Jon Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 Not too bad Roy but how the fuck does Danny Wellbeck continually get selected for England, he's scored about 3 goals at club level in the past few years. Questioning the pick of Chris Smalling, he's hardly set the world alight. Defence looks like a bit of a weak point but plenty of youth for a change.
bob Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 Yeah i'd question Welbeck and maybe take Carroll in his place. Or Crouch.
pratty Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 In fairness to Welbeck, he can also play on the left, maybe even the right too. I think Rooney and Sturridge are clearly the standout forwards, there really isn't too many obvious must pick strikers after them. Carroll would obviously ofer a specific threat, but he's hardly banged them in this season either. And his fitness is questionable. I think Lambert is our traditional number 9 target man, he's not great but people do want to see fresh fairly faces in the squad and he is that. And ideally whoever else we take after rooney and Sturridge hopefully won't be needed. Centreback does look a bit weak, but I'm not sure there's a great selection to pick from. Other than that it looks like a fairly solid squad. I do think Gibbs should be in the squad over Shaw though. Both him and Baines have no real top level experience, which either Gibbs or Cole would have provided. It's criminal that Gibbs isn't even on the reserve list. Jon Flanagan and John Stones? Seriously Roy? As much as I dislike him, Ashely Cole would be my third choice. Well actually it would be Flanagan, but if I was being truly objective it would really be Cole. Gibbs is good, but so is Flanno and he can play right back if needed, you could probably flip a coin, maybe the fact that Flanno has made more of an impact this year tipped the balance. I'm just glad we seem so rich in that position.
-Dem0- Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 32M for Diego Costa is a good price. Even better that Chelsea have signed him so quickly, well played. Come on, Arsenal! We need some of this early business too, but more importantly it needs to be top quality talent!
Fierce_LiNk Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 Rio Ferdinand is leaving the club after not being offered a new deal. I think it's the right time. We need new blood and he's far too injury prone to be in the squad. It has to happen. Excellent player for us and has won so much. Will be sad to see him and Vidic leave, but hopeful for the future. Hopefully we'll be back in for Garay.
Clownferret Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 having gone on record that Shaw is a gamble, Hodgson is now in the press saying he doesn't want players getting distracted by transfers. The selection of Shaw just makes no sense to me on any level. If you want to give him international experience do it in friendlies, not a bloody World Cup. Also, if he is going for youth then why on earth is Lampard in the squad? What would everyones starting 11 be then, I'd go with this Hart Johnson, Cahill, Jagielka, Baines Gerrard Barkley, Wilshere, Lallana Strurridge, Rooney that looks about right to me, but don't we play 4-4-2, think maybe one more defensive minded midfielder in there
Charlie Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 Sherwood has been sacked. Sherwood had a top-flight win percentage of 59%, which is the best of any Tottenham boss in Premier League history, and sixth place was enough to get the club into next season's Europa League.
Wii Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 Silly decision giving Sherwood the job in the first place but you have to feel a little sorry for him. His record wasn't that bad but you always felt he never had the full backing of Levy. @dazzybee must be delighted that he's finally gone.
Goron_3 Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 In midfield I would play: Henderson Gerrard Stirling Rooney Lallana Sturridge I'd play Henderson with SG simply because we are so weak through the middle. I love Gerrard but he's not the fastest; we'd need someone else there with him. I'd also tell Stirling and Lallana to basically play for 60 minutes with a high tempo before subbing them off for Ox and Milner. In those conditions, playing against them two will be incredibly tough for opposite players.
Ramar Posted May 13, 2014 Author Posted May 13, 2014 That's the worst England squad for years. Goalkeepers Joe Hart (Manchester City) - Number 1 Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion) - Beyond average, lucky to get a call up. Fraser Forster (Celtic) - Pleased he's finally getting recognition Defenders Leighton Baines (Everton) - Can attack, not a very good defender, horribly over rated. Shittest haircut in the world. Gary Cahill (Chelsea) - Good Phil Jagielka (Everton) - Average Glen Johnson (Liverpool) - Shit Phil Jones (Man Utd) - Shit, only picked because he's versatile Luke Shaw (Southampton) - Good young prospect Chris Smalling (Man Utd) - Shit, picked because he plays for United Midfielders Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) - captain - Had a decent season, deserves last world cup Ross Barkley (Everton) - Good young prospect Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) - Had a good season, deserves call up Adam Lallana (Southampton) - Rate him, but he's not a world beater Frank Lampard (Chelsea) - Lucky to get a call up, passed it in my opinion James Milner (Manchester City) - Can't stand his dull game, but he's versatile. Average Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) - Exciting player, done enough for the England squad though? Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) - Exciting young prospect, deserves call up. Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) - Has Jack had a good year? People expecting too much of him. Forwards Rickie Lambert (Southampton) - Average Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) - Will he actually turn up to this tournament?! Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool) - Deserved call up, been class this season. Danny Welbeck (Manchester United) - Poor season, doesn't deserve call up. Only because he's at United. Our 1998 or 2002 team walks all over this lot. How many genuine world class players are we taking?...
-Dem0- Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 Luke Shaw is being hyped to the heavens (no surprises there). He's a bright young talent and is excellent going forward/ joining the attack, it's his defensive side that's lacking (but he's got plenty of time to work on it). In my opinion Ashley Cole should've been called up instead.
