England - the future....

[Hoop Blah]

What sort of teams do you think will be fielded if friendlies are worth, literally, nothing?

They'd still have the value to the manager and players in terms working towards qualification and building a team.

I really don't think the ratings play that much part in their approach and attitude. The manipulation of the system to improve FIFA rankings is more about the Association and the manager looking to improve their chances of qualifying for the next championship but they still play some in order to prepare properly.

[Hoop Blah]

I've not watched all 3 games but I've seen a fair bit and I do like the look of Lewis Baker for the u21s.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Absolute at the England v Part-time Australia "piss and go" goalkeepers hair advert tonight

[AthleticoSpizz]

2-0 Rooney against some part-timers

Let's all vvank over Rooney ..... To quote.Sky sport/talksquawk

[Ian Royal]

England looked worryingly poor in terms of controlling the game and possession letting Australia largely dictate things. Australia had little upfront to threaten England though and were vulnerable at the back.

Rogic looked decent, but no obvious end product.

Rashford took his goal very well and had some decent moments, but didn't look ready yet. Still, not a bad choice to have as replacement for the ever injured Sturridge. We looked more solid in midfield second half, but linked far less well going forward.

LOL @ Dier's own goal.

No idea what the right team balance is. There's a lot of talent, but working out the right combination is hard.

[Brosef Stalin]

Wilshere in and Noble out? lolwut

don't know anything about Rashford, not sure i have even seen him play. Assume he will miss out though.

Rashford is one Sturridge injury away from going....i'd take those odds

[Pepe the Horseman]

Should've backed it my prince x

[Hoop Blah]

Interesting decision to make on Rashford now.

I'm not sure he actually played well enough to demand a spot but as much as I think Sturridge is very talented I'm not sure I'd take him, for a number of reasons.

Firstly his fitness, he's obviously got issues and if he's got a little niggle now what's he going to be like if he needs to play a number of games in a short space of time. Will he just break down again? It wouldn't be so bad if we weren't already [probably] taking a couple of players who have fitness concerns.

Secondly, I'm not sure how he really fits into this team. He doesn't hold his position or play for the team enough to replace Kane as the lone forward if we play one up tops. I'm not sure he works hard enough to play as one of the wide men in a 3 man forward line (his most likely position IMO). If we play two upfront (with Rooney or AN Other in behind them) then it's Sturridge vs Vardy to partner Kane and I think Vardy is the winner to start with.

Perhaps my biggest concern though is how good a squad member he'll be if he's not in the starting XI, which I'm kind of assuming he won't be because of the above. He strikes me as the kind of player who will sulk and disrupt the squad if he's not playing. He certainly didn't look happy when Klopp used him sparingly at times.

Rashford on the other hand can probably play both the positions Sturridge can and, although he's not quite the handful Sturridge can be, I think he's already a better finisher than Sturridge who I think always tries to do something clever to make a goal look good. Rashford just gets the job done.

Right now I'd take Rashford.

[Ian Royal]

I'd agree with all of that.

I expect Rashford to get another few minutes in the last friendly just to make sure he can replicate an ok performance.

[Jack Celliers]

It was another solid result, but I was disappointed with the passing again last night. For a while, earlier in the season, the new young players were passing the ball well and controlling it tightly and I felt really optimistic that we were onto something good. Yesterday we'd play one of two passes and then try something very ambitious that didn't come off. All the huge improvements we had made since Gerrard and his generation of under-achievement retired seems to be disappearing.

[Hoop Blah]

I've not watched all 3 games but I've seen a fair bit and I do like the look of Lewis Baker for the u21s.

Scored again as England went on to win 2-1 against France to win the trophy.

[tmesis]

I've not watched all 3 games but I've seen a fair bit and I do like the look of Lewis Baker for the u21s.

Scored again as England went on to win 2-1 against France to win the trophy.

Good to see such a massive crowd there supporting the home nation in the final.

I think Bracknell Town would have be disappointed with that attendance.

[Stranded]

I'd agree with all of that.

I expect Rashford to get another few minutes in the last friendly just to make sure he can replicate an ok performance.

Final squad has to be announced before the final friendly, the Australia game and training is Rashford's audition, if he get's mins against Portugal then he is already on the plane.

Unless there is confidence that Sturridge could last a potential 7 games in 30 days then I think Rashford will go over Sturridge.

[Ian Royal]

Yeah for some reaaon when I when i wrote that I thought the game was going to be laat night.

I agree, I think he's going.

[Victor Meldrew]

Even if he doesn't play it is probably a good idea to take him for the experience.
Kane and/or Vardy should start each game ahead of him but Sturridge's fitness is a real problem-I would have taken Carroll as well and not bothered with 4 full-backs especially as Dier could cover for both there and at centre-back.
If Townsend doesn't go where is the option for a pacy wide player apart from Sterling?-the full-backs can't do everything and with none of them very good defensively I would sooner that they concentrated on that area rather than having to bomb forward.

After all the rubbish written after the game v Australia reserves where we scraped home 2-1 on home soil after a less-than-convincing display v Turkey I just want the competition to start where all teams will be going flat out.

Incidentally Baker, who HB mentioned earlier, has been talked of as a future star for some time and come the next world cup it will be interesting to see what progress he and the likes of Patrick Roberts have made with 2 more years experience under their belts.
The bigger concern might be where are all the defenders for the future?

[Ian Royal]

Even if he doesn't play it is probably a good idea to take him for the experience.

If Townsend doesn't go where is the option for a pacy wide player apart from Sterling?-the full-backs can't do everything and with none of them very good defensively I would sooner that they concentrated on that area rather than having to bomb forward.

Not a huge amount of room in a squad for wingers if your A and B plans don't involve them.

Hodgson seems to be going with the narrow 4-4-2 diamond and 4-3-3 as his systems.

[Vision]

Even if he doesn't play it is probably a good idea to take him for the experience.

If Townsend doesn't go where is the option for a pacy wide player apart from Sterling?-the full-backs can't do everything and with none of them very good defensively I would sooner that they concentrated on that area rather than having to bomb forward.

Not a huge amount of room in a squad for wingers if your A and B plans don't involve them.

Hodgson seems to be going with the narrow 4-4-2 diamond and 4-3-3 as his systems.

Hence the need for four specialist attacking full backs I guess. I'm not sure Townsend even counts as an out and out winger anyway but I suppose he gives us that option more than someone like Ross Barkley who now might be struggling to make it.

[Hoop Blah]

Agreed. Lots of noise in the press this morning about Barkley being at threat.

It's a good point that he's quite a specialist number 10 who isn't quite disciplined enough to suit one of the 3 midfield roles. Other attacking players can play at 10 or as a winger so I wouldn't be shocked if it's Barkley who misses out now (before Christmas I thought he'd be one to force his way into the starting XI).

[Silver Fox]

Well colour me surprised but Rashford's in. Townsend and Drinkwater out from the 25 that were left

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Tom Heaton (Burnley).

Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool).

Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).

Strikers: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).

[genome]

Harsh on Drinkwater, making 35 starts for a title-winning side isn't enough?