England Squad - The 23

[mommysboy]

Oliver kay of The Times predicts his squad and then 'sits on the fence' . Clearly it's not easy for any of us. What a job Capello has. Anyway Times geezer says:

Oliver Kay's predicted squad

Goalkeepers: Robert Green, David James, Joe Hart (or Ben Foster)

Defenders: Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Wes Brown.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick, David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, James Milner.

Strikers: Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe

Wildcards: (two from) Leighton Baines, Stephen Warnock, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Carlton Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Joe Cole, Stewart Downing

Do you agree?

[nev]

Oliver kay of The Times predicts his squad and then 'sits on the fence' . Clearly it's not easy for any of us. What a job Capello has. Anyway Times geezer says:

Oliver Kay's predicted squad

Goalkeepers: Robert Green, David James, Joe Hart (or Ben Foster)

Defenders: Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Wes Brown.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick, David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, James Milner.

Strikers: Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe

Wildcards: (two from) Leighton Baines, Stephen Warnock, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Carlton Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Joe Cole, Stewart Downing

Do you agree?

Pretty wel agree with that squad,as the side i would like to see play is

james or hart.

johnson ferdinand terry cole

lennon lampard carrick gerrard milner

rooney.

with gerrard moving up to back rooney up when needed too.

[carmine]

I pretty much agree with that too, bar two points. One, i think Hart on current form should be first choice, as i don't care about age and lack of international experience. Any keeper can screw up, regardless of experience....look at James

Secondly, i don't like the idea of including both Crouch and Heskey. I should go, the other being replaced by someone with pace (and in form)

[StevieH]

Oliver kay of The Times predicts his squad and then 'sits on the fence' . Clearly it's not easy for any of us. What a job Capello has. Anyway Times geezer says:

Oliver Kay's predicted squad

Goalkeepers: Robert Green, David James, Joe Hart (or Ben Foster)

Defenders: Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Wes Brown.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick, David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, James Milner.

Strikers: Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe

Wildcards: (two from) Leighton Baines, Stephen Warnock, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Carlton Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Joe Cole, Stewart Downing

Do you agree?

baines will be the eighth defender i think. also think joe cole and walcott will go and beckham won't. think the four forwards are right though.

those aren't 'wildcards' anyway, a wildcard is supposed to be someone nobody has mentioned or thought of like walcott last time out. if there was to be one of those this time i think it'd be rodwell from everton. though capello doesn't strike you as someone prone to rash gambles.

[mommysboy]

Oliver kay of The Times predicts his squad and then 'sits on the fence' . Clearly it's not easy for any of us. What a job Capello has. Anyway Times geezer says:

Oliver Kay's predicted squad

Goalkeepers: Robert Green, David James, Joe Hart (or Ben Foster)

Defenders: Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Wes Brown.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick, David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, James Milner.

Strikers: Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe

Wildcards: (two from) Leighton Baines, Stephen Warnock, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Carlton Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Joe Cole, Stewart Downing

Do you agree?

Pretty wel agree with that squad,as the side i would like to see play is

james or hart.

johnson ferdinand terry cole

lennon lampard carrick gerrard milner

rooney.

with gerrard moving up to back rooney up when needed too.

No centre forward??

[nev]

Oliver kay of The Times predicts his squad and then 'sits on the fence' . Clearly it's not easy for any of us. What a job Capello has. Anyway Times geezer says:

Oliver Kay's predicted squad

Goalkeepers: Robert Green, David James, Joe Hart (or Ben Foster)

Defenders: Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Wes Brown.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick, David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, James Milner.

Strikers: Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe

Wildcards: (two from) Leighton Baines, Stephen Warnock, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Carlton Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Joe Cole, Stewart Downing

Do you agree?

Pretty wel agree with that squad,as the side i would like to see play is

james or hart.

johnson ferdinand terry cole

lennon lampard carrick gerrard milner

rooney.

with gerrard moving up to back rooney up when needed too.

No centre forward??

Whats rooney then if he is not a center forward?

We will play one up front for most games, i cannot see us going 442.

[mrbojangles]

I think alot of the teams will be inspired by John Terry's lack of pace the other night. He got creamed.

[StevieH]

We will play one up front for most games, i cannot see us going 442.

and that one will be heskey. rooney, gerrard and one other, probably lennon, in the three behind him.

[nev]

Heskey up front on his own he is crap done nowt this season has he scored a goal for villa,i would rather see bent in there or zamora.

If england play 4 5 1 with rooney up front a lot better option,than hoof the ball to heskey tactics.

[mommysboy]

Oliver kay of The Times predicts his squad and then 'sits on the fence' . Clearly it's not easy for any of us. What a job Capello has. Anyway Times geezer says:

Oliver Kay's predicted squad

Goalkeepers: Robert Green, David James, Joe Hart (or Ben Foster)

Defenders: Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Wes Brown.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick, David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, James Milner.

