not a bad side. cleverley is looking good. shame welbeck got injured yesterday as he probably had a good chance of replacing nugent
Trouble is it'll be full of old timers. Hart Johnson Terry Ferdinand Cole Young Lampard Barry Milner Rooney Bent That'll be Fabio's lineup. Too old now.
Yep. I don't rate many of those at all tbh. The thing about this international break is - if players have the same attitude as Gary Neville had then I have to ask why I can't watch my team on Saturday, it's not on.
I used to think young was overated, but having seen him yesterday i'm starting to change my mind. would like to see him playing on left with johnson on right.
When he's on form he's top class, I just thought he was very inconsistent at Villa. He's coming into his prime so maybe he's ironed the inconsistency out, time will tell.
hart richards terry jones cole parker milner lampard walcott rooney young amazing how we all have such differing line ups!
Capello seems to like this 4-3-3 system with Rooney drifting from the left after it worked well against Wales because it allows us to not get out numbered in midfield like we did against Germany but still have Rooney playing off a main striker where he is at his best so I would guess he would go with that system. We can assume Terry will play as he is captain. I think Richards should play RB as he had a very good year at Man City and is now good both defending and attacking as opposed to just the latter. To partner Terry, I'd go Lescott because he's also had a great season with Man City and has started this season in the same manner and also has the added bonus over his rivals that he has played with Hart regularly and so they know each other's games well. For the midfield three, I think Parker is a shoo-in for the holding midfielders place and as for the other two, I think Lampard will probably be one as the midfield three will suit him more and allow him to make his trademark runs but I think it's time for Frank to perform in an England shirt like we know he can because there are guys coming through who are capable of taking his place which is good for him because he now knows he isn't an automatic pick. I'd be tempted to throw Cleverley in from the start but with Fabio's natural conservationism I think he'll play Barry instead because Sofia is a tough place to go to make your debut in a hostile environment in a situation that is alien to him so I'd be surprised if Cleverley started over Barry and to be fair to Gareth, he has started the season well for Man City. If it was a friendly I'd probably start Cleverley but as it isn't it'll probably be Barry to complete the trio with Cleverley on the bench to change things if they aren't going to plan/come on for 15-20 mins if we're winning comfortably. For the wingers, I think Young has moved up to a different level since being at United and it seems to have brought the best out of him and he's probably the best English winger right now. As I metioned, Rooney playing on the left but coming inside when we're attacking and allowing the space for Cole to make his forward runs which he doesn't do enough of for England IMO. I think we're far too rigid with positions in England. Rooney would be on the left when defending to keep team shape but then be given a free role in attack. Spain did exactly the same thing with Andres Iniesta in the World Cup: told to stay wide when defending but then when they were attacking he was allowed to go and get involved in field an he popped up all over the pitch. In fact he was probably the best player in the World Cup when playing this role. Muller did exactly the same for Germany. You have to be fluid when you're attacking and not be predictable as to where players will pop up. Keep rotating and alternating positions and keep the opposition guessing. Move them around into positions they don't want to be in which will create space for Rooney to exploit, for Lampard to exploit, for Young to exploit. Algeria was a great example of how predictable we are. They just sat back and there was no movement, no fluidity and no-one tried to get into different positions where Algeria didn't expect them to be. I'd go for Bent over Carroll in that number 9 position because Andy hasn't had the best of starts and doesn't look that sharp at Liverpool and I feel Bent's game will help Rooney who has played his best football when with Chicharito who always looks to run beyond and behind centre-backs and will stretch the play and allow Rooney more space in between the defence and midfield whereas Carroll is more static and unless the ball is played directly to him he struggles. Bent and Rooney worked well together against Wales. Hart Richards - Terry - Lescott - Cole Lampard - Parker - Barry Young - Bent - Rooney Subs: Green Smalling Baines Cleverley Downing Walcott Carroll I think we'll get a hard-fought win in Sofia and then put four or five past Wales at Wembley.
