The England thread

[Colly]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24455721

List of players Jack Wilshire believes should never have played for England:

Victor Moses

Guess it's a good thing he told the senior team to fuck off then, eh Jackie boy.

Ditto Shola.

[stokeriño]

That Alonso quote is weird. Wouldn't saves made by goalkeepers be equally as much of a "last resort" as a tackle? Is shot-stopping therefore not a quality to aspire to either?

It seems to imply that the only valid defensive play is one where the other team kindly pass the ball to you, or at the very least that "real" football only occurs in possession, and anything the other team does during that time is relatively unimportant to the result of the game and shouldn't be aspired to and/or mastered.

Of course, coming from a Barca Spanish (because, unlike what my brain temporarily thought, it's Xabi not Xavi) player, none of this surprises me.

[Kaney]

That Alonso quote is weird. Wouldn't saves made by goalkeepers be equally as much of a "last resort" as a tackle? Is shot-stopping therefore not a quality to aspire to either?

It seems to imply that the only valid defensive play is one where the other team kindly pass the ball to you, or at the very least that "real" football only occurs in possession, and anything the other team does during that time is relatively unimportant to the result of the game and shouldn't be aspired to and/or mastered.

Of course, coming from a Barca player, none of this surprises me.

[Colly]

Ignoring the Barca thing, I think his point is more that as a team that's not what you should aspire to be doing. A perfectly timed sliding challenge or world class save is ace, but you'd much rather just pick up a loose ball on the halfway line and keep possession at that end. Put it this way, I've watched 20 years of fawning over world class saves from Given and Krul, but I'd much rather our defense not have been useless to start with.

[stokeriño]

Yeah, sorry, was trying to finish the post before I rushed out of work and got Xavi in my head. Because, you know, 'X'.

[Nerf]

Ignoring the Barca thing, I think his point is more that as a team that's not what you should aspire to be doing. A perfectly timed sliding challenge or world class save is ace, but you'd much rather just pick up a loose ball on the halfway line and keep possession at that end. Put it this way, I've watched 20 years of fawning over world class saves from Given and Krul, but I'd much rather our defense not have been useless to start with.

This, basically. He even says that tackling is a necessity, but it's not a quality. If your best quality is tackling, then your ceiling is always going to be a Cattermole and not a Cruyff. Plus, Xabi hasn't exactly shirked from his fair share of tackles in his time.

Not saying I necessarily agree with his opinion. Lucas is arguably our most vital player, and his entire role is basically to pull off those 'last resorts.'

[The Lusophone]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24455721

List of players Jack Wilshire believes should never have played for England:

Victor Moses

Guess it's a good thing he told the senior team to fuck off then, eh Jackie boy.

Well, yes. I should've said that the list included players capped at U21 level as well.

Is Moses playing for Nigeria then?

[Colly]

Yup. Just like Shola.

[METALMAN]

I think that's a fair point. The best defenders - the likes of Maldini, Nesta, Baresi - were never really known for tackling. it was their ability to read the game and stifile the opposition without having to resort to tackling that made them great players.

[9 to 5]

You forget Colin Hendry.

[METALMAN]

Colin Hendry just smashed people's heads open with his elbow.

[9 to 5]

You are dead to me.

[METALMAN]

But I approve of his defensive methods! That's avoiding tackling!

[9 to 5]

D.E.A.D.

[Lineker]

Apparently, Berti Vogts asked Wayne Rooney to consider playing for Scotland ten years ago (he has a Scottish grandparent). Could you imagine!

The U21's beat San Marino 4-0, with Harry Kane bagging a hat-trick (lol) and Michael Keane scoring the other.

[Gazz]

He and Andy Carroll could have formed a formiddable partnership.

[Jimmy]

Tom Carroll also got 2 assists because Tom Carroll is wonderful.

[Nerf]

He and Andy Carroll could have formed a formiddable partnership.

Heh, if Sturridge wasn't in the form of his life, Carroll is kind of exactly what Hodgepodge needs right now.

[Colly]

From Linekers Twitter after Stevie G denied 'Arrys claims that he sent him a text of support for the England job:

'Harry says he doesn't text. Harry says Gerrard sent him a text. Gerrard says he didn't text Harry. Something's not right about this text.'

Two possible situations, 'Arry text himself, or it was Kevin Nash.

[Colly]

Cleverleys out. Nightmare.