It is fair and square, I wasn't offering to injure them myself Luke! I agree with your sentiment though. Whoever wins it out of Spurs or Lesta will already have to face rubbish like, these teams only won it because the other teams played crap, the league is in decline etc etc.
He seems like one of them players to me. What he does for club won't cut it at international level. You need more about you....I don't think he has it. like John O Shea.....he's won about 9 league titles. He's so **** when not helped by decent players around him.
Kante plays the Dier role for the champions-elect, and bloody well I might add. I didn't watch the match as not enough Spurs players featured, but as soon as I saw the line up I was a bit perplexed as that defense sorely needed cover, but Roy decided to go with two 'neither here nor there; midfielders in Milner and Drinkwater. On paper, and no offence meant to Danny and Kyle, but that back line would struggle to make the top 6 in the PL and will be utterly slaughtered come the Euros.
If I were Hodgson I would build my team as Spurs lite, and play both FBs, along with Dier, Alli and Kane (though Clyne looks good going forward). National teams with a club base are more coherent. I’d also play Drinkwater and Vardy. The remaining midfielder could be Welbeck, whose movement and running would fit in, or perhaps Sturridge. Barkley doesn’t know the meaning of the word team from what I’ve seen. Walcott, who at least has pace, would be a better choice. Now if only there were a couple of decent CBs. Smalling has looked the best of an awful bunch this week.
If Clyne and Walker are much of a muchness as to who will play then surely Walker must play as there will be more Spurs players in the first XI. That would bring more to the TEAM (the bit that international managers seem to forget when trying to shoehorn the "best" players in the wrong positions). Of course given Hodgson's bizarre selection policy, there may well be more Liverpool players!
England looked dire without Dier (I've done it again!), Alli and Kane. There was no potency though that's to be expected when players like Lallana, Milner and Drinkwater all in the same 11, they're good players don't get me wrong but they're the type of players that rarely make the headlines with match winning moments or flashes of brilliance, they've got no pace, average creativity and very little goals in them, so it's somewhat created a spine of nothingness to it, Hodgson being the dinosaur he is though probably enjoyed their performance as that's the sort of **** he likes. Spurs bias or not, England looked much better with our lads in the starting XI against the world champions and if Hodgson's got even half a brain cell of footballing intelligence, then Alli, Dier and Kane should be nailed on for a start against Russia while Rose and Walker have to be in strong contention too (though Clyne, Shaw and Bertrand make good cases). Hart Walker, Dann, Shawcross, Rose Dier, Henderson Sterling, Alli, Vardy Kane Would be my choice, although the two CB's have no chance so will probably be Cahill and Jagielka.
The idiot will probably select more Arsenal players knowing his logic, especially as all of them haven't or barely featured for their club - Gibbs, Chambers, Wheelchair, Oxo-cube and Walcott.
If last night showed us anything it's that Barkley, Stones and Milner should be nowhere near the Euros squad.
The selection is utterly irrelevant. There isn't a combination of 4 defenders that comes close to resembling a competent back line at international level. We'll probably be ok in the group stage but as soon as we come up against anyone with an above-average attack force, we're screwed. The only real course of action for Roy is to just aim to at least go out in a blaze of glory rather than the traditional whimper. Exciting, flowing football is a must and I think the fans will be far more forgiving. To accomplish this, he should look no further than the group of players who play for a team whose motto is 'the game is about the glory'.
That is why Dier is so vital to England. The only proper holding midfielder in contention and can drop in to a 3 when the full backs get caught up field.
I'd say nowhere near the starting XI but I'd definitely have Barkely and probably Milner in the squad. Barkley's had a great season and although he's not done it in the three lions shirt, I think there's still a quality player ready to shine for his country at some point. Whereas Milner is OK to bring on to help preserve a lead as he's a bit of a work horse and won't mind a bit of hard graft, although he wouldn't be missed if he didn't get in the squad it has to be said. Stones needs to do a LOT more for Everton if he wants to get a ticket to France because right now he wouldn't justify an inclusion, thinking of it, how did he even get selected over Dann and Shawcross for the friendlies? Oh yeah... Roy Hodgson is our manager.
All I do know is that a decent defensive MF is essential to protect whatever CB pairing Woy goes with this summer. Whether Dier is top class in this role is another story, but IMHO he is the best English player currently available who can play the role.
England have almost always been poor at major tournaments when the opposition team has the ball. Look at the last WC. We played quite well in the first half v Italy and frightened them with pace up front. But when the game settled down and Pirlo got on the ball, we had little possession and it was only a matter of time before the Italians opened up our defence and scored the winning goal. I see little to encourage me that England will be any better equipped to cope against teams able to retain possession. Whilst the forward play was good at times against both Germany and Holland, the bottom line is that England conceded 4 goals easily in 2 games and never looked solid defensively whoever played. Dier would play for me because England need protection for the back four. I'd play another holding player alongside him, who is comfortable on the ball and can turn defence into attack quickly with long passes. Carrick would be an option if he was younger. Like it or not England need to play like Leicester. Get men behind the ball and close down space when the opposition have the ball and be quick to attack with long balls to runners in wide areas - Welbeck, Vardy, Sterling etc when in possession.
No injuries I have heard about although Toby didn't travel to Portugal due to illness, hope he recovers fully for the weekend. please log in to view this image BelgianRedDevils ✔ @BelRedDevils .@AlderweireldTob still feeling ill. He will not travel to Portugal. Get well soon Toby! #porbel 28 Mar
