The England thread

[Nerf]

5 hours ago, Colly said:

I was talking about it before the hat trick.

Why? England are inundated with more quality strikers than they know what to do with for the first time in forever and people wanna take Carroll and Rooney

[Rafael]

Carroll is good. And even though he scored two thirds of his hat-trick from headers, people need to stop thinking that just because he's tall you have to pump the ball inside the box all the time. It didn't work like that when he was at Newcastle. I STILL BELIEVE IN WOR ANDY

[King Ellis]

Hodgson will pick Rooney, Carroll, Walcott and Rashford.

[MDK]

28 minutes ago, Velociraptor King Ellis said:

Hodgson will pick Rooney, Carroll, Walcott and Rashford.

Fuck off. Jay Smpson was the best goalscorer (at some point) so he at least ahead of the Rooney

[DavidMarrio]

No one is ahead of Rooney. He's the first name on the team sheet going into Russia 2018...

[Colly]

8 hours ago, Social Justice Nerf said:

Why? England are inundated with more quality strikers than they know what to do with for the first time in forever and people wanna take Carroll and Rooney

Who've we got? Kane and Vardy are absolutely no brainers of course and should be the top two in the pecking order. Rooney will get called up because Rooney.

After that you've got Sturridge and Welbeck who've been injured most of the season, plus Carroll whose missed a fair amount too. Even ignoring the fact that odds are all three of those won't be fit for the Euros anyway, I think Carroll offers a better different option than the other two. And Rafa's right, he's not just a head on a massive stick, but that is one hell of a target if we're chasing a goal. For me that decision can wait til the end of the season but needs to be based on form and fitness rather than reputation, Sturridge needs to show he can be breathed on without breaking a leg.

[MDK]

12 minutes ago, Colly said:

Who've we got? Kane and Vardy are absolutely no brainers of course and should be the top two in the pecking order. Rooney will get called up because Rooney.

After that you've got Sturridge and Welbeck who've been injured most of the season, plus Carroll whose missed a fair amount too. Even ignoring the fact that odds are all three of those won't be fit for the Euros anyway, I think Carroll offers a better different option than the other two. And Rafa's right, he's not just a head on a massive stick, but that is one hell of a target if we're chasing a goal. For me that decision can wait til the end of the season but needs to be based on form and fitness rather than reputation, Sturridge needs to show he can be breathed on without breaking a leg.

Good point. I'm not against Carroll because I absolutely love the guy, classic old fashioned centre forward. Vardy, Kane, Welbeck and Carroll doesn't sound too bad to me.

[The Lusophone]

I mean... Jermaine Defoe is currently the third highest scoring Englishman in the Premier League... so if Carroll is in the picture, surely he, or even the top goalscorer in the Championship Burnley's Andre Gray (23 in 32), should be?

In reality though, it'll probably be Kane, Vardy, Rooney and one of Sturridge/Welbeck or both if Rooney goes as an attacking midfielder.

[Adam]

You have to factor in squad integration and how they fit into the system too, it isn't as simple as "pick the best 4/5 strikers". Jermain Defoe is a great striker, a predatory finisher but could he fit into our attack? Andre Gray is out of the question, if Burnley come up and he does well there next season though of course he should be in contention. Carroll is a good 'different option' off the bench and I've always liked him, I love his centre forward play he just can't stay fit for long periods. I think Welbeck actually deserves to go and fits the way we're set up to play now very well. I ragged on him as an England player for a long time but he has improved massively in the last couple of years and has done really well since coming back from a serious injury.

I'd take Kane, Vardy, Rooney and Welbeck, but I wouldn't be starting Rooney.

[Lineker]

If Callum Wilson hadn't of got injured and continued as he started, he'd have been in with an outside should I reckon.

[Colly]

Quick Google, but picking the top 5 English strikers would have seen Dion Dublin and Darren Huckerby going to France 98. So I'm all for it.

[Lineker]

Arsene Wenger has confirmed that midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be out for up to two months with a knee injury and will therefore miss Euro 2016.

[Adam]

That's a shame for him as he missed the World Cup with a knee injury too I believe. Would he actually have featured? Seems to do well for England but I hardly ever hear his name mentioned at Arsenal.

