England Squad

[Mason 47 1,379]

Not a great squad by England standards. That said, England standards are probably a lot higher than our standing in world football is in reality.Ruddy should be in there. He is the second-best performing English keeper this season and there''s no better time to get him in and around the system.

[star_manic 0]

[quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]

[quote user="star_manic"]i think they have missed a trick in not giving holt a tryout. o.k. it may not be sucessful, but if you don''t try you will never know. and carson over ruddy is just plain stupid.[/quote]

You must be a kean follower of Turkish football to know how Carson is getting on then.

 

Holt is now too old to put in the squad for a first time.

[/quote].........why? just the sort of game to see if he can perform at that level.

[Indy_Bones 441]

[quote user="Mason 47"]Not a great squad by England standards. That said, England standards are probably a lot higher than our standing in world football is in reality.Ruddy should be in there. He is the second-best performing English keeper this season and there''s no better time to get him in and around the system.[/quote]Some of the squad is pretty good, I''m personally quite pleased with the selections at the back, it''s the other areas I''m disappointed with.Players like Rooney and Gerrard are always going to be picked regardless of form etc, it''s the choices such as Downing, Campbell and Carson that annoy me, especially when we have perfectly good players who''ve been excellent all season who don''t even get a look in.Carson in particular has failed to live up to his potential outside of 1 good season in the prem, is now playing in a pretty poor league over in Turkey and still somehow gets the nod over Ruddy who''s played extremely well all season.You watch, in another 5 years we''ll be moaning all over again as yet more good players are totally ignored because they don''t play for ''fashionable'' or ''big name'' clubs, whilst we trot out a 42 year old Beckham instead...

[BroadstairsR 2,164]

I''d pick Holt for the Euros as a one off. The alternatives are not that great IMO. Darren Bent, the probable favourite, scores well when well-fed but contributes little apart from this. The rest just have flashy moments when on the international stage, but there are no ''true geats'' amongst any of them. Not a Keegan or a Linekar in sight. 

 

I definately do not fancy England''s chances in this tournament at all so the thought of our Grant rampaging around those unsuspecting foreigners might just stir things up a bit. It would engender a lot of interest, and not just amongst us Canaries. It was even suggested to me by an Everton supporting friend of mine.

Won''t happen though unpredictability and risk-taking ain''t allowed by the FA, hence Pearce''s selection and selections.

 

Our ''Arry can be a little unconventional at times though. Erm?

[Shack Attack 0]

If you look at the relative merits of Holt and Ruddy then I think the latter can feel justifiably agrieved at missing out. I don''t watch Turkish football so I can''t comment on Scott Carson but surely he deserves a spot ahead of Greeno? I appreciate that Pearce hasn''t had much time to pick a squad and probably isn''t that concerned with who is the third choice keeper but it wouldn''t have hurt to have him in so the coaches could have a look at him in training. I''d love to see Holty in there but I don''t think it will ever happen. Kevin Davies had a couple of games a year or so back but that was a fairly short lived experiment. Holty is a better all round striker than Davies for me (he''s not the battering ram that so many in the media like to characterise him as) but there are similarities in their style that suggest he would have a similarly shortlived international career.

 

Stewart Downing though? Really?

[delta bravo 0]

The whole England setup is a complete farce, i won''t even be watching the England game next week and as a proud Englishman it hurts me to say that I hope we get thrashed.  I also hope we get knocked out in the Group stages of the Euro''s.  It has gradually got worse and worse in the last 20 odd years in my time of watching England.  I just can''t get excited watching it anymore, some of Pearce''s picks are a joke and he should be asked to explain why he has picked a GK not good enough to play in the premier league, currently playing for a mid table team in the joke Turkish league ahead of John Ruddy.  Also explain why he has picked a player who has been injured for near on two years and scored a couple of goals since returning.  I wouldn''t ask him to explain why he has picked Downing or Bent because no explanation could ever explain that!  Gareth Barry??!! If this is the best we have then English football is doomed and it will be 20 years before we pick ourselves up off our arses!  Pearce can stick his squad up his arse!  We do have some good young defenders, but if you look at it he''s actually picked 5 right backs (all 5 have played more football at right back than any other position)

