The England thread

[MDK]

If Rooney has to play I'd prefer him up front 

[Matt]

Ahead of Kane or Vardy, no thanks.

[MDK]

44 minutes ago, Matt said:

Ahead of Kane or Vardy, no thanks.

Oh yeah same here, but forcing him into midfield is going to suck

[The Lusophone]

He's played well in midfield at times this season.

[Matt]

I'd prefer if Rooney didn't start at all but he will and so I'd much rather he takes the place of Lallana/Sterling/Wilshere/Barkley or to a lesser extent Alli than Vardy or Kane. Kane is the most natural goalscorer and all round striker we've had for years and Vardy's style and pace is something a lot of sides will struggle to deal with, any international side with their salt can deal with Rooney; his record at major tournaments barring 2004 proves that. At least in midfield he'll be running his balls off and offer something.

[Gazz]

England won the U21 Toulon tournament, so we're definitely winning the World Cup in the next 6 years.

Crowd was massive.

[METALMAN]

No wonder nobody went to the game. Toulon's nice. And it is quite close to Nîmes. The last thing I would do in Toulon is go and see a football game. 

[Lineker]

Ronaldo will be rested for the England game.

[Lineker]

Drinkwater, Townsend and Delph are the three to miss out.

[Colly]

[Matt]

Drinkwater is unlucky, he deserves a spot above a couple of players but it's hardly a surprising selection.

[MDK]

Just now, Colly said:

I know, gutted for Delph 

[Baddar]

Happy for Rashford. I wonder if his debut essentially knocked Drinkwater out of the team despite playing in different positions?

Could just be because Sturridge is prone to breaking to pieces but even then Rashford could have been a stand-by.

[Adam]

I'm not doing any funny Mark Noble pictures today, because I'm not in the least bit surprised. But I completely disagree with Roy's selections and I do think it will cost us in this tournament.

How can you justify Drinkwater not going? The only feasible excuse is that he hasn't been around the squad for long and that goes out the window when you look down the list and see Marcus Rashford's name on there. He was the best English midfielder in the division this season, and I would argue the best overall aside from Kante. He should be on the plane. I think Noble got shafted too but hey ho, what do I know. If either Wilshere or Henderson do their usual training break down then he will start to look silly for making this choice. And I am not being in the least bit biased, because I would have taken Noble before I picked Barkley as well.

Also, why do we need five forwards? You're not telling me that Rashford and Sturridge are going to get the game time worth it to take both, alongside Vardy, Kane, Rooney and since all of these players except Kane can be 'deployed' out wide we'll just chuck Sterling (laughable as he is anyway) and Lallana in there too. Most leading teams are taking two or three forwards to this tournament yet we are taking five. Eh.

Add to these very real concerns the fact that the defence is undermanned, and this could spell disaster for England. I'm not saying we will tank out of this tournament but I think we'd have had a better chance if some changes had been made to this squad. Roy is too predictable and too reliant on players from 'big' teams no matter what the personal circumstance with each player is.

[Arjen Robben]

Delph and Townsend out make sense, would have preferred Drinkwater over Wilshere. Ridiculous he's even in. If Hodgson doesn't include Walcott cause he hasn't played enough, how does Wilshere get in off the back of what, one start in a year?

[Whisper]

Whilst I agree Drinkwater should be in the squad, he hasn't done himself any favours with his performances when he has played for England.

Barkley in is the biggest travesty - he's been woeful lately, but every manager has players they trust I guess.

On the five forwards thing, a few days ago I would have said that Rooney was there as a midfielder. But then Roy goes and brings him on up top against Turkey, so who knows?

[Arjen Robben]

In fairness, he's had 3 appearances for England, 1 of which was off the bench for 15 minutes. I'd suggest his form over a season for a title winning Leicester (which still feels mad to type) side should count for more considering it's the reason he's in the squad to start with, and should certainly count for more than Wilshere's one start over an entire season.

[Vince Russo]

Not a major football fan, so can someone explain why Jack Wilshere is in the squad when he was out for almost the entire season and is notoriously fragile? On the surface, it doesn't make any sense. Is he really that good or is it just Hodgson sticking with someone familiar?

[Arjen Robben]

The latter can really be the only reason

[METALMAN]

1 hour ago, Adam said:

I'm not doing any funny Mark Noble pictures today, because I'm not in the least bit surprised. But I completely disagree with Roy's selections and I do think it will cost us the tournament.

How can you justify Drinkwater not going? The only feasible excuse is that he hasn't been around the squad for long and that goes out the window when you look down the list and see Marcus Rashford's name on there. He was the best English midfielder in the division this season, and I would argue the best overall aside from Kante. He should be on the plane. I think Noble got shafted too but hey ho, what do I know. If either Wilshere or Henderson do their usual training break down then he will start to look silly for making this choice. And I am not being in the least bit biased, because I would have taken Noble before I picked Barkley as well.

Also, why do we need five forwards? You're not telling me that Rashford and Sturridge are going to get the game time worth it to take both, alongside Vardy, Kane, Rooney and since all of these players except Kane can be 'deployed' out wide we'll just chuck Sterling (laughable as he is anyway) and Lallana in there too. Most leading teams are taking two or three forwards to this tournament yet we are taking five. Eh.

Add to these very real concerns the fact that the defence is undermanned, and this could spell disaster for England. I'm not saying we will tank out of this tournament but I think we'd have had a better chance if some changes had been made to this squad. Roy is too predictable and too reliant on players from 'big' teams no matter what the personal circumstance with each player is.

Listen sweetie, the absence of Drinkypoos and Noble is not going to cost England the tournament. They're decent but they're not that good.