Sorry Dave/Maestro I wanted a separate thread for this. This my opinion on the 23-man squad for the Euros Hart - best English 'keeper we've got, easily number 1 Green - only been playing at Championship level this season, but who else is there? Ruddy - delighted that he's been picked, great season for Norwich Baines - good enough left-back, not much to say on him Cahill - decent centre-back, deserves call up in my opinion A Cole - world class left-back, best choice for that position G Johnson - would rather have Walker but he's injured Jones - quiet season, but could be great for England in the future Lescott - good defender, performed well and kept his place in the title winning Manchester City squad Terry - good defender, don't like him, not sure if it is sensible to call him when there is a trial shortly after the tournament. Barry - not much to say on him, seems like one of our better defensive midfielders Downing - overrated, awful season, doesn't deserve place in England squad Gerrard - does alright for England, could perform better Lampard - good player but, again, could perform better Milner - underrated in my opinion does a good enough job for England Oxlade-Chamberlain - looks promising, good experience for him Parker - can perform well, may be a bit over-hyped Walcott - poor season Young - decent winger that has improved brilliantly over the last few years, don't want to see him diving at the Euros though Carroll - rubbish season but has been good the last couple of games, hope he can continue this form over the Euros but I feel he won't be able to Defoe - in and out of Tottenham squad, hasn't been good enough Rooney - best striker by far, deserves place despite being suspended for the first two games Welbeck - good potential, but hasn't been at his best this season Back up - Butland has good potentia but who else is there for England 'keeper? Jagielka has been fairly quiet this season along with Sturridge. Henderson has had an awful season and A Johnson deserves a place in the England squad far more than Downing. Missed out - Richards, decent right back and can play centre back, more experienced than Jones. Holt, perhaps deserves his place ahead of Carroll but will have to wait and see if Carroll can continue his recent form despite Holt performing well throughout the season. Crouch has a fantastic goal scoring record for England which would be helpful for England. Ferdinand hasn't had a great season and too many injuries. I also feel Osman deserves his place in England, I keep on forgetting about him which probably explains why. The media just let him fade into the background yet he has performed well for a number of seasons now. These are just my opinions. What do you guys think?
Interesting point about Young. If he dives and wins us the crucial penalty to get us through to a subsequent round, I wonder how many people will be complaining? Sadly, diving is now a part of the sport, and until FIFA try and stamp it out, it'll continue to happen. I don't think many fans like it as an aspect of football, but whilst other countries do it, we'll probably have to follow suit to avoid losing out.
I think it is what was expected. Really England has very few international quality players to chose from. That been said there are some shocking errors imo. The trio of Liverpool players (excluding Gerrard) don't deserve their place and there are better available. They are in based on their transfer fee and stature of their club. It is sad that unlike the rest of Europe we pick players based on reputation/transfer fee rather than performance and until this is addressed we will have little success. There is a prejudice against those teams outside the "big six". Yes you would expect more players from the better performing teams, however, many players miss out based on who they play for. The best example of this is perhaps Osman at Everton. Played brilliantly for them for several seasons, is skill-full and versatile yet is never even considered. There is also a bad precedent set suggesting if you play well for a few games you are in contention, which of course should not be the case. In international football you want those who are consistently good over a substantial period of time not good every 1 in 5 games. After all that is perhaps the biggest difference between top teams and average teams, the consistency of performance. Seems there was an opportunity missed to change the way England run the national team and it has sadly been missed. I don't so much blame Hodgeson as the English culture toward selecting the national side. Still maybe I'm wrong and they will win it, but I highly doubt it
I don't think Hodgson could really do much else. He's only had a few days in the job. Get the Euros out of the way and maybe he'll sort it out properly.
Yeah I agree to a certain extent. He could of changed things, but if they didn't work that would be it for him. This way it gives him more time. I really hope he does change things after though. Really it started with the FA taking so bloody long to appoint someone
Hart - World Class Green - finished Ruddy - OK Baines - crap Cahill - crap A Cole - vastly overated G Johnson - cannot defend Jones - touch of an elephant, straight lines a must, Steven Gerrard Mark II Lescott - rubbish Terry - Well and truly past it, hopeless when theres space around him Barry - bog standard midfielder, dull to watch Downing - Doesn't warrant conversation Gerrard - Well past it should be retired for better and more interesting players Lampard - I like Lampard, much better than Gerrard Milner - sluggish in mind and movement, the English Iniesta Oxlade-Chamberlain - looks promising, Parker - I like Parker, probably our second best player in my book Walcott - Better than what others think Young - OK, one footed though Carroll - Never has it been more embarrassing to be English a truly majestic gaffe in PR to young footballers to think that this tripe can play International footall Defoe -One trick pony Rooney - best striker by far, lousy touch and control cannot go more than 3 seconds before he just HAS to give the ball away Welbeck - Over reliant on physical attributes (aren't they all??)
i've been talking up leon osman for a couple of years now. i really like him and think he is a great team player. versatile too, a bit like milner but better attacking player than milner. he's played about 300 games for everton and at 30, is in the prime of his career. he scores goals and creates them, works hard too. i have never been able to understand why the guy never gets a mention for international recognition but as we know, if you're not favoured in the media, you won't be picked. simple as.
Maybe he should assault someone or drink drive to get some media attention in order to boost his chances. He is almost too consistently good for his own good.
Stuart Downing's inclusion is mind boggling, he's literally been crap. Someone told me he's not made an assist all season, shocking. I'd rather stick a tin of tuna in the midfield... I also cannot believe Micah Richards has been left out, surely he's better than Johnson? Are we going to have another failed attempt at trying to get Lampard and Gerrard to work together? I hope not. I don't see the point in taking Defoe, there were better impact players we could have taken... (cough) He offers very little other than poaching and he's not been so great at that lately. I can't be bothered to talk about Barry, I'll just say the Germans exposed him for what he is in the WC along with that dirty **** Terry. No Carroll or Holt is just moronic in my opinion. I can't be bothered to go over the Holt issue again, people know how I feel, we all feel the same. Positives: Oxlade is an exciting prospect, I predict him to shine. Parker will do a good job Also I think that...umm actually that's it.
Osman has scored more and provided more assists than Downing and he is a far better player. Downing also cost Liverpool £20mill. How the heck can it be justified that Downing should be played for England. Even Adam Johnson deserves a call up.
That is the exact reason he was selected. Big money transfer and plays for a "big" club. Not sure I agree with the calls for Johnson although clearly he is better than Downing. If we were playing 3 up front I would take him but he is very poor defensively and doesn't track back enough for a 451 or 442. He is very talented going forward though and always has a goal or assist in him. Similarly to many English players he is quite poor tactically and this I feel is often where many of our talented players fall down compared to many other European nations.
IMO, Downing is only in the squad because he's a left footed winger. What other possible reason could there be?
Yep and I guess because he has played more games than jonhson This season Hang on - no assists and no goals all season and 68 shots I heard are his stats