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

[quote user="delta bravo"]The whole England setup is a complete farce, i won''t even be watching the England game next week and as a proud Englishman it hurts me to say that I hope we get thrashed.  I also hope we get knocked out in the Group stages of the Euro''s.  It has gradually got worse and worse in the last 20 odd years in my time of watching England.  I just can''t get excited watching it anymore, some of Pearce''s picks are a joke and he should be asked to explain why he has picked a GK not good enough to play in the premier league, currently playing for a mid table team in the joke Turkish league ahead of John Ruddy.  Also explain why he has picked a player who has been injured for near on two years and scored a couple of goals since returning.  I wouldn''t ask him to explain why he has picked Downing or Bent because no explanation could ever explain that!  Gareth Barry??!! If this is the best we have then English football is doomed and it will be 20 years before we pick ourselves up off our arses!  Pearce can stick his squad up his arse!  We do have some good young defenders, but if you look at it he''s actually picked 5 right backs (all 5 have played more football at right back than any other position)
[/quote]

Not really true. Jones and Smalling are primarily centre backs, but have been forced to play right back to cover injuries at Man U. Pearce use to play Richards at centre back at Man City - and some consider this to be his better position. Also Glen Johnson has played more games at left back than right back this season. But good try.

 

The truth is, and nearly always has been, England don''t have that many good footballers. We have one or two a generation who are world class, and then add to it with a lot of hard working players. Unfortunately, hard working honest players don''t cut it anymore in the International game (not that it ever really worked out, hence only one World Cup). There probably isn''t an English midfielder better than Barry (apart from Parker) to play in a holding role.

[YellowLittle1 0]

Definitely, think outside the box. On Norwich team I think Holt, Pilkington and Ruddy definitely deserve a chance, and in the Swansea team Sinclair and Graham deserve chances. It seems players just get in on reputation rather then ability and form.

[Indy_Bones 441]

Not 5 right backs in my mind Delta - 2 definites in Walker and Johnson, I''d suggest Richards is more RB than CB but can play and cover both if required, Cole and Baines are clear LB''s, but Jones, Smalling and Cahill are all primarily centre halves - despite Jones getting put in midfield a bit and Smalling getting put at RB a lot recently (mainly because they don''t have a strong and fit RB). It''s a bit like saying Vermaelen is an LB even though he''s clearly as CB and has only been stuck there because of injuries - it''s the same principle with Smalling.So 2.5 RB''s, 2 LB''s and 3.5 CB''s, out of which I''d like to see the following as first choice going forwards:Walker, Smalling, Jones, BainesThat is until we get a better LB to replace Baines as the other option besides Cole...

[delta bravo 0]

[quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]

[quote user="delta bravo"]The whole England setup is a complete farce, i won''t even be watching the England game next week and as a proud Englishman it hurts me to say that I hope we get thrashed.  I also hope we get knocked out in the Group stages of the Euro''s.  It has gradually got worse and worse in the last 20 odd years in my time of watching England.  I just can''t get excited watching it anymore, some of Pearce''s picks are a joke and he should be asked to explain why he has picked a GK not good enough to play in the premier league, currently playing for a mid table team in the joke Turkish league ahead of John Ruddy.  Also explain why he has picked a player who has been injured for near on two years and scored a couple of goals since returning.  I wouldn''t ask him to explain why he has picked Downing or Bent because no explanation could ever explain that!  Gareth Barry??!! If this is the best we have then English football is doomed and it will be 20 years before we pick ourselves up off our arses!  Pearce can stick his squad up his arse!  We do have some good young defenders, but if you look at it he''s actually picked 5 right backs (all 5 have played more football at right back than any other position)[/quote]

Not really true. Jones and Smalling are primarily centre backs, but have been forced to play right back to cover injuries at Man U. Pearce use to play Richards at centre back at Man City - and some consider this to be his better position. Also Glen Johnson has played more games at left back than right back this season. But good try.

 

The truth is, and nearly always has been, England don''t have that many good footballers. We have one or two a generation who are world class, and then add to it with a lot of hard working players. Unfortunately, hard working honest players don''t cut it anymore in the International game (not that it ever really worked out, hence only one World Cup). There probably isn''t an English midfielder better than Barry (apart from Parker) to play in a holding role.

[/quote]Well it is true because what i have said is that all 5 have played most of the senior football at right back which is factually correct.  And my point about Barry was that if he is the best we have then we are doomed, did you watch the World Cup game against the Germans??  Gareth Barry should have been banned from international football after that shambolic performance!

[BroadstairsR 2,164]

I too would like to see England get a beating next week, and that''s a one off for me.

