future, which with a normal summer I'd agree, but this year we have another tournament for our younger fringe players to play in. I'm not saying automatically do it for anyone who's not in the starting 11, but where someone is a 2nd sub and there's someone older of a similar ability I'd rather take the older one to the Euros, and give the younger ones game time at the Olympics, than take the kid to the Euros to sit on the bench watching games and have the older one sat at home doing nothing. But it is, so we might as well exploit it to our advantage and use it to blood youngsters that are too good at U21 level, but haven't got the full international experiance to be ready to handle the pressure of a major tournament for the senior side. And bollocks to what the other nations say about us using it to develop our U21 players that way, they were the ones that decided they didn't want to be involved, so if we pick 15 English kids to play alongside Beckham, Bale and the 3rd overage player (Craig Gordon?) then that's pretty much what they were asking for anyway.
I would properly put Carroll on instead of Baines as I don't think he's good enough. Apart from that I would go for the same team
I cant be bothered to post my full squad, but I’m not really sure why everyone is so convinced Hodgson will go 4-2-3-1 when he is the architect of a rigid 4-4-2. I think we will see something like this: Hart Richards Terry Cahill Cole Young Gerrard Lampard Johnson Wellbeck Sturridge Sure someone somewhere has to make Gerrard/Lampard work? And regardless of other options, still the best midfield pairing we have.
1. Hodgson has used 4-2-3-1 a lot at WBA in the past few months. 2. Most of the players are playing in 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3/4-5-1 formations with the top clubs, rather than 4-4-2. 3. It seems a logical balance of where we are plentiful (advanced midfielders, wingers) and where we are lacking (out-and-out strikers).
My squad would be: Hart, Robinson, James, Smalling, Cahill, Ferdinand, Jones, Cole, Baines, Richards, Walker, Lampard, Parker, Scholes, Gerrard, Young, Wilshere, Walcott, A. Johnson, Rooney, Welbeck, Sturridge, Carroll Carroll has just done enough to get the nod over Crouch, would get Scholes back if possible, if used sparingly the best player we have. Hodgson might have been told already that Terry will not be selected for the tournament? The FA are showing some spine at last getting Hodgson in and not media donkey Redknapp and I hope they keep it for tough decisions like Terry not going that need to be made.
Nishy 2012 hope you're right about Terry, he was found out at the last world cup. Far to slow. I know the bull dog sprite and all that, but he might just be a huge liability and shouldn't go.
Terry the huge liability is still our best defender. He's still first choice for his club despite having Luiz and Cahill now and when you look at other team's defenders (Germany are taking Arsenal's Mertesacker for example) he's really not such a liability is he?
I agree with Arfa, this up and at em approach might work v smaller international teams but the better ones will suss Terry out. Abit like why they chose Hodgson to be manager instead of Redknapp isnt it. To be honest I don't like him anyway apart from that seems like a bad egg to me.
how do the younger players gain experiance or develop into a team if the dont play. with the few internationals played getting a group of youngster together this summer would be ideal, and you never know they may surprise you
They play for their clubs. You can't take crap players to a tournament in the hope it might make the better. You take your best 23 players.
why would they take crap players, thinking more of the under 21's and those on the edge of the current squad. we've had crap players for England, carlton palmer geoff thomas need i say more. look to the future not hope that suddenly those with all those caps are suddenly going to become world beaters, apparently you can win things with kids