Fierce_LiNk Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 Luke Shaw is being hyped to the heavens (no surprises there). He's a bright young talent and is excellent going forward/ joining the attack, it's his defensive side that's lacking (but he's got plenty of time to work on it). In my opinion Ashley Cole should've been called up instead. Why? The only way these players are going to get experience for England and the opportunity to build a good team is to get these players to play in important matches. What we're doing at the moment is throwing players in occasionally who don't know how to play with each other, whereas we need to get them playing together more often. Ashley Cole hasn't done enough this season to get through. He's a great player, but he's on the wind down and has lost his place at Chelsea. We need to be playing the likes of Shaw, Barkley, Lallana, etc. As much as Wellbeck gets criticised for his record at United, he's looked good/great for England. Considering he gets played out of position at United and has to compete with Rooney/Van Persie/Hernandez for the striker role, I think he's actually performed quite well in matches. Taking Carroll would be a backwards step in the way we want to play football. Not many will agree with that, I know. The squad looks good to me. One thing: If we're going off form, Barry should be in there as he's been excellent for Everton all season. Drop Lampard, put Barry in there. Wasn't going to happen, obviously.
Charlie Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 That's the worst England squad for years. Apart from the defence I actually thought it looked quite strong. Compare it to the 2010 squad that included Stephen Warnock... Stephen Warnock!
Charlie Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 Uefa will propose a new rule to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at the start of next year that would see players temporarily removed from the pitch if a foul they have committed injures another player. Referees' chief Pierluigi Collina says: "The player who causes the injury temporarily leaves the pitch as long as the injured player is being treated off the park." If the injured player is replaced, the player who committed the foul would return to the pitch, the Italian added. Did anyone else notice this on the BBC Live Sportsday this morning? This is absolutely ridiculous. It means that if Ronaldo tackles someone they could pretend to be injured and go off for 'treatment' for a few minutes and then the opposing team would be without their best player.
jayseven Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 It's up for proposal, not certain to enter legislation. It's like testing the goalkeeper's 5-second rule, or trying out the golden goal nonsense. The aim is to even up the odds but in actuality it opens a huge doorway to what would essentially be cheating. Run into a key player and feign an injury... With any hope it will be considered and - if entered - taken seriously. If it happened referees would have the power to decide whether it's a case of "put both guys off" or "the guy is being a dick". I think it's important to think progressively about this because currently players 'injured' are too often left waiting far too long to be called back onto the pitch, and it does currently leave an imbalanced session of play. Also last I heard Sherwood is favourite to take over at brighton. We've made the playoffs two years in a row, and as part of a 5-year plan we're doing really well. Our stadium draws in full capacity most weeks, and the stadium is bigger than a few clubs in the prem so it's shaping up well. But brighton's problems haven't been down to having a BAD manager, just not quite having the squad to compete. If Sherwood can draw more funds then fair enough - if he stuck with us and we got a promotion in a year's time then he'd be a fantastic manager for the first season with the big boys.
Ramar Posted May 15, 2014 Author Posted May 15, 2014 (edited) Apart from the defence I actually thought it looked quite strong. Compare it to the 2010 squad that included Stephen Warnock... Stephen Warnock! I see what you're saying but most of our attacking players don't have tournament experience. The next World Cup should we qualify will be when the majority of them should be at their peak. The defence is just woeful. 2010 was a poor squad, but we had at least 5 world class players at their peak in Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, Cole and Rooney. Can't say any of them are at their peak this time round. Edited May 15, 2014 by Ramar
Charlie Posted May 15, 2014 Posted May 15, 2014 I see what you're saying but most of our attacking players don't have tournament experience. The next World Cup should we qualify will be when the majority of them should be at their peak. The defence is just woeful. 2010 was a poor squad, but we had at least 5 world class players at their peak in Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, Cole and Rooney. Can't say any of them are at their peak this time round. Tournament experience isn't completely necessary although admitedly is helpful. Take a look at Germany's squad from 2010. They had a 9 players with 30+ caps, 1 on 12 and the rest under 10 caps. Comparing to England this time round you have 6 players on 30+ (inc. 2 100+ and 1 90+), 4 on 20+, and 4 between 10-20. There's a lot more experience there than Germany's squad in the previous World Cup.
Ellmeister Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 But you forget that Germany are awesome. England less so. I like your breakdown Ramar, but I disagree on Milner. I think he works hard and does change games when he's been on for City. And I also thought Barry over Lampard!
Charlie Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 But you forget that Germany are awesome. England less so. I like your breakdown Ramar, but I disagree on Milner. I think he works hard and does change games when he's been on for City. And I also thought Barry over Lampard! I know, i wasn't bringing player quality into my age break down in the slightest. Just showing that age/experience isn't everything! Anyone else not have a clue it was the Europa League final the other night?
Ramar Posted May 16, 2014 Author Posted May 16, 2014 Completely missed it, went full on under the radar. However I'm fully aware it's FA Cup Final day tomorrow. I'm just a tiny bit excited and nervous.
Emerald Emblem Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 I've been looking forward to this all week. Viva La Arsenal!
Ramar Posted May 16, 2014 Author Posted May 16, 2014 Working tonight, then heading down to Wembley about 12 tomorrow. The last time I was this nervous for a game was the Champions League Final in 2006.
bob Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 Then you've no need to worry! Look how that turned out........oh.
Wii Posted May 16, 2014 Posted May 16, 2014 Can't wait for tomorrow either. The real match is Barca v Atletico. What's this mickey mouse game? Hull v Arsenal? Who? What's worse is it on at the exact same time. Stupid ITV!
Recommended Posts