Been a while since I've done a thread, I'm sure you've all been clucking for a new one from the SoS-meister so here's a reward for your patience So with recent chat and emphasis on producing the talent good enough for England and also seeing our Spurs lads begin to make an impression on Big Daddy Woy Hodgson, if you had your chance to be in Woy's shoes, who'd be your team to start in the opening game of the Euro Championships? (providing we do qualify, which is pretty inevitable barring a major **** up). First XI: Hart, Clyne, Shawcross, Cahill, Bertrand Henderson, Carrick, Rooney Sturridge, Kane, Sterling Subs: Forster, Butland, Dier, Stones, Rose, Lallana, Mason, Delph, Barkley, Oxo-cube, Townsend, Austin So I've perhaps been a bit biased with the Spurs selections amongst the subs but I'm SoS so I'll do what I want . Hart is England's only top goal keeper in my opinion, Forster is good and Foster is okay but I've excluded Foster for Butland due to the potential of Butland and the experience will benefit him, plus Foster has already turned his back on England so **** him. Clyne and Bertrand have been great this season for Soton and if they continue their form then I'd definitely have them as the full backs. Shawcross probably won't get selected by Woy but I personally think that alongside Cahill, he's the best English CB in the league right now. Carrick will be 34 or 35 by then but he's the type of player England need to dictate the tempo, a Pirlo type so to speak, Henderson is the work horse and Rooney will make the forward runs, so I feel that midfield 3 will compliment each other quite well. Upfront I'd have Kane leading the line providing he keeps up this amazing form, with Sturridge and Sterling playing either side of him. Sterling's speed will cause any side problems whereas Kane and Sturridge are currently the country's deadliest finishers in my opinion, just ahead of Charlie Austin who makes the bench. Notable absentees/ players in reserve: Foster - already stated why. Jagielka - a good CB but I feel Shawcross and Cahill are better whereas Dier and Stones have the potential and I always feel you have to keep one eye on the future. Dier can also fill in at RB if needed. Baines - a very solid LB and had it hard with Ashley Cole being in the same era as him because otherwise he'd have had 50+ England caps. That said, he'll be around 31/32 I think when the championships start and with the formation I've gone for, there will be heavy reliance on fast full backs to bomb back and forth down the wings and Baines isn't exactly Usain Bolt. Shaw - has huge potential and is one of the players I think England should build it's team around in the future but until he gets over these niggling knocks he can't justify a call up. Walker - been poor for too long, outperformed by Clyne easily. Wilshere - a good player but way too injury prone, if he can have a good season next year then I'd reconsider, especially as Barkley hasn't been too great this season (he's just scraped an inclusion for the record), I just feel he's an exceptional young player who the country needs to persist with. Milner - another good player but I find it hard seeing where he'd fit in where he can do better than someone else. I think he's quite similar to Mason in the way they both graft as well being able to play good football but as Mason has more time to improve I've opted for him. Downing - a good season with West Ham but I think there are better options available. Welbeck - has actually been decent for England so I'm probably being harsh leaving him out but his form for club never really impresses me and his finishing is poor more often than not. Berahino - will likely leave WBA next season to join a "bigger" club, though wherever he plays if he can produce the goods then like Wilshere, I'd reconsider, especially as he's another player with lots of time to improve. Walcott - another one too injury prone but a good player when fit, I think he's been back from injury a few weeks though and hasn't been able to get in the Arsenal team, so he can't justify a call up anytime soon. Out of the ones that missed out, Shaw, Milner, Wilshere, Welbeck and Downing would be on my 5-man reserve list. So there we have it my friends. Care to challenge my team with yours?
In the midfield I like the idea of having Carrick to dictate play and Henderson to do the dog work (thats not intended a disservice to him). I think we might see someone like Hughes break through into the seniors if he ends up in the PL next year and performs well in the U21 Euros this Summer. Mason might stake a claim for that 3rd spot too because you need someone with a bit of bite there to make up for Carrick's age. Wilshere might be worth a look because he does try and get himself about a bit and is a good passer of the ball too. You'd expect to see Barkley, Lallana and a few others around that midfield too. Hudd could deputise for Carrick but he seems to have really gone off the boil at Hull so he's have to sort that out to be considered. Some of the England U21 guys, like our own Tommy Carroll, could maybe step up too but thats hard to predict. If you change to a 4-2-3-1 then obviously you need to look at no. 10s and a different midfield 2 combination as well but we have the players to provide for that. I'm one of those who would never have had Rooney as captain as it means you have to pick him all the time, and right now I can't see the place in the team for him. He's not England's best no. 9 right now and the 4-3-3 doesn't gift him a no. 10 position (arguably he'd be behind Barkley or even someone else in that position too right now), and I think shoehorning him into a wide role isn't the best option either. Kane, Sturridge and Sterling is a good front 3 I think, the former 2 can rotate between wide and central positions and the two Liverpool players have plenty of pace to trouble defences along with Kane's work rate. Austin, Berahino and Ings are great options for the no. 9 spot and you'd expect them and Kane to be competing heavily for that striker spot. Townsend will probably be in the frame for one of the wide spots, Oxlade-Chamberlain will be too. Redmond might be around the squad as well. The defence is tricky, Walker would have been a sure bet for RB a few years back but he has a long way to go to get back to those levels of performance. I'd probably plump for Shaw at LB, hoping that by next summer he'd have established himself in the Utd team. Cahill would probably be one of the CBs, the other is a tricky call. I honestly haven't seen enough of Shawcross or Bertrand or Clyne to know whether they are England calibre or not. If they're good enough I don't care what club they play for though. Dier and Stones will also surely be around the team too as you say. Smalling and Jones have a lot of work to do if they want to be considered on merit rather than because they play for Man U. Chambers might be in the mix for CB too. We've got a few decent goalies though. Hart is very good and Foster and Forster probably wouldn't let you down.