 

A decent result risks Pearce being given the job permanently, which would be a dire prospect.

 

The two ''H''s, ''Arry and ''Olty'' as one-competition wonders with ''ose M. for thereafter and the future.

 

We''ll likely go out in the quarters, that''s fairly predictable, so let''s go out with a bit of unpredictability and a bang or be unpredictable and maybe go further. 

 

[delta bravo 0]

[quote user="Indy_Bones"]Not 5 right backs in my mind Delta - 2 definites in Walker and Johnson, I''d suggest Richards is more RB than CB but can play and cover both if required, Cole and Baines are clear LB''s, but Jones, Smalling and Cahill are all primarily centre halves - despite Jones getting put in midfield a bit and Smalling getting put at RB a lot recently (mainly because they don''t have a strong and fit RB). It''s a bit like saying Vermaelen is an LB even though he''s clearly as CB and has only been stuck there because of injuries - it''s the same principle with Smalling.So 2.5 RB''s, 2 LB''s and 3.5 CB''s, out of which I''d like to see the following as first choice going forwards:Walker, Smalling, Jones, BainesThat is until we get a better LB to replace Baines as the other option besides Cole...[/quote]which obviously explains why Michael Carrick has played centre half this season on the odd occasion with Smalling/Jones at right back?

[Trent Canary 0]

I think we are hardly in a position to be unbiased about this..That said I am surprised Ruddy is not in the sqias, but then having not watched Green or Carson this season I can''t say I have the slightest idea how they have been playing. When Green was with us in the Championship we kept moaning that he was only excluded as he does not play in the premiership - Now the boot is on the other foot we are saying that as Ruddy plays in the Premiership he should be in on that basis. (But as said, IMO Ruddy should be in their)As for Holt, while it would be a fairytale, he is too old in my book. And if we are going to go down the ''Holt has scored ''x'' goals'' arguement then Danny Graham would get in first, and I am sure none of us would want Danny Graham leading the line at Euro 2012.Either way, gutted for Ruddy, but lets try to be as unbiased as possible.

[Trent Canary 0]

"That said I am surprised Ruddy is not in the sqias"Of course, that should read squad...

[Mr Brownstone 0]

Taking a step back, isn''t it fantastic that we''re annoyed at our lads being overlooked. 3 years ago we barely had any players of our own, let alone any that were knocking on the door of the England squad.

 

Still think the Horse has to go to the Euro''s. There is no one else like him and he''d give us another dimension. Nevermind ''From the Unibond Premier to the Real Premier'', it should be ''From Walsall to Warsaw''.

 

I f*****g love Grant Holt!

 

[Aggy 755]

In fairness, I think it''s a fairly decent selection. We are going to take some of the "big" names to the Euros, but it''s likely to be their last tournament.

The average age of the defence is 24.6, and only Cole is above the age of 27. Will Cole have another tournament in him after the Euros, possibly. But that''s a fairly young selection with some very talented potential. A backline consisting of Richards, Smalling and Jones, in 3 years time, could be extremely useful.

Upfront, again, the average age is only 24.2. Bent is the oldest at 28, and Rooney second oldest at 26. Not sure about Campbell''s potential as an international striker to be honest, but Sturridge and Welbeck certainly look decent players, so again, give it another 3 years to the next world cup and I think there''s decent potential there. Rooney at 29, those two in their mid 20s.

The midfield is the one area of the team that hasn''t had quite the clear out we may have been hoping for. But I don''t feel we''ve got quite the same level of young talent coming through in midfield. Who would you have picked instead? Wilshere when fit, obviously.

But take out Barry, Gerrard and Parker, all of whom are 31, and Downing because he''s rubbish, and you''re left with Cleverley, Adam Johnson, Milner, Young, Walcott and the inclusion of Wilshere when fit. Lacking in my opinion. Rodwell maybe? But I''m struggling to think really who you bring in instead of Barry, Gerrard and Parker for the Euros coming up. Especially as Parker has had a good season, and Gerrard has been pretty decent since coming back from injury as well.

[Aggy 755]

World cup in two years - not sure why I was thinking 3. Still stuck in 2011!

