England's Final 23-Man Squad Announced
England's 23-man squad for the World Cup finals:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham).
Defenders: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa).
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City).
Forwards: Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).
What do you make of the final decision by Capello? Is Walcott unlucky? Why Wright Phillips over Adam Johnson? What did Warnock do to get the nod over Baines?
Cheers,
AM
13 comments:
I am not really surprised as Walcott missed out, he has been crap in the two friendlies. But I do think that Lennon and SWP is overlapped. I will go for AJ rather than SWP. The reason why Warnock win it over Baines is the poor performance of Baines against Mexico.
Come on ENGLAND!
lennon, walcott, swp are very similiar players, lennon has been the best of them this season and should be in starting 11.
the choice was between swp or walcott for final spot, i think swp got the nod over walcott, cause he's produced sometimes coming from the bench, etc more often then walcott, but both of them had poor seasons.
i would've taken johnson over warnock actually, cause when a.cole gets hurt, then milner can play as left-back.
overall i'm pleased, i would've taken the same team, except johnson over warnock.
I think Capello is one of this manager (just like van Gaal) who treat full-back as defender (he was convinced to Warnock's skill and he wanted to gave a chance to Baines who didnt take it).
I dont really understand why SWP > Adam Johnson (but I believe it's because SWP can take nearly every spot in midfield and he's really really fast ^^)
Carrick as only fit defensive midfielder (I think he always was here).
Upson? He is one of Capello's boys, just like Green and King (I think).
SWP > Walcott (i dont know why and i think nobody do including Capello)
Capello has seen more of these players than anyone else; if he thinks this is our best squad then it is.
none of the players being discussed are game changers/winners on current form...so it doesn't matter very much. most won't even be on the bench for the actual games!
Walcott didn´t deserve his spot in the final 23 in my opinion. He produces a good performance once in a blue moon.
AJ hasn´t got any experience. I think Capello made the right decision.
I don´t think it really mattered who went from Baines or Warnock. Unless we need Baines´penalty taking skills (we all know we´ll be in a shootout at some point).
The decision that bothers me is Michael Carrick. For the life of me, i cannot understand why people rate him.
I have seen nothing special come from him, ever. He is lathargic, wasteful, not a great tackler, not a prolific goalscorer, and the myth about his passing and vision, is just a myth. He has no use. Parker should have gone, who has been outstanding all season long, and is a ready made replacement for Barry, should he be injured.
Rant over ;)
So all in all, AJ would get my vote if he had played more than a few minutes for England.
Scott Parker should have gone in place of Carrick.
To me, I can understand why he chose all of the above players. It looks like he will be relying heavily on England keeping their shape and relying on set-pieces more than goals from open play. This looks like a defensive-minded squad to me with a very rigid shape counting on making few mistakes. All the players can defend admirably with maybe the excuse of the wingers (SWP, Lennon, Jcole) but they are ones who never seem to stop running and seem like they will be pressing the ball more. Players in the middle like Carrick, Milner, Barry, Gerrard and Lamps can all hold their own in the defense department. The only fleet-of-foot defenders I see are Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole who might be there to provide that extra option up front when the game needs a goal and could be subbed for some sturdiness at the back (GJohn in particular) if england are looking to shut the game down. Anyone else see England scraping by on 1-0 and 2-1 victories with this team?
should be excellent watching lennon and swp running all over the place whenever they can!
why theo walcott not in final list? he did well in world cup qualifition. so sad :(
gkinz
why theo walcott not in final list? he did well in world cup qualification. so sad :(
gkinz
Toffeedave, the state of the defence demands tight midfield who give no space on the ball. Ferdinand and Terry have looked average at best, the keeper (whoever it is) is average, and Glen Johnson is absolutely woeful defensively. If teams have space, they will score. England are not a free scoring team so things need to be kept tight at the back. Also Lennon's not as bad defensively as some have made out, he always tracks back at spurs (although the heat in SA could prevent this happening as much).
parker & dawson definitely knew they will axe from the final 23 becoz they didn't get even a single minute to play against mexico & japan.. better capello select 28 instead of 30 at first.. lol
josh that was what I was trying to say.
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