[Lineker]

A-League stars Jamie Maclaren, Craig Goodwin and Stefan Mauk headline a new-look Socceroos squad for their high-profile friendly against England at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland on 27 May.

Unable to select Asia-based players as the match falls outside of a Fifa window, coach Ange Postecoglou has made nine changes to the squad that beat Tajikistan and Jordan in March’s World Cup qualifiers, handing debut caps to Maclaren, Mauk and midfielders Milos Degenek and Brad Inman.

Former Olyroo Degenek plays for 1860 Munich while Inman, originally from Adelaide, has scored 10 goals in 39 appearances for League Two side Crewe Alexandria this season.

The likes of Tim Cahill, Apostolos Giannoi, Trent Sainsbury and Nathan Burns were unable to be selected, while Mathew Leckie was not included for personal reasons.

“We have had to cast the net far and wide again and at the same time I think we have come up with a squad that will be really competitive on the day,” Postecoglou said.

“More importantly for me, it gives me a chance to see some further growth in some players playing against the best possible opposition.”

Goodwin, who this week left Adelaide to link up with newly-promoted Dutch first-tier side Sparta Rotterdam, has been given the chance to add to the two appearances for the Socceroos he made at the East Asian Cup three years ago.

Also included are Brisbane Roar skipper Matt McKay and Bursaspor left-back Aziz Behich, who hasn’t featured for the national team in nearly 12 months.

Postecoglou acknowledged the match will be a huge test for a depleted Australia against a star-studded England side who are preparing for the Euro 2016 tournament in France.

“As an Australian, it is always a special event when we face England in any sport, probably more so with football,” he said. “England is obviously a quality team and will be good challenge for us especially away from home.

“Having come off the back of the first stage of qualifying against Asian opposition, it will be good to face up to something different and see how we are tracking with our progression.”

Australia: Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Adam Federici, Craig Goodwin, Chris Ikonomidis, Jackson Irvine, Brad Inman, Mile Jedinak, Tomi Juric, Robbie Kruse, Mitchell Langerak, Massimo Luongo, Jamie Maclaren, Stefan Mauk, Matthew McKay, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Josh Risdon, Tom Rogic, Mathew Ryan, Brad Smith, Bailey Wright, Alex Wilkinson.

[Just Joe]

Rooney to play out on the left is the discussion on Sky Sports today. Does he really have to be in the starting 11 playing out of position? Team announced at 11, would like to see Defoe get in the squad. At the very least I think we'll see him in the provisional/reserves list and will get a run out against Australia. Kane and Vardy are obviously ahead of him and Welbeck was going to be a wide player so I think Townsend gets that spot with Roy having used him and will trust him. 

[Jimmy]

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 Delph. 

Lol, Mark Noble.

 

 

[MDK]

No Baines? Interesting.

[Whisper]

1 hour ago, Just Joe said:

Rooney to play out on the left is the discussion on Sky Sports today. Does he really have to be in the starting 11 playing out of position? Team announced at 11, would like to see Defoe get in the squad. At the very least I think we'll see him in the provisional/reserves list and will get a run out against Australia. Kane and Vardy are obviously ahead of him and Welbeck was going to be a wide player so I think Townsend gets that spot with Roy having used him and will trust him. 

I hate this, honestly. I know Rooney these days is a long way from being our best player but we have an obsession in this country with fitting people in. Argentina don't play Messi out of position just to fit him in. We did it with Paul Scholes for years and look ahere that got us.

As for the squad. Lol Delph. Great for Rashford but he won't (nor should he unless Sturridge breaks) make the 23.

Brave selection I think. He could've easily picked the usual likes of Jagielka, Baines, Walcott etc but seems to have gone for the younger players which is nice to see. Townsend, Delph, Lallana (to a degree) and Rashford are the obvious names that jump out as "less deserving" but when you really think about it, who else has a significantly better claim than them? Except poor Mark Noble.

Delph, Rashford and one of Henderson/Lallana/Wilshere to miss out based on fitness?

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Noble, Antonio and Cresswell should have been there in my opinion.

[Whisper]

Form wise, you aren't wrong. But I don't think  players who haven't been part of the qualification/preparation process were ever going to get in. Rashford being the obvious exception, but he wouldn't be there if Welbeck was fit.