The Squad

“You can’t win anything with kids" - A Hansen

But I hope we try to.


England squad: Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Fraser Forster (Celtic).

Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (England), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Southampton), Chris Smalling (Manchester United).

Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Everton), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).


Attackers: Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United).

Standby: John Ruddy (Norwich City), Jon Flanagan (Liverpool), John Stones (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Andy Carroll (West Ham United), Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC).

Quite possibly the least talented England squad ever at a major tournament? I don't think I've ever seen one that excites me any less.  

Just checked the squad....no surprises there is there......

Henderson leaves me cold......and the stand-byes are not very classy.

No interest in the players ability to get beyond the first phase.

No world class players that's for sure.

Czarcasm wrote:

Quite possibly the least talented England squad ever at a major tournament? I don't think I've ever seen one that excites me any less.  

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Quote :

Carlton Palmer, Geoff Thomas, Andy Sinton

Meh.

I've never been so apathetic about a world cup (apart from when we haven't qualified). It's very likely that we won't qualify from the group and the problem with that is it'll give Dyke's ridiculous proposals some credence with the media who'll be baying for blood when we come home early.

Or we might reach the last 8 again and everything will be alright. Well, almost.

Glad he's taken Shaw and Lallana though.

But Wellbeck? Reuben Reid would have been a better option.

I'll say it again.

Meh.

zyph wrote:

the stand-byes are not very classy.

They would get relegated from the Premiership, godawful.

I actually like Lallana, Sterling, Barkley. Henderson isn't as awful as he was a few years ago and at least it's meant avoiding Carrick or Cleverly going.

I think we'll have it in us to get out the group. Italy and Uruguay aren't that good.

Cmon Woy's Boys!

The two inclusions that surprise me are Lampard and Welbeck. Especially Lampard.

I guess he's pencilled in to take over from Gerrard.

I think the squad is about as good as it could be and it is fair less conservative than I was expecting.

I'm glad he's taking Barkley. The kid looks a real class act and I hope he gets some airtime. Lallana is a brave choice too but probably deserves his place following his form this year. Wilshere is the future of Englands midfield, so Woy had to gamble on him not getting crocked again. It's a risk but one he had to take.

I'm yet to be convinced by Sterling, but he's only a nipper though I guess. Henderson Johnson and Lambert are shorely only there to serve the halftime oranges? Phil Jones is quite likely to pull a hamstring getting out of bed. Smalling? Really? Baines and Cahill are the only defenders that fill me with any degree of confidence. As for the standby's, Jesus wept...

Getting out of the group will be an achievement, foreshore.

I thought Roy Hodgson press conference about the squad was great. Ultimately he wants this group of players to do themselves and the parts of the football supporting country proud. I don't think you can ask for much more than that. A bit of a precis but if you heard it or get chance to hear it I found his responses measured and insightful.

I don't find the squad in the least bit dull. The young uns who have forced themselves into the reckoning look quite an exciting bunch to me.

As somebody who doesnt follow Premiership football I can only guess at how effective this team will be, is it safe to say that we aren't going to win it?
The main question to ask is, "is this the most effective team we could have fielded? Personally I would rather try out the youngsters than try the has beens and might have beens. If it is then lets go and do our best, it's all we can ask. I say we will get out of our group because we usually do.

Nobody knows anything.

We could win every game and we could lose every game. The joy, or otherwise, comes from finding out.

Is the squad as good as it could be? Just about. The only press talk I've seen concerns not picking Ashley Cole. That suggests that Roy (can we drop the cheap and deeply unfunny Woy stuff? - he has a minor speech impediment... so what? He can still speak 3 languages more than I can!) has got it pretty much right.

It's all down to the starting XI and how brave we are and how well they play.

10 men behind the ball and relying on cleansheets to procede will fail but there's this nagging feeling that that is how we'll set out. That's for later though. Right now it looks good.

Not too many complaints about the squad, I probably would have taken Cole on balance and I dont rate Smalling but who would come in instead?

Made the right call including Foster, good keeper.

If you look back to the squad I guessed in advance then I had both Jones and Smalling. The truth is I don't fancy either much but as you say who else is there?

Exactly, happy with Jags amd Cahill, god forbid anything anything happens to them.
I'd sooner Terry was in the squad over Smalling but obviously for a number of reasons that wouldn't happen.

I think this squad has the potential to make us proud, like in 90 and 96. Middling quality but lots of heart, led by Gerrard this is at least possible.

I have this feeling Sterling could make a name for himself this tournament, and perhaps Barkley too.

Rooney will play like he doesn't give a feck.

Rooney will score some goals for us.

I'm quite pleasantly surprised. A lot of youth with a smattering of experienced old heads.

Germany did the same in South Africa (though they haven't won anything yet).

No expectations from me. Just hope that we can get out of the group (at the right end) and see what happens.

I'm actually more optimistic about the World Cup now.

Germany got booed off the pitch last night after drawing 0-0 at home with Poland! This was despite the fact that this was their third string as 20 players were not available as they are playing in two cup finals this weekend (Arsenal, Bayern and Dortmund) plus finishing the Spanish league.

Why are we taking fat frank again,
bloody plane will struggle to get off the ground.
dead weight.we got Stevie g don't need fat frank.

Im normally very down about England, they don't excite me any more, however...

this squad is different, at last someone has been brave enough to put the future in and buid for future tournaments

I don't mind if we go out in the group stage having put these youngsters in and had a go

ill be 100% behind these young lions

Jethro wrote:

Why are we taking fat frank again,
bloody plane will struggle to get off the ground.
dead weight.we got Stevie g don't need fat frank.

and what happens if ''stevie'' gets injured

Never understood why lampard gets called fat, he is a top professional who has conducted himself with total professionalism, with so many youngsters in the squad he is great to have around for his experience alone

Lampard is still a quality player im glad he's in the squad. That said, he has let the country down with has crap performances at previous tournaments. Unlikely he will get too many minutes, and he'll provide guidance to younger members of the squad.

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This is a cockle warming article and perhaps why I think this squad is lifted above dull. #beetrootfactory #jumpersforgoalposts #therearepeopleonthepitch

Lampards shite, and fat

Jethro wrote:

Lampards shite, and fat

That's enough about Franks father... who can now enjoy his retirement.....more chance of a goal from Lampard than our forwards in Brazil....scored more goals than all the forwards put together.

Lampard only really suffers in international football when he comes on as a sub - he needs to start. He's not the best tackler either - but neither was Scholes. Calling him 'fat' is plainly ignorant. He's called Fat Frank by fans because his name begins with the letter F.
I'm fairly surprised, for a tournament, that Cole won't go. He only has to play a few games and he did look out of place recently against Athletico Madrid however, Chelsea started that game with no striker so it was a weird game to watch.
Not surprised Defoe isn't selected.
It's a bit crap on paper but you never know.
I'm not that excited about it to be honest.