The team you have picked would more likely play 4-2-3-1 with Carrick and Henderson in front of the back four and Rooney as no.10. Much as Kane might deserve his chance, he is unlikely to play in this England side ahead of Welbeck because of the latter's extra pace. England have forward players best suited to counterattacking. Sterling, Welbeck and Sturridge are all quick and can interchange position. Playing Kane would represent a change of strategy. If he plays, I think Sturridge or Welbeck would have to make way for an advanced midfield player like Wilshere or Milner who would make a three in midfield. Shawcross is a good PL defender, but lacks pace for international football. Smalling might not be Rio, but he has been playing well and offers better cover behind Cahill, especially if you pick two attacking full backs.
I'm a fan of Will Hughes and if he does play in the Prem next season, whether that be with Derby or another side, I think you're right in that he could force his way into contention, especially if he does well in the U-21s. I was really pleased for Mason when he got the call up, I actually thought he'd get a call up straight away and not as a replacement seeing as CM is a position which is very much open for debate and Mason has had a very good season alongside Nabs for us, whether he could stake a claim and be in the starting XI is yet to be seen but if he can improve on this season then he's got a great shot. I think Tommy C would need a massive stroke of luck, he's been in and out of the Swans side this season and although there's been a lot of changes at Spurs this season with academy players taking over from expensive flops, I'd still find it hard to see where Tom could break through on a consistent basis, he's definitely got the ability though. I agree, Rooney as captain is laughable as he's not a leader. But I do think he's a good player, albeit not as good as what he should be but he's a bit of a enigma, although you feel like dropping him at times his natural ability is probably greater than anyone's in the England squad and so it's a hard call to say he shouldn't be in that XI somewhere, that's why I opted for him as a CM, he's got the work rate and ability to play behind the strikers and he's been deployed a bit deeper for Utd this season so it won't be a massive shock for him he had to drop back for England. Redmond would need to be in the Prem next season to be in with a shout I think, it's plausible though because he's too good for the Championship and is an interesting player to watch. Smalling and Jones have been good in recent weeks for Utd but their overall Utd careers have been poor and would need to keep up their current form to stand any chance of being in an England squad if I were to select it. Chambers doesn't really impress me, tends to pick up way too many yellows and is being kept out of the Arsenal side by that Bellerin lad, he'll no doubt fall further down once Debuchy is fit where as CB I've not really seen enough of him to say he'd warrant a spot over others we've previously mentioned. Good call, dropping Carrick and Henderson deeper would probably be better, the amount of attacking talent I listed in my side would make it more sensible to have two players dropping deeper, allowing Rooney the freedom of a no 10 and it also helps cover the two roaming full backs. With the form Kane is in right now, and if he were to maintain it in the future, I think Hodgson would be mad to not make a formation and tactic that suits him as he's arguably the best talent England have right now. Saying that, from what Kane has done this season, he hasn't relied on pace anyway, we're not the fastest of sides anymore but Kane's movement and ability to finish from all angles has meant that he's made it easy for our midfielders to play with and I think he'd do the same in the international set up. I wouldn't say the pace of international football is any faster than the Prem though the quality of individuals obviously is, there are plenty of CB's who make it onto the international stage that aren't blessed with pace so I think Shawcross could cope with the demands if given the chance. As I've already said with Smalling (and Jones), I think he'd need to keep this current form going for a lot longer to be considered in my opinion, was billed with great potential but has looked very average for most of his Utd career.
Tommy Carroll has done pretty well for the England U21s when I've seen him play SoS, he does a lot more dog work in their midfield 3 than you'd think and has worn the armband on a couple of occasions too. Thats why I mentioned him. He has a lot to do in the Prem though, agreed.
Given how there's always one youngster taken to a tournament that never gets a second on the pitch (i.e. Walcott in 2006, Butland in 2012, Barklay last year), I'll predict that Pritchard will be next year's random squad inclusion.
