If I was taking a United striker, it would've been Rashford instead of Rooney - not both of them. But Captain Neanderthal is nigh-undroppable, having single-handedly carried England's hopes on his broad shoulders since he was a wee lad in 2004. Shocking that Antonio and Cresswell missed out. And the less said about the 3 CB's the better. If one of Cahill or Smalling picks up an injury, we have the prospect of John Stones trying to hold the line against Gareth Bale. Huzzah and hurrah. And the inclusions of Delph and Wilshere verge on the insane, especially in the latter's case. Mark Noble must be seething.
INGURLUUUND Goalkeepers Joe Hart, Fraser Forster, Tom Heaton Defenders Nathaniel Clyne, Kyle Walker, Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling, John Stones, Ryan Bertrand, Danny Rose Midfielders Dele Alli, Ross Barkley, Fabian Delph, Eric Dier, Danny Drinkwater, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, James Milner, Raheem Sterling, Andros Townsend, Jack Wilshere Strikers Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Jamie Vardy
Great seeing the five Spurs lads in there. Feel very sorry for Defoe, thought he'd be in with a chance. Wilshere's selection dumbfounds me, selection should be based on performances in the league and Wilshere has about 1 and a half games. Stones too doesn't deserve selection. Shawcross, Dann and Tomkins have all had better seasons. Delph also doesn't justify his inclusion. Noble has been far better. Gotta say though despite a few questionable selections it is a decent looking squad and I like the fact it's quite youthful, Baines and Jagielka missing out are surprises as I thought Woy loved those two for some reason or another, while Walcott has always managed to find a spot despite being ****.
IMHO Rashford has earned a wildcard slot. Who knows, perhaps this will be his equivalent of Rooneys' 2004. All CB pairings are suspect, so you need to take MF grafters who will protect them for 90 mins. Saw some fan blurb about Noble being too old etc but there is such a thing as subs. Wilshere : enough said. Sterling : Dele Alli has raised the bar so you will need to front up this summer now.
Pony Carroll is an interesting one. On form + he offers an aerial dimension. Perhaps a debate there for saying Sturridge and Vardy are too similar, and only one has been on fire this season.
Imagine having a good season like Noble has and being left out for someone that's barely set foot on a pitch. I doubt that Hodgson's going to be getting a Christmas card from him.
3 centre backs?! That's absolutely crazy for a 26 man squad. It's our weakest area so we should be making sure we have as many options as possible. Rashford is a total waste of time. Even if 3 of the other 4 strikers got injured I'd rather see the one remainder start up top on their own than pin our hopes on a totally inexperienced youngster. It's a Walcott decision rather than a Alli/Rooney decision, where they might be young but have proven themselves. I totally get the case for taking players that are out of form, running it close with injury recovery or just plain injury-prone but the squad is absolutely full of them. Injury-prone: Walker, Wilshere, Sturridge. Injured/unfit: Henderson, Wilshere, Rooney. Out of form: Stones, Cahill, Delph, Sterling, Henderson, Barkley(I'd argue), Rooney. Totally inexperienced: Rashford. I'm not going to predict doom because there's still a lot of quality in the squad but Roy's taking a lot of gambles.
I think that your second paragraph helps to explain your first, NKNG. I don't agree with Hodgson's selection or his thinking, but I believe that he sees Dier as emergency cover at centre-half. That allows him some space to pick a few crocks that he rates highly and is willing to take a risk on.
3 CBs is crazy. I mean, I get that you can play Dier there in an emergency and start Drinkwater at DM instead but still. I'd have taken Defoe instead of Sturridge personally. Wilshere was inevitable. Stones is a decision I back but not to start. Rashford has earned his wildcard slot as others have said but what about City's youngster who's name I cannot spell? You all know the one I mean. Came on against us at their place. Has he not done as much if not more? From that lot I'd start Hart Walker Cahill Smalling Rose Dier Lallana Alli Barkley Kane Vardy You've got Townsend and Sterling to come on and speed the game up if you need, as well as strikers on the bench who could bring fresh legs. And Drinkwater standing by to come on for one of the strikers and hold down midfield if our unusually sub-par defence is looking as leaky as I fear it might against most teams.
