England V Belerus

[PurpleTurtle]

Agreed TBM. He did a couple of ok passes when he first came on, did nothing for 20 mins and then scuffed a shot against the post. Best bit was his 'highlight' of crossing the ball straight to a defender with absolutely no mention of Barry's 40 yard pinpoint pass onto his toe.

TBF to Becks (stray Hollywood 50-yarders aside) he had an almost immediate impact on the game.
Everyone to a man expected him to curl in a Becks-esque corner, he goes and takes it short and direct to SWP who slotted it away nicely. At that point in the game I think England were struggling to find a second goal, which is why I think he is so essential to our squad because of his ability to turn a game in a moment.

[papereyes]

He got it for the beard, and rightly so. Not enough beards in football anymore.

Nice to see Mellberg scoring twice for the Swedes (although I'm not sure if he's had a date with a razor or not recently).

The puzzled look on his face is answer enough.

[Big Foot]

Made me laugh that ITV tried showing clips of why Beckham was MOM - all they could find were 4 or 5 passes that were long/direct of which only 1 went to the player

Me too, has been the hot topic at work today so far too...

Johnson looks good going forward but he crosses it in a similar mould to Short Cummings. When Lennon had 3 players round him in the first half and laid it back to Johnson, he should've wrapped his foot around the ball and whipped a cross in for Crouch or Gabby to get a flick onto. Instead he put in a shit floaty cross which the keeper saved with ease.

His positional play is also concerning.

Good performance to end qualifying and let's now focus on World Cup 2010.

My 23 man squad would be:
David James
Ben Foster

Ashley Cole
John Terry
Rio Ferdinand
Matthew Upson
Joleon Lescott
Glen Johnson

Gareth Barry
Michael Carrick
James Milner
David Beckham
Frank Lampard
Steve Gerrard
Aaron Lennon
Joe Cole
SWP

Wayne Rooney
Emile Heskey
Peter Crouch
Jermaine Defoe
Theo Walcott
Gabriel Agbonlahor

[T.R.O.L.I.]

Made me laugh that ITV tried showing clips of why Beckham was MOM - all they could find were 4 or 5 passes that were long/direct of which only 1 went to the player

Me too, has been the hot topic at work today so far too...

IMO, the reason that Crouch didn't get MOM was because Steve Bruce is still bitter about Crouchy turning down a move to Sunderland back in the summer.

[Big Foot]

Made me laugh that ITV tried showing clips of why Beckham was MOM - all they could find were 4 or 5 passes that were long/direct of which only 1 went to the player

Me too, has been the hot topic at work today so far too...

IMO, the reason that Crouch didn't get MOM was because Steve Bruce is still bitter about Crouchy turning down a move to Sunderland back in the summer.

He did say that on ITV to be fair to him

[cmonurz]

You'll want 3 keepers, BF, just in case. Which means SWP loses out, for me. Can't disagree with the rest though.

[TBM]

You'll want 3 keepers, BF, just in case. Which means SWP loses out, for me. Can't disagree with the rest though.

I'd take Carrick out personally......we've got enough cover in the centre of the park IMHO

[Thaumagurist*]

Made me laugh that ITV tried showing clips of why Beckham was MOM - all they could find were 4 or 5 passes that were long/direct of which only 1 went to the player

Me too, has been the hot topic at work today so far too...

IMO, the reason that Crouch didn't get MOM was because Steve Bruce is still bitter about Crouchy turning down a move to Sunderland back in the summer.

Again, as I said, Bruce is a cock.

[Wycombe Royal]

My 23 man squad would be:
David James
Ben Foster

Ashley Cole
John Terry
Rio Ferdinand
Matthew Upson
Joleon Lescott
Glen Johnson

Gareth Barry
Michael Carrick
James Milner
David Beckham
Frank Lampard
Steve Gerrard
Aaron Lennon
Joe Cole
SWP

Wayne Rooney
Emile Heskey
Peter Crouch
Jermaine Defoe
Theo Walcott
Gabriel Agbonlahor

It will contain 3 keepers, 4 or possibly 5 strikers and more than 6 defenders.

You have gone on a midfield overkill..........

[TBM]

My 23 man squad would be:
David James
Ben Foster

Ashley Cole
John Terry
Rio Ferdinand
Matthew Upson
Joleon Lescott
Glen Johnson

Gareth Barry
Michael Carrick
James Milner
David Beckham
Frank Lampard
Steve Gerrard
Aaron Lennon
Joe Cole
SWP

Wayne Rooney
Emile Heskey
Peter Crouch
Jermaine Defoe
Theo Walcott
Gabriel Agbonlahor

It will contain 3 keepers, 4 or possibly 5 strikers and more than 6 defenders.

