I apologise for this not being Fulham related, but having watched England play last night I am not convinced he should be in the starting eleven or at least not in the supporting striker role. I should point out that I think he is a world class player and we are lucky to have him, but he just looked out of place last night against Peru. When Sterling came on we looked a different threat all together. Fair enough Sterling came on late in the game but he looked to turn players and his passing gave us much more attacking options. He has scored 10 in his last 15 games for England so clearly is a valuable player to have. Maybe he should be starting as the striker instead of Sturridge. My gut feeling is that both he and Sturridge can change a game on their day. Thinking about it though, Rooney does take up better positions as a striker. So many decisions for Roy to make. On the plus side Lallana and Wellbeck were excellent, as was Sterling when he came on.
All the talk of 'does Roy have the guts to drop Rooney' that Scholes started is a bit silly. Roy's too good a manager to be swayed by reputations if something's wrong. I know everyone hates Jimmy Bullard now, but when Roy sold him he was the darling of the discussion boards. Do you remember the outrage when Roy let him go to Hull and replaced him with Dickson Etuhu? 18 months later we were in a European final, with Dickson a vital part of the side. I know there's a big difference between Wayne Rooney and Jimmy Bullard, but the point is the same - he let a star player go, replaced him with an unexciting plodder, but produced a major improvement in the team as a result. Trust in Roy.
Rooney certainly didn’t look very sharp last night, and even a tad tubby. Mind England’s slow play and passing back and sideways in the first half , while perhaps having a tactical purpose, didn’t do him any favours. In my view Roy has a straight choice of either playing him or Lallana in the No.10 position. And on current form it’s difficult not to give Lallana the nod. Not wishing to highjack a ‘Rooney’ thread but thought Glen Johnson was/is a decided weak link in the England team.
He's passed his Sell-by date. Scholes said it and it's been true for about two years. Yes, he's like 28 years old, but he's been playing EPL football since he was 17. That's a load of miles on those legs. I'd bench him. I'm not sure Roy will, given the second-guessing that will happen in the UK press, but he's not at his best. Actually, I think this will be the Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere show in 2014.
Agreed about Glen Johnson. He gave the ball away a lot and got turned far too easily, trouble is there are not many alternatives
I think Roy could well dare to take him, but on the bench. Pity that then gets the ire of the press. He did not link well up-front - it just did not work. My concern on Friday was also that Welbeck was not great either. Crazy, but thats why Raheem Sterling was well received. England are supposed to have some creativity in the middle and up-front, but it does not gel. One advantage was that it dragged the Peru defence into the centre (which bettter teams won't do) which opened up the for the diagonal ball to Johnson and Baines. An aside on Jimmy Bullard - especially towards the end, EVERYTHING had to flow through him which made us Fulham too predicatable and stifled outher outlets. COYW
