The World Cup thread

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Played 38 times this year tho, people always want people picked on current form , so surely past injury problems shouldn't come into it . I aren't that bothered , I aren't a fan of much Arsenal but I would have taken him , he has ability on the ball which most of our midfielders don't
Personally I think he flatters to deceive. Seems more important looking good than the reality.
Doubt he'd stand up to a tournament.
 
Nice one Southgate. 2 good omissions so far that most would agree with.

I hope when the full squad is announced he's picked the right players. Too often previous managers would go with the same old under-performing players purely on their name or the club they play for. It should always be on merit. Im hoping 1 or 2 youngsters will be taken, even if they dont get minutes it'll be an experience for them to prepare them for future tournaments, id take Sessegnon.
 
Huddlestone anyone? Joe Bernstein from the Daily Mail seems to think so.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...Sportsmail-reporters-decide-theyd-Russia.html

Pickford, Hart, Pope; Walker, Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Jones, Cahill, Smalling, Dier, Bertrand, Young; Sterling, Rashford, Lingard, Henderson, Alli, Loftus-Cheek, Huddlestone, Grealish; Kane, Vardy, Carroll

Go for experience in defence and match-winners in attack. Chris Smalling, Cahill and Ryan Bertrand have won European finals, that counts. Advanced squad players should have different attributes to starters Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Dele Alli.

Andy Carroll is the best English header, Tom Huddlestone the best passer and Jack Grealish the best dribbler. Wild cards are good for knockout football. Doesn't matter if they're injury-prone or in the Championship.
 
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However good he is he's unreliable injury wise. Southgate can't build a team around him if he gets crocked. Would rather he went for Jonjo Shelvey for example.

It seems Delph is the player most likely to take Wilshere’s place. Although who else Southgate picks will be a mystery?
We have lots of average players in good teams, but put them in an England shirt & they’re a bunch of average players in an average team.
Who’s this guy that’s playing in Germany that I’ve heard people talking about, Dancho or something?

I’ve also seen Lookman get mentioned, seems he had a good season in Germany too!
 
It seems Delph is the player most likely to take Wilshere’s place. Although who else Southgate picks will be a mystery?
We have lots of average players in good teams, but put them in an England shirt & they’re a bunch of average players in an average team.
Who’s this guy that’s playing in Germany that I’ve heard people talking about, Dancho or something?

I’ve also seen Lookman get mentioned, seems he had a good season in Germany too!

Yep.

We've also got an U17 team that spectacularly won their age group World Cup. I can only think of Foden (Man City), Brewster (Lpool) and Sancho (Dortmund), the rest?

But they don't get played, or sparingly. They're the future but Southgate can't / won't play them .... scared .... to fail / the media reaction / the public reaction. So he reverts to type and plays safe - ish with average players from average teams.

Bottom line = money.

Premier League is dominated or blinded by it. And talent gets suppressed and we limp at just after group stage or quarter finals.
 
Yep.

We've also got an U17 team that spectacularly won their age group World Cup. I can only think of Foden (Man City), Brewster (Lpool) and Sancho (Dortmund), the rest?

But they don't get played, or sparingly. They're the future but Southgate can't / won't play them .... scared .... to fail / the media reaction / the public reaction. So he reverts to type and plays safe - ish with average players from average teams.

Bottom line = money.

Premier League is dominated or blinded by it. And talent gets suppressed and we limp at just after group stage or quarter finals.

You expect a load of lads who won an U17 competition six months ago, to all have made it already?
 
You expect a load of lads who won an U17 competition six months ago, to all have made it already?

Why not?

Phil Foden was considered the best in the World (for his age) in October.

How or when will he be good enough to play for Man City regularly? Same goes for the rest of the World beaters.

Answer is they won't because they will always be subservient to the £££££ player (his agent), that managers are **** scared to drop and piss off owners and sponsors.

Presumably you take the Alan Hansen viewpoint of of how effective youth is.....
 
Presumably you take the Alan Hansen viewpoint of of how effective youth is.....

I take the view that expecting a team of kids to have all made it already is ridiculous, some of them were 16 and had only signed professional contracts the summer before the tournament.

As for Foden, he's at by far the best team in the country this season, it's obviously going to be difficult to get straight into the team at his age. Though despite this, he was still the youngest ever English player to play in the Champions League, then youngest ever English player to start a Champions League game and the youngest ever English player to win a Premier League winners medal.

Many of the players in that U17's World Cup squad will go on to have fantastic careers in the game, expecting them all to have done so already, is bonkers.