I like SoS’s front three, but am not sure who to start in midfield. I’m not much impressed with anybody, to tell you the truth. Carrick may deserve a spot on his form this year, but has a history of playing poorly in international tournaments--as does Rooney. Henderson is a good pick, I think. I haven’t been impressed with Lallana this year, and might prefer Mason. I would think about Livermore, on the theory that having a solid shield for the back four is what’s needed, considering the front three and the fullbacks. At LB, I’d take Baines and think about Rose.
Carrick also deserves a spot because Man Utd will pay us more money if he reaches a certain number of England caps. That's another reason the Gerrard/Lampard pairing was an eternal ballache: it stopped us getting a few million quid out of them five years ago.
I don't think that the attributes which make players valuable in the PL are necessarily useful at international level, but as we don't have enough good international players, we have to make do. The PL is a lot of hustle and bustle. The game is high tempo most of the time with the emphasis on getting the ball forward quickly. International football (at the top level) is more patient, retaining possession and probing for openings. Workrate, energy and determination are less important than having a particular skill or asset. That's why England usually fail. Teams ride the storm, then pick us off with one bit of skill. We were rubbish at the World Cup. Who would back us against the top European teams next year? We can't outplay teams through a possession/passing/patience game. I think Hodgson is pragmatic. We have no Pirlo; we have no Schweinsteiger. We certainly don't have Messi. We have to accept that the better teams will have more of the ball, but we are dangerous on the counterattack, because we have a number of pacy players at present. If the right strategy is to play like Utd do at Arsenal - which it is in my view- then Welbeck, Sturridge, Rooney and Sterling have to play (Walcott pushes for a place too). Lallana, Kane, Wilshere, Milner and others have claims to play, but not if these tactics are employed.
Even if that’s the best tactical approach, I would still give Kane a place. Those tactics didn’t work in 2014 partly because of poor finishing. If Kane’s form continues (and everyone expects it won’t) he’ll continue to be the most effective striker in the PL, and too likely to score to leave out of the team. Two players with excellent pace plus a slower player who’s a good finisher is a good group of three counterattacking forwards. Anyway, I hope Hodgson sees things your way. I don’t want Spurs injured in games or for that matter influenced by the England team malaise. It’s a team that has hardly helped its players thrive.
I agree with Tots, it's all academic as we haven't got a prayer of winning it. Why no mention of Delph by anybody? He seems to be in a vein of form.
Don't necessarily expect to win but it'd be to have a team to be proud of, past few tournaments we've been dire but I think we're getting a crop of players that can add a bit of excitement back into England fans. There's no reason why players like Sturridge, Kane, Rooney, Sterling can't be match winners against top sides. I think our main problem lies with the manager, Hodgson hasn't really been used to having the best available talent at his disposal, he's often managed sides that are expected to do pretty poorly and thus his formations are usually about counter attacking, whereas the current crop of players we now have can make a formidable attacking outlet in my opinion. Admittedly we're still miles off the top, top sides but we're still a team that should be able to reach the quarter final mark in the upcoming European Championships but with Hodgson's tactics and style of football we'll probably barely make it out of the group. We may not have a Pirlo/ Schweinsteiger/ Messi but we still have talent like Kane, Sturridge, Rooney and Sterling, who on their day can cause any defence a problem and Hodgson should look to utilise that. Was in my choice of subs, I think he's a good player.
Delph is good but I think he looks for the safe pass too much. Just my opinion though, he's a talented guy.
Same reason Tom Cleverley suddenly stopped being in the England squad: he plays for Villa, which apparently means he doesn't know how to play football - but if he played for Man Utd, Liverpool et al he'd suddenly become a top quality player overnight after just a couple of days on the training pitch.
He'd then pull out of every international squad that he could, too. Certainly any that were for friendlies, for a start.
What happened to Planet Positive? http://www.suttonunited.net/community_planetpositive.html As for Delph, decent player and we nearly signed him England are a lost cause when it comes to international football as the team plays basic football lacking any ideas, inferior opposition have a game plan which tends to be smarter and that comes from better coaching, while we kid ourselves that because the premier league is one of the worlds best that we belong with the big nations. This talk of trying to force clubs to bring through home grown talent will just increase the number of average domestic players. The top young players find a way to break through regardless of the number of foreign players "blocking their path". Good luck to England but like ourselves, these long term plans are flawed.
2 years is a long time, players will flop and others will get hyped in between now and then. If I was picking a first 11 for a World Cup this summer it'd be: Hart(c) Clyne, no idea, no idea, Gibbs Mason, Delph Henderson, Kane, Sterling Sturridge We really do need some decent centre backs to come through, the current lot are crap unless you play boring, defensive football. Maybe just throw in Chambers and Dier as starters due to a lack of other options.
Our Harry makes a mug of Walnut.... http://www.tottenhamblog.com/2015/0...e-a-fool-of-theo-walcott-in-england-training/
