Bertrand, Clyne in England squad to face Slovenia and Ireland

Bertrand one of 2 left backs (Gibbs the other) so hopefully will play. Austin, Vardy, Heaton given first call ups.

 

Good picks. Vardy, Austin and Heaton all deserve call ups, and if there are places available then I don't see the harm in picking them.

Cork and Shelvey have been good for Swansea, and Puncheon for Palace, but not too disappointed with that.

 

Yes, would've liked to have seen Corky given a chance, now that he is playing regularly for Swansea, Mason doesn't convince me as an England player.

 

Unfortunately, Hodgson has just put a few extra million on the price of Austin...

 

Jamie ****ing Vardy? Seriously?

 

Good job the qualifier isn't against a decent team isn't it?

 

Thing is you can never win when you are International manager, as everyone thinks that their players are worth a call-up.

People moan when only players from 'big clubs' get call-ups, and say "why don't we give some of the others a chance to see how they do?". Then he calls up some of those players, and the instant reaction is always one of derision, and to belittle them. Give them a chance, see how they do, and then you can moan.

Vardy has been the catalyst for Leicester's end of season form - he was injured until a couple of months ago.
Austin has scored 1 in 2, for a relegated side, so why not? Plus Kane isn't getting called up as he on U21 duty (as is Ings).

And Heaton has done really well for Burnley, and Foster and Forster are both long-term absentees.

Just because these guys get called up, doesn't mean they will be England regulars, but it is good to give these guys a chance when you can.

Just my opinion anyway.

 

Jay must be gutted - he'd be a shoe-in if Vardy got a shot.

 

Doesn't really matter about players like Vardy, if U21s aren't available there's no harm in him being in the squad, although he won't ever be a regular, good experience for him.

 

Vardy will clearly never be an international class footballer and I see no reason why give him a cap on the basis of a few good games. But anyway, it doesn't really matter, so who cares.

 

Because we have seen him play poorly in so many international games already haven't we.......

 

I don't get your point. I've seen him in plenty of matches for his club, in which i saw some of his qualities, but also a lot of his limitations. He won't miraculously become a different player when playing for the national team.

And also, you don't get selected for the national team to get a chance to prove yourself. You get selected for the national team because you have already proven yourself playing for your club on a consistently high level.

 

1. He was a non-league player 3 years ago, so he has proved he has grown as a player as he has gained more experience. Why can't he improve on an international stage? Not saying he will, but some players step up for their country more than they do for their club. Look at Danny Welbeck for example.

2. In a first call up, of course you are being offered a chance to prove yourself. You are an unknown entity at international level, and you have to adapt to a new system, a new manager, a new environment, and new teammates.
When Wayne Rooney got his first call-up he had a chance to prove himself. When Theo Walcott got called up at 16, he had to prove himself, and so did Luke Shaw. In fact, I would say it is even more important for the likes of Austin and Vardy to prove themselves, as some people have already written them off as lower league journeyman.

All I'm saying is, let's see how he does in these games, and then we can have a better idea of how good he is.

 

I already have a very good idea of how good he is. As i said before, he won't become a different player. Welbeck in England's shirt is the same Welbeck that turns up for Arsenal. Townsend is the same headless chicken regardless of the team he plays for. They might be more succesful for the national team because, maybe, the formation suits them better so they have a better output, but they're the same players with exactly the same qualities. . Vardy will also be the same Vardy that turns up for Liecester. And that Vardy in my opinion will never be an international class footballer. I might be wrong, I'm not claiming to be infallible.

 

I think Punch should have been selected.

 

That's the way to do it.

 

Woy is clueless & will fall on his own sword soon enough.

 

Come on Ireland Nah will take a thumping as long as we beat the Scots

 

I'll be routing for the Tartan army. Sorry.

 

No probs....Whatever the score it will have to do a lot to surpass the tension of Celtic Park in November. If we don't win we're gone