Sterling and Zaha completely different cases to Lambert in that they have potentially 10+ years left of international football and the coaches probably wanted them to get a taste of what its like sooner rather than later. Wouldn't be at all surprised to see something similar to these 2 happen with Shaw To say that Davies only had one good year at Bolton is very harsh on him aswell
To be honest he may get the odd game here or there were there a shortage. However, as a Saints fan, I'd actually rather he didn't go off on international jaunts, get knackered, or worse, injured.
Well, the argument is that English refs are happier to allow the traditional "target man" role but it wouldn't work on the continent or the international stage.
Don't think it will happen unless they get an injury crisis, but who else would you want to have on the bench, when the opposition are tiring and a penalty shoot-out is looming?
Indeed. Rickie is also joint-sixth on the Englishman assist table behind only Gerrard, Walcott, Rooney, Lennon and our boy Lallana! Gerrard - 9 Walcott - 8 Rooney - 7 Lennon - 6 Lallana - 5 Lambert - 4 Baines - 4 Shorey - 4 Carrrick - 4 Johnson - 4
I wouldn't take the Olympics as any indicator for the England team. Cork was behind Ramsey in the pecking order in what was the England youth manager's team. that tells you that he is way way down the list because Ramsey wouldn't even be in Arsenal's first team if Wenger could attract a half decent replacement. Lambert should be though. I think Hodgson should be building a side solely for the next tournament whilst bring some of the future in. The way we are going at the moment we are going to get to the next World cup with the same old guard as before. And if going by the age argument being against him do people think Lampard, Gerrard, Parker, BArry etc are not going to Brazil? As for the not picking players on the strength of 1 good premier season...............Michael Ricketss anyone ?
Ramsey was an established premier league player, the captain of Wales, and had 20-odd caps! Of course he was ahead of Cork! But how many English players were ahead of him? I make it one, Cleverley, and he's already in the senior team. Cork is not far away, and his performances this season can only help his case.
If Cork was also at Man U, I'm sure he would already be in the England set up. However, for a player who plays in an unglamorous position for an unglamorous club, I would be very surprised if he got noticed any time soon. Of course, by merit, I believe he should be in contention, and Lambert certainly should. Lambert with Rooney playing just behind him IMO. Only other alternatives would be Defoe if he is on form at the time of the internationals, or perhaps Walcott, though he tends to be played on the wing for England.
Its all about who you play for, its pathetic. If the English Messi was playing for us he would be behind someone like Sterling because he wears a Liverpool badge
Well as I said, I believe he's already been noticed. He played for the under 21s after all, probably because he was on Chelsea's books at the time, but still, that (and a good season in the championship) got him into the Olympics team, and I'm sure he's still on their radar. Sterling got called up mainly because he's also eligible to play for Jamaica.
My feelings exactly. There is no point, though I hope he gets one so he can say he got a cap in his career. Undoubtedly quality as he is, I'd rather we put out a young England team that loses all our matches in Brazil in 2014, but is still together and a force to reckon with come 2016/18. Rickie is not a long-term option, and if he was playing with England regularly, think his legs might suffer quicker at Saints.
That's completely different - they are the spine of the team, with Gerrard and Lampard in particular providing much experience: you need them to bed young players in. Rickie would be older and new. He would bring nothing to the long-term prospects of the team - though in the short-term would of course by completely immense. Giving him the slot upfront would mean that at some point in a year or two, they have to bed someone completely new in - instead of doing that now and having a hopefully experienced young goal machine in there for 2016. Anyway, England don't deserve Rickie - he shouldn't tarnish his name with inferior footballing sides.
He's a decent player, but not on the same level for me as Rooney, Lambert, Walcott and Defoe. At least not yet. On that note, I disagree with the argument of young players being selected above slightly better older players on the basis that they will prove more effective in later years. 1) If we always did that we would never have a team for the present, which is totally counter-productive. Even in major tournaments some people would still advocate picking the likes of Carroll above Lambert, for the long-term. 2) For a player to improve their ability, 1 or 2 games for England will have a neglible impact. What really helps their development is good training facilities, at their club, and regular playing time, at their club. Yes, their first 2 or 3 England caps may show them what it is like to play with the pressure of representing your country, but this should not be the reason for choosing young players on a regular basis for their country, they cannot develop that much.
I think you've missed the point slightly, the idea of getting young players into the side is not that it will improve them, it's that they will get used to playing with each other and that will lead to improved performances. In much the same way that the core of the current Germany side, for example, has been together through age groups and play that much better as a result. That's not to say that older players will be ignored, Leon Osman got his first cap last year and the likes of Lampard and Gerrard are still regulars, but, similar to what we are trying to achieve at Southampton, the idea is that there will be a core of players who come through the youth system and play together in the first team.
England have been preparing for the next tournament for the last 20 years. It's not worked. It should be about who is currently the best player and in the best form. Italy always seem to have an aged experienced squad and its because they pick players for the present and its a big reason they have such a consistent record. Is Lambert good enough? He is the best lone striker in England at the moment because he is making things happen for himself and his team mates. Whilst Walcott & Defoe tend to rely on others. Sturridge is on good form, but none of his rivals offer that aerial option.
That said, Rickie is the sort of traditional center forward who'd likely make those pacey quasi-strikers look much better. Having a poacher in the middle with two players looking to get behind the back line doesn't work nearly as well as having someone in the center who will both draw attention and can play them in. Of course, they might get so spoiled by his presence that, upon international retirement, the England setup would be utterly unable to adjust to his loss.