Strikers: Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe

Wildcards: (two from) Leighton Baines, Stephen Warnock, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Carlton Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Joe Cole, Stewart Downing

Do you agree?

Pretty wel agree with that squad,as the side i would like to see play is

james or hart.

johnson ferdinand terry cole

lennon lampard carrick gerrard milner

rooney.

with gerrard moving up to back rooney up when needed too.

No centre forward??

Whats rooney then if he is not a center forward?

We will play one up front for most games, i cannot see us going 442.

A genius, a striker!, a great player, but not a centre forward.

But ok, no big target man then?

And no way will England play one man up front unless 3 other strikers are injured.

[nev]

Dont see the need for a big target man you can bring on crouch at a later stage,stevie has touted heskey but i dont rate him at all,i might eat my words if he wins us the world cup.

Who would you have as the target man?

[mommysboy]

Heskey I think, with Crouch as number 2. But Heskey's place has to be dependent on improved form over the next 2 months, or it's Crouch. That's plan A.

Plan B would certainly be Defoe and Rooney. And plan C Rooney with support from Gerrard.

Capello has already stated he will play 2 forwards.

England seem to work most effectively with big target men IMHO. How is this not true?

[StevieH]

Heskey up front on his own he is crap done nowt this season has he scored a goal for villa,i would rather see bent in there or zamora.

If england play 4 5 1 with rooney up front a lot better option,than hoof the ball to heskey tactics.

it isn't hoof the ball though is it? heskey's work rate in occupying defenders and holding the ball up creates space for rooney, gerrard, lampard et al to move and play in. it quite clearly works as capello's england record shows. bent or zamora? talk silly lad.

[nev]

You have to have more than being able to hold the ball up to be a center forward there is a certain thing called score goals of which heskey cannot do,i am sure bent and zamora can do the job heskey does and they can score a few too.

I still think 4 5 1 with rooney up front with carrick gerrard and lampard the 3 central midfielders and two wide players is a better option,we will agree to disagree,just hope england can finally be in with a shout.

Still think it will be between argentia spain italy or brazil,but i hope to be proven wrong and england win it.

[mommysboy]

You have to have more than being able to hold the ball up to be a center forward there is a certain thing called score goals of which heskey cannot do,i am sure bent and zamora can do the job heskey does and they can score a few too.

I still think 4 5 1 with rooney up front with carrick gerrard and lampard the 3 central midfielders and two wide players is a better option,we will agree to disagree,just hope england can finally be in with a shout.

Still think it will be between argentia spain italy or brazil,but i hope to be proven wrong and england win it.

Nev, who are all these midfielders and wingers crossing the ball to?

And we're not talking Watford here, Heskey and Crouch are very good and mobile target men, this is not simply long ball game. But I do think it comes undone against better opposition, and that's when your formation probably gives us a better option.

[nev]

You have to have more than being able to hold the ball up to be a center forward there is a certain thing called score goals of which heskey cannot do,i am sure bent and zamora can do the job heskey does and they can score a few too.

I still think 4 5 1 with rooney up front with carrick gerrard and lampard the 3 central midfielders and two wide players is a better option,we will agree to disagree,just hope england can finally be in with a shout.

Still think it will be between argentia spain italy or brazil,but i hope to be proven wrong and england win it.

Nev, who are all these midfielders and wingers crossing the ball to?

And we're not talking Watford here, Heskey and Crouch are very good and mobile target men, this is not simply long ball game. But I do think it comes undone against better opposition, and that's when your formation probably gives us a better option.

Mate that is why england should use the formation i have stated you dont get better oppositon than we will face in the world cup,It is the same as united used to win at arsenal.

Not saying we should start every game with it against lesser teams playing a target man might work,and do the same fergie did play rooney out of position and put him on the left wing

[StevieH]

You have to have more than being able to hold the ball up to be a center forward there is a certain thing called score goals of which heskey cannot do,i am sure bent and zamora can do the job heskey does and they can score a few too.

I still think 4 5 1 with rooney up front with carrick gerrard and lampard the 3 central midfielders and two wide players is a better option,we will agree to disagree,just hope england can finally be in with a shout.

Still think it will be between argentia spain italy or brazil,but i hope to be proven wrong and england win it.

Nev, who are all these midfielders and wingers crossing the ball to?

And we're not talking Watford here, Heskey and Crouch are very good and mobile target men, this is not simply long ball game. But I do think it comes undone against better opposition, and that's when your formation probably gives us a better option.

Mate that is why england should use the formation i have stated you dont get better oppositon than we will face in the world cup,It is the same as united used to win at arsenal.

