England Squad

[Starfish]

Well, that's one player less to choose from. Walcott out.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/201 ... gland-knee

[genome]

Penance for that digusting and inciteful gesture towards the Tottenham fans.

[Ian Royal]

Penance for that digusting and inciteful gesture towards the Tottenham fans.

Lol.
If you can't take a bit of banter, don't dish it out. At least we've got Townsend, but Walcott out is a blow to our already tiny tiny hopes.

[SHORT AND CURLY]

Penance for that digusting and inciteful gesture towards the Tottenham fans.

LOL digusting and inciteful

WTF. Can you spell?

Your comments are ridiculous enough as it is. If you must stick up for scummy Spurs "fans" at least come across less chavvy than those numptys.

[genome]

That was easier than I thought.

[Jimbo]

Nice catch.

[Ginger Ninjas]

Gutted for Walcott... Went to 2006 (undeservedly) and didn't play, missed out on 2010 squad (undeservedly) and now injured for 2014 when he's looked very good in the few games since coming back from previous injury

[URZZZZZ]

Gutted for Walcott... Went to 2006 (undeservedly) and didn't play, missed out on 2010 squad (undeservedly) and now injured for 2014 when he's looked very good in the few games since coming back from previous injury

It's a big blow for the England team if you ask me, can't imagine how gutted he must be feeling.
He has gotta be one of England's only decent players.
Even more annoyed as got £150 on arsenal to win the league, big blow for them too

[soggy biscuit]

Some doctor on Radio 5 just said that recovery from ACL injuries vary hugely from sportman to sportsman so Arsenal wouldn't know how long he is out for right now as it has just happened. Said it depends on the quality of the surgery but then also depends heavily on the players body and how quickly it heals, how well they look after themselves, the rehab program etc

Gave an example of Roberto Baggio who did his ACL 5 months before the world cup in 2002 and was therefore ruled out. Was back playing just 77 days later.

[ZacNaloen]

Tbf Walcott does seem to take forever to come back from injury.

[6ft Kerplunk]

Plus he'll need to be back in April to prove his fitness in the last few games of the season.

[Zaretsky]

Some doctor on Radio 5 just said that recovery from ACL injuries vary hugely from sportman to sportsman so Arsenal wouldn't know how long he is out for right now as it has just happened. Said it depends on the quality of the surgery but then also depends heavily on the players body and how quickly it heals, how well they look after themselves, the rehab program etc

Gave an example of Roberto Baggio who did his ACL 5 months before the world cup in 2002 and was therefore ruled out. Was back playing just 77 days later.

That is insane but surely the exception to the rule? 6 months is the general minimum stated for professionals it seems. Lay persons, myself included, tend to be more like 9 months (before I played football again)

[creative_username_1]

With half the season gone who would you put in the first eleven for England. I really hope we don't have
Stevie G, Carrick or Lampard in the midfield as they're just not up to it any more but who does that leave.

[genome]

Hart, Walker, Cahill, Jagielka, Baines, Gerrard, Wilshere, Sterling, Townsend, Rooney, Sturridge

Wingers and centre backs are a problem for me. Would rather see Sturridge up top considering current form, and Sterling's having a good season so maybe him and Townsend on the wings (going by his previous England form).

I wouldn't have Jones or Smalling in there given United's defence at the moment...

[Ginger Ninjas]

Hart, Walker, Cahill, Jagielka, Baines, Gerrard, Wilshere, Sterling, Townsend, Rooney, Sturridge

Wingers and centre backs are a problem for me. Would rather see Sturridge up top considering current form, and Sterling's having a good season so maybe him and Townsend on the wings (going by his previous England form).

I wouldn't have Jones or Smalling in there given United's defence at the moment...

Really don't think Sterling is consistent enough at club level to merit a place in the squad, let alone starting XI; Townsend is also a mixed bag, but guess he'll get in on the basis of his appearances for England. I'd put Lallana and Milner in ahead of those two, and rely more on the full backs to provide the width. I doubt Milner will be a popular choice, but he's looked good whenever he's played for City this season and provides defensive cover, lack of game time might count against him though. The big question mark in that position is how well AOC comes back from injury. Oh, and Adam Johnson's last six games puts him ahead of all of them!

[winchester_royal]

Hart

Walker
Jags
Cahill
Baines

Gerrard
Wilshere/Henderson

Sturridge
Barkley
Lallana

Rooney

[Hoop Blah]

All depending on all players been fit and on top form

Keepers
Hart, Foster, Forster.

Defenders
Cole, Baines, Cahill, Jagielka, Lescott, Jones, Walker

Midfielders
Gerrard, Carrick, Wilshere, Lampard, Barkley

Wingers
Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Welbeck, Townsend

Strikers
Rooney, Sturridge, Defoe, Carroll

In contention
Butland, Glen Johnson, Shaw, Smalling, Caulker, Adam Johnson (I don't think theres a better left sided option if he's on top form), Lallana, Ince, Lambert plus potentially some of the younger ones from the U21's if they really kick on (not convinced by the hype around Morrison at the moment).

Starting line up would be (4-2-3-1/4-4-1-1)
Hart
Walker
Cole
Jagielka
Lescott
Gerrard
Carrick (not a fan of his and would rather Wilshire but he needs to get back to passing not running into tackles)
Walcott
Rooney
Townsend
Sturridge

http://hobnob.royals.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=121029#p3843576

Obviously Walcott is now out and I'd say there's big question marks over Defoe as he's off to Canada soon isn't he? Ashley Cole might be getting worried because his lack of first team football, and likewise Townsend still needs to prove he's the best option for one of the places on the wing. For me Adam Johnson is going a long way to playing himself back into the squad. He and Townsend in the same team might not work as they're both left footed wingers who seem to mainly be playing on the right.

Upfront is the biggest concern for me, and Walcott was another option there. Rooney & Sturridge are nailed on if fit, with probably Welbeck and, IMO, Carroll the back up, so with Walcot out, and Welbeck now going as a forward I'd probably end up with Adam Johnson and Lallana on the plane too.

Good news is that Wilshire seems to be playing himself into better form than earlier in the season.

[soggy biscuit]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/feb/02/england-world-cup-pubs-cannot-stay-open-late-home-office

The Home Office has said it has rejected a requested from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) for serving times to be extended during the opening and closing weekends of the tournament in Brazil. Pub opening hours were extended for the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations in 2012 and the 2011 royal wedding, but the crime prevention minister, Norman Baker, said the World Cup was not a "one-off".

"Premises which wish to open longer during this time can do so by applying for a temporary event notice extension. This gives local authorities and police an opportunity to feed into the decision-making process, allowing them to allocate resources if necessary."

Not sure how much of a story this is as I don't know how easy it is for individual pubs to get a temporary event license approved. though to be honest, a lot of non town centre type pubs will just have a lock in anyway

[stealthpapes]

It's been a while but my understanding is that they need to cover their arses over noise, safety and crowd control. But any time a pub extends its opening hours, it's either in the license or its an application like described.

What the government have done is said you have to play by the rules that exist, and you've known its a WC summer for years.

Not sure what the story is here, tbh.

[TBM]

Terry and Cahill should be the centre back pairing in the world cup, tbh