I'll be honest, I rated him at Sunderland but didn't watch many of Liverpool's games last season. I have seen more of him this season though, and he has been really good. I would start him and Gerrard for England tonight, and see if they can replicate their club form. If Henderson can add shooting to his game he will be a hell of a midfielder.
Sky Sports suggesting the line-up will be... ENGLAND: Hart; Johnson, Smalling, Cahill, Cole; Henderson, Gerrard; Sterling, Rooney, Lallana; Sturridge.
Well that's not a bad line-up considering the form the Liverpool players are in. Will be interesting to see if they can bring that form to the international stage. I still have my doubts about Sturridge at this level, he's really got to show he can do a job before the world cup in my opinion. I'd expect Shaw to get 45 minutes, will be very interesting to compare his performance to Cole's.
For quite some time now I've regarded "this level" as a step down from the PL/La Liga etc. With that in mind, I'm not sure what else Sturridge needs to do to justify a berth. He's clearly the most in form English striker.
Absolutely, the level England play at (and against) tends to be a lower level to that of the top domestic leagues. Still, Sturridge hasn't yet found his place in the England setup. I don't know if it's because of the different tactics and different players behind him, but he's not played particularly well for England to date. He has a lot to prove yet.
I agree with that. League and tournament footy are different beasts and some players just don't fit into a style that you can put together in two weeks of intense training. That's why I wouldn't want to pick someone who's just had a good six weeks of form for their team.
Agree with the above Joe & Qwerty but how so you know how they'll perform until they get to a tournament? League form is the only meaningful barometer otherwise Lineker would still be a shoe in!
ENGLAND: Hart; Johnson, Smalling, Cahill, Cole; Gerrard, Wilshere; Henderson, Rooney, Sterling; Sturridge.
DENMARK: Schmeichel; Jacobsen, Kjaer, Agger, Ankersen; Kvist, Sloth, Poulsen; Larsen, Krohn-Dehli, Bendtner.
Looks like a 4-3-3. Not too disappointed with the line up, to be honest. Lallana should be in there but I think Roy fancies him already and wants to check out sterling and Henderson.