[YellowLittle1 0]

[quote user="Trent Canary"]I think we are hardly in a position to be unbiased about this..That said I am surprised Ruddy is not in the sqias, but then having not watched Green or Carson this season I can''t say I have the slightest idea how they have been playing. When Green was with us in the Championship we kept moaning that he was only excluded as he does not play in the premiership - Now the boot is on the other foot we are saying that as Ruddy plays in the Premiership he should be in on that basis. (But as said, IMO Ruddy should be in their)As for Holt, while it would be a fairytale, he is too old in my book. And if we are going to go down the ''Holt has scored ''x'' goals'' arguement then Danny Graham would get in first, and I am sure none of us would want Danny Graham leading the line at Euro 2012.Either way, gutted for Ruddy, but lets try to be as unbiased as possible.[/quote]

Completely disagree, England looking to the future is good but at times doesn''t work, too much hype gets put on young players which means they end up having a poor international career because so much expectation put on them. Potential is such a misleading thing, how are young players going to reach there full potential if most of the country are keeping there eye on them with great expectations.

I think we should put players in when they are ready and performing well week in and week out at there clubs for a couple of seasons. Scott Parker is enjoying a great spell with England at the moment and he is 31. One thing we know Holt, Pilkington, Graham and Ruddy will so is they will work there arse off for the country, more then a lot of the megabucks footballers we have had wear the shirt in recent years.

Another thing, why does everyone want Scholes to come out of retirement? If he has the shame to retire from representing his country he should never play again. So many people would do so much to wear that shirt, but it''s not good enough for Paul Scholes,

[priceyrice 123]

[quote user="YellowLittle1"][quote user="Trent Canary"]I think we are hardly in a position to be unbiased about this..That said I am surprised Ruddy is not in the sqias, but then having not watched Green or Carson this season I can''t say I have the slightest idea how they have been playing. When Green was with us in the Championship we kept moaning that he was only excluded as he does not play in the premiership - Now the boot is on the other foot we are saying that as Ruddy plays in the Premiership he should be in on that basis. (But as said, IMO Ruddy should be in their)As for Holt, while it would be a fairytale, he is too old in my book. And if we are going to go down the ''Holt has scored ''x'' goals'' arguement then Danny Graham would get in first, and I am sure none of us would want Danny Graham leading the line at Euro 2012.Either way, gutted for Ruddy, but lets try to be as unbiased as possible.[/quote]

Completely disagree, England looking to the future is good but at times doesn''t work, too much hype gets put on young players which means they end up having a poor international career because so much expectation put on them. Potential is such a misleading thing, how are young players going to reach there full potential if most of the country are keeping there eye on them with great expectations.

I think we should put players in when they are ready and performing well week in and week out at there clubs for a couple of seasons. Scott Parker is enjoying a great spell with England at the moment and he is 31. One thing we know Holt, Pilkington, Graham and Ruddy will so is they will work there arse off for the country, more then a lot of the megabucks footballers we have had wear the shirt in recent years.

Another thing, why does everyone want Scholes to come out of retirement? If he has the shame to retire from representing his country he should never play again. So many people would do so much to wear that shirt, but it''s not good enough for Paul Scholes,[/quote]to be fair to scholed, he didn''t retire because he didn''t want to represent england anymore, he retired over a fall out with the FA, which i find it hard to blame him for because i really dislike the whole FA set up and its members and the way they do things.I also hope we lose against Holland, just because i worry a win coud give the job to Pearce and although i like the guy, i want a fresh face to come in and change how England play and their mentality

[kick it off 1,952]

I find this whole squad hilarious. Pearce is proving himself to be clueless already. Leave out OX-C as he hasn''t played enough games, but include Frazier Campbell who has played 4 after an 18month lay-off.... Yep, definitely not just because he''s your old mate from the under-21s is it Pearcey? His excuse doesn''t even make sense.

I don''t think a more uninspiring squad was possible - he does realise he has 4/5 strikers in exactly the same mould doesn''t he?

What a joke.

[Trent Canary 0]

[quote user="YellowLittle1"][quote user="Trent Canary"]I think we are hardly in a position to be unbiased about this..That said I am surprised Ruddy is not in the sqias, but then having not watched Green or Carson this season I can''t say I have the slightest idea how they have been playing. When Green was with us in the Championship we kept moaning that he was only excluded as he does not play in the premiership - Now the boot is on the other foot we are saying that as Ruddy plays in the Premiership he should be in on that basis. (But as said, IMO Ruddy should be in their)As for Holt, while it would be a fairytale, he is too old in my book. And if we are going to go down the ''Holt has scored ''x'' goals'' arguement then Danny Graham would get in first, and I am sure none of us would want Danny Graham leading the line at Euro 2012.Either way, gutted for Ruddy, but lets try to be as unbiased as possible.[/quote]

Completely disagree, England looking to the future is good but at times doesn''t work, too much hype gets put on young players which means they end up having a poor international career because so much expectation put on them. Potential is such a misleading thing, how are young players going to reach there full potential if most of the country are keeping there eye on them with great expectations.

