Like him or loathe him, there's no denying Stan Collymore has some confident and strong views. EDIT: Threads merged.
Going to leave Lampard, Carrick & Milner apparently according to Stan, personally not too sure about that.
Stan just said Adam Lallana an absolute shoe in for him.... Didn't see that coming, there still discussing teams, currently on midfielders.
Current betting odds on our select few making the plane, JRod 25/1, Clyne 10/1, Shaw 12/1 & Sir Rickie 13/8.
Yeah, Collymore is very keen. He sees Adam as a very creative and skilful midfielder. Earlier one of the pundits was saying that England don't have a Cruyff turning player to call upon [may have been on the Beeb]. I would beg to differ.
I think Johnson has been pretty good in the last couple years when I used to think he could be a bit of a liability, but I really don't know where you're getting that from. Looking at the stats, last season he completed 10/87 crosses, to put that in perspective Baines who is obviously renowned for his crossing completed roughly 1 out of 3 of his crosses, and Clyne who's crossing you could certainly label 'inconsistent' at times, completed 1 out of every 4. You could argue Johnson has few targets to hit, but even in 2011/12 when Carroll featured prominently he still only completed 1 in every 5. On top of that he's scored 2 goals in his last 64 games for Liverpool (With only 1 in his England career), despite taking 82 shots in that time, in the whole of last season Rickie Lambert took 94 shots. That doesn't make for pretty reading. For me the only areas Johnson has a discernible edge are size and experience, Clyne is quicker, younger and on the form of the last year at the very least just as good a defender.
Hmm..Clyne could be worth a cheeky tenner. With Johnson suffering from injuries and Walker unconvincing it's possible he will get in the squad for the upcoming friendlies. He was a big part of the u21 camp so is not an unknown to the England party. My one concern is that it's possible we will only take one right back and Smalling/Jones will be on Utility duty. What about Lallana? If he continues on his current form he will be difficult to ignore. I don't think he will make it because he doesn't score enough, especially from distance.
Hee-hee, the other pundits convinced Collymore to add Lambert to his list of strikers. Up until announcing his striker's list he was exhorting Carroll, and then, after listening to everyone, he went... Lambert.
Clyne had a poor last couple of games for the U21s. Def better than Walker who is a iffy defender. On a par with Johnson going forward but a better defender, have not seen anyone come out on top against him for a whole game. Too early for Shaw, but should be no2 for the Euros. Rickie should be in along with Lallana if he keeps this form. Sturridge is ripping it up in the PL but has been crap for England. Hope Lampard, Gerrard and Milner are left behind along with Cleverly and Young
I would sacrifice the international hopes of all the Saints players and that of their children and their children's children if only Rickie could play at the World Cup.
I can't see Carroll going, and I can see both He and Rickie not making it. As the pundits said last night, Carroll has spent more time on the treatment table, in the last couple of years, than he has on the pitch. He'd have to be supremely fit and have a special season to get to Brazil. Rickie, on the other hand, is ticking along quite nicely. His Fulham performance was a good little reminder that he's still the man to pick.
I wrote an article about the England strikers, it's due out at some point this afternoon, I believe. It's an article questioning whether Defoe, Lambert or Carroll should go as England's 4th striker alongside Rooney, Sturridge and Welbeck - barring injuries.
The only time Welbeck has looked anything near an international class player was with Rickie. Afront 4 of Rickie, Rooney, Welbeck/Walcott and Sturridge/Walcott works for me with Carrick and Wilshere MF
Defoe, Lambert or Carroll? Roy Hodgson's World Cup dilemma - http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2013...dgsons-world-cup-dilemma/&utm_source=Facebook Probably quite a biased audience, but nonetheless, I contemplate the pros and cons of the three who have featured alongside England 'regulars' Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge.
Good summing up DTLW. I honestly can't see a single thing that Carroll brings over and above Lambert, but a whole raft of deficiencies. Defoe doesn't feel right to me (cracking finisher though he is) as I think there needs to be someone on the plane that can replace Rooney's style should the clear first choice get injured. The nearest we have to his presence and physicality, along with the ability to bring the likes of Sturridge/Welbeck into the game is Rickie. If Wayne gets injured and Defoe is the replacement, that completely changes system.