Of the squad that's been selected, my side to face Russia would be: Hart Walker, Cahill, Smalling, Rose Dier, Rooney Townsend, Alli, Vardy Kane It's very Spurs-biased but I genuinely feel all five of our lads are the best players in their positions, while our former yid Andros has often been excellent when in an England shirt. I prefer the idea of going with pace more-so than technical ability for this tournament. With the likes of Walker, Rose, Townsend and Vardy (plus Sterling too) bombing at you, coupled with the skill of Rooney, Alli and Kane, it's a very good mix in my opinion and has the ability and potential to cause the best of sides a problem. I think Woy would be made if he fielded a midfield that had too many players like Lallana, Wilshere, Milner, Drinkwater and Barkley, they'd be technically outclassed when up against a side like Spain, Belgium, France or Germany so speed is the definite angle for me. EDIT: Could also switch a to a 4-4-2 with Vardy joining Kane up top and Alli going to the left.
I can only think that Hodgson doesn't see Dier as a starter, else why would he want to have to make 2 changes, rather than 1 if Dier has to fill in a centreback. That worries me as I can't see Drinkwater starting either and despite Wilshere doing okay in a holding role against some mediocre international opposition, he really isn't naturally suited to a holding role and neither is anyone else in the squad. But the biggest problem I have is that there's no backup in the defence for the squad. In my view, Shawcross should be in there and if not him then Jagielka, if we get a late injury in defence we'll have to get someone off their holiday rather than a player that's been getting ready for a summer tournament with the rest of the squad. The number of players with injury problems is a seperate issue, in my opinion but one that presents the same problem. We're dropping 3 players at the end of the month but given the number of players with injury problems it could well be that 2, or even 3 of those decisions are taken from us. Really though, it just doesn't sit right with me that we're going into yet another tournament without learning from our mistakes. We've taken risks on injured players before, we've selected captains before when they haven't warranted it, we've picked youngsters who have barely played at the top level and we've picked players based on favouritism and what club they play for. None of these things have ever worked. We might be building a new, young and exciting team but it's being built in the image of the past failures who never achieved their potential. I expect we'll get the same results, performing just well enough to avoid an overhaul whilst never doing enough achieve anything of note.
Agreed with most of that. Would love to see Vardy and Kane up front and I like your full backs. However, having watched most of Leicester and Drinkwater this season, I wouldn't put him in the same mould as some of the others. If in the side he'd play quick balls for Vardy, Kane, the full backs to get onto. We need to hit with speed and not slow play down like Rooney amongst others always do
I agree. People always say international football's slower so we can't play with the pace you see in the Premier League. The Germany game made that a lie, get 11 hungry players out there and watch them play without fear. I'd like to see a 4231 but I think a 433 would work better. Have Vardy and Kane switching roles from striker to left wing, Kane's shown he's a danger cutting inside from the left and Vardy can work the channels as well as anyone, whilst everyone's seen how good they are as strikers. The defence is a problem though so having Dier play his role as a screen that can drop back into defence whilst Alii runs everywhere and Drinkwater helps break up play and get the ball moving forward again. Seems like a good mix, the problem is it's not very experienced. Still, it would be a lot more fun and exciting than watching 11 experienced internationals play like nervous wrecks, trying to scrape through one game at a time.
Exactly, if we are to fall short, why not do it playing a group of hungry players rather than the same old failures. I'd like the below but the concern would be if it's too narrow Hart Walker Cahill Smalling Rose Dier Drinkwater Rooney/Alli Rooney/Alli Kane Vardy I'm not sure who would work best at the head of a diamond out of Alli of Rooney
Certainly wouldn't be against that, he's earned a starting spot over most. Just for the record I wasn't having a dig when I put Drinkwater in that list as I think he's been great, just that Woy tends to go with more slower, technical guys in the tournaments and I think that if say Wilshere, Drinkwater, Milner and Lallana were all in a starting XI it just wouldn't work as they're not as technically good as the French, German's and Spanish. Have Dier help break up the play, Drinkwater/ Rooney to get balls forward and the likes of Townsend, Vardy, Alli and the full backs can all break at pace while Kane will be there to lead the line. We finally have an exciting bunch of players that could restore some pride to us on the international scene after years of flops, my only concern is that Woy being the dinosaur that he is just won't take the risk and go with this absolute myth that the experienced players (aka failures) will be the better options. The defence is my biggest concern anyway, I just don't rate Cahill or Smalling, when you look at international partnerships, such as Hummels and Boateng, Pigue and Ramos, Chiellini and Bonucci, Varane and Koscielny and even a Belgium without Kompany could see a Toby and Jan pairing... All those eclipse our two astronomically, it's beyond a joke that we'll have to rely on them. I'm a big fan of Shawcross and Dann, still not as good as the other European CB's I've mentioned but better than Cahill & Smalling in my opinion, just don't get why neither get the recognition from Hodgson, probably because they're not at a "big club".