I think we should put players in when they are ready and performing well week in and week out at there clubs for a couple of seasons. Scott Parker is enjoying a great spell with England at the moment and he is 31. One thing we know Holt, Pilkington, Graham and Ruddy will so is they will work there arse off for the country, more then a lot of the megabucks footballers we have had wear the shirt in recent years.

Another thing, why does everyone want Scholes to come out of retirement? If he has the shame to retire from representing his country he should never play again. So many people would do so much to wear that shirt, but it''s not good enough for Paul Scholes,[/quote]Yellow Little - Thanks for the reply. I understand your point of view, and I agree that the ''Popular'' picks are not always the best. But trying to be as neutral as possible I can''t see Holt being good enough to lead the line at a major international tournament, and with Euro 2012 coming up I would rather focus on those who I think would be in attack for those games. Don''t get me wrong, I would love to see Holt in the shirt and think he would hold his own at times, but I can''t imagine many neutrals would feel the same. My other concern is that Holt works wonders in our system, but given his previous career would he easily fit into a different style of play and mentality that England would bring? Sometimes a club can just be the perfect fit for a player. Ruddy still surprises me though. Thought he was a shoe-in..I completely agree with your point about expectations. I am convinced that the biggest problem we have is not the passion or commitment from the players, but the fact that they go out on to the pitch knowing that if they make a mistake they will get hammered by the press and by the fans. I dont see this changing whoever is on the pitch.Scholes - Agree in principle. You should never retire on your country IMO. But I dont know what went on behind the scenes.

[kick it off 1,952]

and YellowLittle1 - I see where you''re coming from re: young players, but goign to a World Cup at 17 didn''t exactly stunt Pele''s development did it? How about 16 International debut for Maradona? Didn''t seem to inhibit his development either. I know those 2 are extremes of talent so how about a 17 year old Michael Owen at the World Cup? Didnt bother him neither.

It''s a fabricated argument to shield the fact that England''s youth aren''t actually as good as they are hyped up to be.

[YellowLittle1 0]

No worries trent, Not going to quote because it always messes up on mine.

Regarding Holt that''s why this is the perfect opportunity, see whether he does fit in. I think he can, he is pretty much an all rounder, and I also think he is such a character to have in the camp instead of a bunch of charlies who could afford a mansion at 20. His previous career hasn''t been great but one of the things that we''ve from Holt is that he works pretty damn hard. Sometimes I think the best time to put a player in the England team is when they can take the stick and pressure that comes with it. That''s something that comes with experience of playing the game in my mind. I think that''s why we should take in consideration mental attribute when England manager selects his squads. Like you said though, one of the major downfalls and probably the reason why we will not win a tournament in a long time is purely because of the media. Sometime you can''t win, if Capello who has one of the best CV''s in football fails because of it, then we don''t have much hope.

I still don''t see falling out with the FA as a reason to retire, you have a chance to represent your country, you shouldn''t really let them dinosaurs at the FA put you off doing that. This goes back to the commitment thing because I think that a lot of the players don''t realise how lucky they are to be able to do what so many boys dream of. Compare how much effort and determination we have at Norwich, then think of England, there is definitely a degree of not caring too much in there.

I think the two major downfalls in English football is the FA and the media, I watched a video on BBC website and some basketball fella was talking about how the FA are so out dated and are just a bunch of dinosaurs, and he is right.

[Trent Canary 0]

YL - Fair enough, we will have to agree to disagree on this one. Although I do very much agree with your point about mental toughness and commitment being an important part of a squad - It is something Lambert has been near perfect at. It was something Sir Clive Woodward was great at for the England Rugby team. Going back to the media, as soon as a bandwagon starts then the media don''t let up. Team harmony goes straight down the toilet as soon as the latest scandal is uncovered. To me it is these fine margins that seperates the good teams from the winning teams.

[Indy_Bones 441]

I''ve put my overall thoughts on the squad selection in the latest article on my recently started blog (after a long hiatus from writing), so if anyone fancies a read:http://www.indybonestruth.blogspot.com/CheersIndy.