Hodgson had to play a lot of youth against Ukraine,then they were lambasted for not winning. Surprised how few people rate Welbeck who is a very exciting talent even if he was poor against Sai.ts. Thougbt Crouch may have a chance, Shawcross replaces Terry like for like. I would be disappointed if I was Lallana seeing Johnson get picked. Will be interesting to see who is called up if there are withdrawals.
I don't have a problem with Crouch but I understand why he is not in there, he is unlikely to start now (Defoe and Rooney for me) and won't be there in 2014. Hence why I can't see Lambert getting in there unless he has an incredible season. Plus I honestly think Roy will not consider Crouch again having turned down Euro 2012. Lallana certainly has a chance but let's see how he is going in January. For now he can just remain our secret.
My sentiments exactly! Everyone has their own view on why England fail to deliver and mine is that the young talent is propelled into the first team far too quickly. I heard the team of Beckham, Scoles, Lampard, Gerard et al. described as the most gifted squad for a generation, and yet all they really delivered was disappointment. IMO young talented players should be kept in the U21 squad and given time to bond as a team, where they might actually win something and bring that winning mentality with them when they do progress up to the senior squad.
Dont think he has any caps at all, it is strange as he is a very tidy player. Someone that is your steady player that goes under the radar but is so important to the team.
Hopefully he can step into the striker spot vacated by Jose Fonte's brother Speaking of which, does anyone remember Feliciano Condesso? He was at the Saints academy for a while, scored for Portugal in the U20 World Cup in 2007, went to Spain and since appears to have dropped into Portuguese amateur football...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19830762# Have to agree with Holt here. If Dyer played in London he'd be in the squad at least.
Mayuka, S. Davis and Ramirez called up by their countries. Hope Nigel told their managers that we want them returned in the same condition as they were sent.
Assuming Zambia overcome Uganda (1-0 up from the first leg) next week they will be going to the African Cup of Nations in January to defend their title, and we will lose Mayuka for a month.
Don't get this top 6 team chip. There is a certain amount of logic to this, because if you're in a top 6 team, you're playing against the likes of Barcelona, Bayern, and the cream of Europe. Much more akin to the challenges you might face in the cauldron of an international tournament. At the very least, you're probably not getting hitting for 6 by Arsenal. Whilst I would be very proud of any of our players who get called up - and was happy for Adam - I come down on the side of preferring not to put our players under more duress, or heighten the risk of injury (even in England squad training) in this maiden Permiership season. I want to stay up. Nor do I particularly want to put our best young prospects in the shop window too early.
To be honest, I don't want England calling on people like Lambert, Crouch or Holt. Good Premier League players they are, they are not going to play for a team that can go on and dominate world football. England are a long way from doing that, but we must start again and build for the future. Play the likes of Wellbeck, Cleverly and whatever other youngsters are "the best" youngters we have (whoever they maybe, not saying those two are). Throw in 2 or 3 experienced players to help them through, forget the immediate results and find a way of bringing on top, quality, technical talent.
In Spain and Germany, their best players do play for the top clubs, so for those, this isn't much of a debate. The English players in our top club sides are surrounded by foreign players who make up for their shortcomings. When Liverpool invested heavily in English players, it came as no surprise when it went spectacularly wrong. England are quite well off for defenders and defensive midfielders, but short on attacking flair. Without that flair, the team is never going to inspire. Our top teams are getting their flair from abroad and seeing how good some of them are, it's not hard to see why. England's flair players aren't as good as the ones from abroad, so tend not to play for the top teams. For the sake of balance in the side, we need to go out and find these players, not just pack ourselves full of defensive players again and wonder why we're so flat.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football...rt-aims-to-be-a-slim-picking-for-Roy-Hodgson/ or http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/350579