You have gone on a midfield overkill..........

To be fair, Theo Walcott will be classed as midfield more than a forward

[Big Foot]

Why do we need 3 goalkeepers? I'm sure if the worst happens and 2 keepers get injured you can call another one up as emergency as it's a specialist position?!

Carrick is in there for the games where the other side try and play gritty, tough football.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Just as a side dish

Which one of the current England outfield squad could step into the GK role if the poop hit the fan?

[Whore Jackie]

Just as a side dish

Which one of the current England outfield squad could step into the GK role if the poop hit the fan?

Phil Jagielka used to deputise in the Sheff United goal. Colin didn't bother with a substitute goalie. Perhaps swap him with Lescott and go with Big Foot's two goalie option.

Must say I'd go with the five strikers, plus Theo Walcott option. Absolute madness only taking four, strikers always seem more vulnerable to injury, suspension or loss of form, particularly when playing games in close succession. And there's always two or three defenders and midfielders that remain on the bench throughout the whole tournament.

[Hoop Blah]

Made me laugh that ITV tried showing clips of why Beckham was MOM - all they could find were 4 or 5 passes that were long/direct of which only 1 went to the player

That summed it up for me. He can do no wrong in many people's eyes and it just goes to show the power of celebrity. He did help raise the pace of the game a bit though, but anyone with Beckham's qualities coming into a game like that should be able to have some sort of impact.

Is he the answer for proper competitive games? Nope, but he can play a role in the squad still and I'd have him on the plane to South Africa next year.

On the Crouch debate. Same applies in many ways. He's a bit of a flat track bully but he can also perform well and do a job against good sides too. The Crouch vs Heskey arguement is not valid for me though, did no-one notice that Crouch was replacing Rooney and Agbonlahor was Heskey's similar replacement?

Like Becks, Crouch can play a big part in coming off the bench or providing that cover for Rooney, but the two of them can't play together and too often they want to do the same things and they both could do with a partner alongside them with decent pace to make space for them.

[cmonurz]

Isn't Rio United's outfield option in goal?

[cmonurz]

Agree HB re Crouch. I do think he is under-rated, and I think to have him on the bench, and given his decent goalscoring record, is an asset most other countries don't have.

Anyone who is 6ft 7ins and scores two bicycle kicks in the same season gets respect from me, as he did for 'Pool a couple of years back.

[Hoop Blah]

My squad, at the moment would be:

James
Foster
Hart or Kirkland (don't rate Green)

Johnson
Richards or perhaps Bridge
Cole
Lescot
Terry
Ferdinand
Upson

Barry
Garrard
Lampard
Cole
Walcott
Hargreaves or Carrick if he doesn't prove his fitness
Beckham
Generic pacey but not great winger, preference being Young but more likely to be Lennon or SWP


Rooney
Heskey
Crouch
Defoe
Owen or Cole, I know which one the manager will go for though!

The last place a toss up between Bridge and any of the wingers.

[1871 Royal]

Isn't Rio United's outfield option in goal?

I was thinking that. I'm sure I have seen him play in goal for United recently, might be mistaken though?

[Ginger Ninjas]

I'd definitely have Hargreaves in the squad, assuming he can prove his fitness. Think he's capable of playing the DM role better than Carrick or Barry (albeit with a little less passing ability), can take a better free kick than Frank hit-it-as-hard-as-possible-at-the-wall-and-hope-for-the-best Lampard, and gives cover at right back for Johnson (which we don't have, unless Jagielka is taken instead of Upson).

Whilst it's difficult to include a striker with Heskey's international record, he looks like a certainty to go. Crouch's ability to disrupt defences should see him there, and I think Defoe and Walcott have done enough to impress during qualifying. Whether Capello decides to take an extra forward will probably depend on the form of Bent/Cole/Agbonlahor/Owen over the coming 6 months. I think Bent's unlucky not to have been included in the most recent squad - I'd guess that his starts:goals ratio over the past 5 years in the PL is better than all the other possible options (maybe excluding Defoe).

[papereyes]

Generic pacey but not great winger, preference being Young but more likely to be Lennon or SWP

Likely to be Milner for he can cover in the middle and at wing back.