If he has a good World Cup I really think we are going to struggle to hold onto him. He's coming up on 26, and if we aren't looking to push on this summer then I'm going to find it hard to begrudge him his shot at CL football with a bigger club. It really hurts me to say that as I'm almost as big an Adam Lallana fan as I am Southampton fan.
Pretty dire as a spectacle from a pretty unambitious Denmark. Gerrard did well in midfield, but it's still a question of who plays alongside him. We didn't have to do much defending, but Henderson & Wilshere didn't grab the game and were largely disappointing. We definitely can't play with largely attacking players against the better teams as we won't enjoy nearly as much possession. Personally I think someone like Noble, Cork or Barry should be in the squad to win the ball back and get the ball to Gerrard or to the wingers. Rooney looked bereft of confidence and slow on the ball & I thought Lambert was suffering from a lack of form. It was frustrating as someone else could have done with Roooney's playing time as he went through the motions. Cole probably did enough on tonight evidence, but if he continues to not play for Chelsea then Shaw proved he can easily do a job.
Liked the bit in the Lallana video (apparently recorded in a tin bath filling with water ) where he said that Luke didn't need his praise when he was receiving it from Rooney and Gerrard. Also nice that Gerrard gave Luke an early ball to settle him. Our lads have remarked before that the experienced England players really try and help new boys feel at home. Nice to hear. Can see Shaw getting into the next squad of 30 as the back up player, but I still reckon Roy will go for Baines and Cole. All Luke can do is carry on as he is doing and keep his fingers crossed. Lallana should be a shoe in. We are so short of striking options that I can see Rickie going as back up and impact sub. Wouldn't read too much into the fact he didn't play tonight...other certainties didn't as well...Roy knows all he needs to know about SRL. Have to differ with those criticising Rooney. He may have good and bad games, but I have never seen him not care or not work hard. He keeps having to play deeper than even he likes because of the lack of supply. He is one of the few top players that England have, but basically the team just isn't that good and he can't make up for others deficiencies and shine at the same time. Play Adam from the start is my advice to Roy.
To be fair to Rooney, the team selection didn't help him. Sturridge was played out of position, and kept coming inside, so Rooney ended up playing wide to cover him. All he actually did, however, was blast a few shots high over the bar. On the Cole/Shaw debate, I honestly can't see how Roy can leave Shaw behind. He has watched him several times this season and knows what he will get if he takes him. On top of that, he will grow into the England team just as he has grown into the Southampton side in the last year or so. Cole, good as he has been in the past, is in his last year or two as a top player. The big question really is: is Hodgson hoping to win the World Cup this time, or is he building the next generation of England players? If it's the latter, then Shaw has to go. Mind you, on that basis, so would Calum Chambers, Harry Reed, and JWP, not to mention Ross Barkley and John Stones.
Lallana said recently that he thinks staying at Saints has helped his career as he has played so much at different levels. He thought he wouldn't have got so much experience elsewhere. Nice to know that not every player thinks you have to move on early to progress. Hope he's passing that message on to the younger players.
No time to read the last several pages but I guess the consensus is that Adam will now have to play himself off of the plane and that Roy's selection process goes something like: Rooney, Lallana + 21 others.
Adam's clearly motivated by a love of the game, and probably views the success of his career more in terms of football than finance. Sooner or later though, even if money isn't a consideration, he'll probably want to win something. Reminds me of a conversation I had with an arsenal supporting mate some years ago. I insisted that LeTiss appeared to genuinely have no regrets about his career, to which my mate replied "what does he say when people ask, 'show us your medals Matty'?" Mind you, I suppose you could ask Theo Walcott the same question as things stand.
Matty may not have medals, but he has the respect of everyone in the game. They all know he was a great player...medals are just the gilt on the gingerbread. We all know some of the great players in the world...can we list their medals? We know about England's WC heroes, but that is because of rarity value. A Champion's League medal wouldn't make anyone think higher of Tiss. Matty said he was happy and had all the money he needed...nothing wrong with that.
I'd love to think that is true and in part it certainly is. But he often gets ignored when talking about world or even Premier League greats (admittedly, we are mostly talking media here). People talk about Giggs and Scholes as being 'great', maybe they were but much of it is based on the fact that they won so many medals. I cannot believe that either one of them would be considered a great had they played for Southampton. To reach the heights that Tiss did in a what was, lets face it, a poor team for the most part, is surely beyond the reach of most mortals. For that he should really be talked about in the same sentences as Pele and Messi etc but he never will be. Of course, Tom Finney never won anything but his world fame came about because of his England exploits. Matty was even denied that.
I don't like the 4-3-3 formation. Sturridge has to be the no. 9 but in the first half he was back defending with Cole. I feel that a 4-2-3-1 (Sort of like Saints) formation would suit England. Have Rooney playing the 10 role with Sturridge up top with a selection of players to play either side of Rooney. Lallana and Sterling would be my starters with the 2 switching positions.
Thought Henderson had a very poor game last night, along with Wilshire. Welbeck plays better for England than he does for his club - consistently - but he strikes me as a very selfish player. Too often cutting inside for the shot when a pss to the wing would have produced a good cross.
Wilshere's out for six weeks with a broken foot. Think his mediocre display may be forgivable given that.
Also, won't help Arsenal's imminent decline, and makes the decision not to sub him at the time seem strange. I'm sure Wenger will understand though
