The England thread

[MDK]

Shocking

[Starvinho]

Tottenham Hotspur pair Aaron Lennon and Michael Dawson have both withdrawn from the England squad to face San Marino and Montenegro through injury.

Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has been added to the squad, who meet at St. George's Park on Monday.

[Jimmy]

poor daws

[MJB]

Major shock.

Rio Ferdinand has pulled out of the England Squad

[Adam]

Him and Fergie can piss off. I'm sick of all their bullshit. It is now obvious that he was never going to be joining up, so why go through all this palava of the last few days? It's not like his "pre-planned training routine" was a sudden, new thing. Hope he is not selected again as it's clear he won't be able to do it.

[Hobo]

According to Tony Barrett:

1. Hodgson has done this kind of thing before. In Dec 2010 he stated that Fernando Torres would play for Liverpool against Utrecht.

2. The problem was he hadn't checked with Liverpool's medical department first & when he finally did they told him Torres couldn't play.

3. Like Rio Ferdinand now, Torres was on a specialised training programme at the time.

[stokeriño]

Even if Chelsea's players all played in all their respective internationals this week, they would still be playing fewer games than they have been since God-knows-when for their club (e.g. Friday and Tuesday as opposed to Thursday - Sunday - Thursday)...so that's sort of a rest really.

[Starvinho]

I never wanted Rio to play anyways, I'd rather he just retired from international football.

As for the games, San Marino is obviously a gimme. Makes sense to me to play a 'weaker' team and give other players a chance. I'd like to see a team like; Foster, Walker, Smalling, Lescott, Baines, Ox, Osman, Parker/Lampard, Milner, Welbeck, Defoe.

Then against Montenegro, which is a game that we really need to win, I'd play a 'stronger' team like; Hart, Johnson, Cahill, Lescott, Cole, Carrick, Cleverley, Gerrard, Welbeck, Walcott, Rooney.

[Matt]

I'm not sure why Danny Welbeck with his massive return of 2 goals and 4 assists in 34 appearances (20 starts) deserves a call up never mind a start. Pretty sure the only prerequisite for getting an England game these days is having a scum contact.

[MJB]

Obviously I'm not going to agree with the 'scum' part but the rest of that post, I will agree with 100%.

Welbeck works incredibly hard for the team, and I understand why SAF keeps him around the squad. But, it does baffle me just how often he gets picked over Hernandez.

As far as England goes, I'd say that someone like Rickie Lambert or Gary Hooper should get a chance. Kevin Davies did, so there's no reason why one of those two shouldn't be given a shot.

[Starvinho]

Welbeck's season in front of goal has been poor but what he gives in others areas has more than made up for it. He was the best player over the two legs against Real, the job he did on Alonso in the second leg was nothing short of World class. He doesn't get the credit he deserves but that comes with being a squad player at United. Fergie loves him though and it seems Hodgson is a keen admirer too.

[Matt]

So what? He's a striker. He is there to score goals or at worst set up his strike partner. He hasn't been doing that so doesn't deserve a place in the England squad. Anything else he does on the pitch should be a bonus to scoring goals not a replacement. I'd work hard for the England team that doesn't mean I should get the number 9 shirt any time soon.

That goal return at any other club and he wouldn't even be considered. And if he had been picked there'd be outrage in the media.

[Twist]

So what? He's a striker. He is there to score goals or at worst set up his strike partner. He hasn't been doing that so doesn't deserve a place in the England squad. Anything else he does on the pitch should be a bonus to scoring goals not a replacement. I'd work hard for the England team that doesn't mean I should get the number 9 shirt any time soon.

That goal return at any other club and he wouldn't even be considered. And if he had been picked there'd be outrage in the media.

That isn't how modern football works. Not even a little. Well, a little. A striker should score goals but I wouldn't even call him a striker, he certainly wasn't against Madrid.

Edited March 18, 2013 by Pepsi Twist

[Matt]

He plays most of his football as a forward. He should be scoring goals. People were outraged at Emile Heskey being picked for "other work he does for the team"and rightly so, but put a man utd shirt on the player and no one bats an eyelid.

[Jimmy]

Obviously I'm not going to agree with the 'scum' part but the rest of that post, I will agree with 100%.

Welbeck works incredibly hard for the team, and I understand why SAF keeps him around the squad. But, it does baffle me just how often he gets picked over Hernandez.

As far as England goes, I'd say that someone like Rickie Lambert or Gary Hooper should get a chance. Kevin Davies did, so there's no reason why one of those two shouldn't be given a shot.

Not so sure on Lambert, but I'd give Hooper a chance. Especially over Defoe who's done nothing since his return to warrant a call-up.

[Matt]

I'd be far more inclined to give Lambert a go than Hooper, I mean just look at CM Punk Kris Boyd. Scored record amounts in the SPL but proved to be poor at best in the championship. There's not much to show that scoring in Scotland equates to being able to score at the highest level. I'd probably still say he's worth a go but he probably needs to move to a better league if he wants to play regularly.

[Nerf]

It helps that Ricky Lambert is also a really likeable guy.

[Jimmy]

But then I'd argue everyone was calling for Holt to get a call-up last year, and he hasn't come close to repeating that form and that 'hype' has gone quiet. Nothing to see Lambert won't be the same. Plus he's getting on a bit. At least Hooper's done it a couple seasons on the go. No harm in calling him up and seeing how he gets on in training - there's no commitment to play him, I guess.

[Adam]

Let's face it, no matter who is England manager they still tend to favour players from the "big" teams over others more often than not. I think continued selections like Danny Welbeck prove that.

[Colly]

I don't think there's anything massively wrong with that to be honest as long as there aren't outstanding players at less fashionable clubs being overlooked, and there isn't a massive argument for anyone in particular when we're talking about Lambert and noted Scunthorpe legend Hooper. Obviously there's always context to apply but I think if Welbeck is deemed good enough to play against Real Madrid for the countries top team he's probably good enough to play against San Marino (a game that is barely worth using to experiment with anyway, you might as well schedule a friendly with Crewe reserves).