The England thread

[HailtotheYo]

Wait, how exactly does Crouch scare people ?

I'm actually curious about that. I mean, nothing about a 7ft 100lb beanpole conjurs up "scary" to me.

[Farmer Reil]

I don't think he meant "OHSHITHE'SGOTAGUN!" scary.

Just, from a defenders standpoint, defending against Crouch is a lot scarier a prospect than defending against, say, Defoe. What's Defoe going to do? Run pretty fast, towards you?

[IAceI]

He's scary because when there's a cross, if the defender hasn't jumped to head it clear the moment it's been kicked you can guarantee Crouch will be holding him down by the shoulders to get leverage.

[TCO]

If England are so insistent on having a Heskey type player, why hasn't Kevin Davies eveer been mentioned? He's always been an absolute terror for defenders and he scores on a more regular basis than Heskey.

[Liam]

I like Davies a lot, but he wouldn't see out a game with his style of physical play.

[HailtotheYo]

He's scary because when there's a cross, if the defender hasn't jumped to head it clear the moment it's been kicked you can guarantee Crouch will be holding him down by the shoulders to get leverage.

That I can see.

[Colly]

Also he's very pointy. I play footie with a marginally shorter beanpole and it feels like being stabbed if you catch an elbow...

[Summers]

Rio @ hospital with a knee injury. Having a scan. James sat out training, Barry trained.

[stokeriño]

Hmm. If Rio were to not start a game, who do you suppose would be the obvious choice to partner Terry? Carragher?

[therockbox]

King, probably.

[Farmer Reil]

King, definitely.

If King didn't have the injury proneness of Darren Anderton, he'd be the best defender in England. As it is, he's "the best defender in England for twenty minutes before a mild tackle in training causes him to miss half the season".

[Baddar]

All I got from the press conference was Fabio calling everyone 'fuckers' every few minutes.

[9 to 5]

Rio should be okay from the sounds of it. Might miss the USA game but afetr that? Should be alright. Just depends if Capello will put up with that.

[new_era]

TalkSport are saying it's a twisted knee, which would rule him out!

[9 to 5]

I wouldn't rely on Talksport to inform me what colour the sky was, so I wouldn't pay much attention to them.

[new_era]

Yeah, don't rely on Talksport, now also confirmed on BBC Football

Rio is out.

[Baddar]

Dawson flying out to replace him, according to SkySports.

[IAceI]

Is Heskey just trying to make everyone hate him? As if he wasn't maligned enough he then injures our captain. And thus the armband is passed around so much it mirrors the Pompey ownership ¬_¬

[Summers]

Not sure King is the best partner for Terry, but he's who I expect to start. Upson or Dawson would be better with Terry, I think. Although King, as stated, would be the best English defender if he wasn't made of porcelain.

[Summers]

Double post, sorry.

Edited June 4, 2010 by Johnny Summers