Not saying we should start every game with it against lesser teams playing a target man might work,and do the same fergie did play rooney out of position and put him on the left wing

you're missing the point though nev, capello doesn't play heskey or crouch for that matter as a 'target man'. heskey fulfils a specific role in the side which is set up to get the most out of england's three best attacking players, rooney, gerrard and lampard. if england had a drogba or a torres then they'd be a really decent bet for the world cup, but as it is capello has to cut his cloth accordingly, which means playing gerrard, rooney and lampard in the positions where they're most likely to be goal threats. opposing managers with two big centre halves in their side would be more than happy to see england line up with rooney as a lone forward.

[nev]

You have to have more than being able to hold the ball up to be a center forward there is a certain thing called score goals of which heskey cannot do,i am sure bent and zamora can do the job heskey does and they can score a few too.

I still think 4 5 1 with rooney up front with carrick gerrard and lampard the 3 central midfielders and two wide players is a better option,we will agree to disagree,just hope england can finally be in with a shout.

Still think it will be between argentia spain italy or brazil,but i hope to be proven wrong and england win it.

Nev, who are all these midfielders and wingers crossing the ball to?

And we're not talking Watford here, Heskey and Crouch are very good and mobile target men, this is not simply long ball game. But I do think it comes undone against better opposition, and that's when your formation probably gives us a better option.

Mate that is why england should use the formation i have stated you dont get better oppositon than we will face in the world cup,It is the same as united used to win at arsenal.

Not saying we should start every game with it against lesser teams playing a target man might work,and do the same fergie did play rooney out of position and put him on the left wing

you're missing the point though nev, capello doesn't play heskey or crouch for that matter as a 'target man'. heskey fulfils a specific role in the side which is set up to get the most out of england's three best attacking players, rooney, gerrard and lampard. if england had a drogba or a torres then they'd be a really decent bet for the world cup, but as it is capello has to cut his cloth accordingly, which means playing gerrard, rooney and lampard in the positions where they're most likely to be goal threats. opposing managers with two big centre halves in their side would be more than happy to see england line up with rooney as a lone forward.

I get your point stevie what you are saying is rooney is not in the same class as torres or drogba,<deleted> he has scored 28 goals up front for united and scoring for fun.

anyway united>england

[StevieH]

I get your point stevie what you are saying is rooney is not in the same class as torres or drogba,<deleted> he has scored 28 goals up front for united and scoring for fun.

anyway united>england

you obviously do miss the point fella which is that by nature rooney is not a sole striker. he's better and more effectively deployed from deeper. he's a fantastic player but england gets more out of him letting him roam and work with gerrard rather than being detailed to occupy two big centre halves.

[nev]

Oliver kay of The Times predicts his squad and then 'sits on the fence' . Clearly it's not easy for any of us. What a job Capello has. Anyway Times geezer says:

Oliver Kay's predicted squad

Goalkeepers: Robert Green, David James, Joe Hart (or Ben Foster)

Defenders: Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Wes Brown.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick, David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, James Milner.

Strikers: Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe

Wildcards: (two from) Leighton Baines, Stephen Warnock, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Carlton Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Joe Cole, Stewart Downing

Do you agree?

Pretty wel agree with that squad,as the side i would like to see play is

james or hart.

johnson ferdinand terry cole

lennon lampard carrick gerrard milner

rooney.

with gerrard moving up to back rooney up when needed too.

Stevie what did i say in this post Gerrard moving up to back up rooney,do you think in the formation i mentioned Rooney will be detained keeping the two center backs occupied NO,he would interchange with Gerrard,and rooney can roam free pulling the defence out of position.

This would also rely on quick counter attacking like united did at arsenal and 2nd half v milan.

We can agree to disagree but that team would have more movement.

Still dont understand what playing a ageing heskey would bring to the team? slow the team down like berbatov does to united at times?

Fast quick counter attacking is a better option.

[StevieH]

Oliver kay of The Times predicts his squad and then 'sits on the fence' . Clearly it's not easy for any of us. What a job Capello has. Anyway Times geezer says:

Oliver Kay's predicted squad

Goalkeepers: Robert Green, David James, Joe Hart (or Ben Foster)

Defenders: Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Wes Brown.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick, David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, James Milner.

Strikers: Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe

Wildcards: (two from) Leighton Baines, Stephen Warnock, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Carlton Cole, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Joe Cole, Stewart Downing

Do you agree?

Pretty wel agree with that squad,as the side i would like to see play is

james or hart.

johnson ferdinand terry cole

lennon lampard carrick gerrard milner

rooney.

with gerrard moving up to back rooney up when needed too.

Stevie what did i say in this post Gerrard moving up to back up rooney,do you think in the formation i mentioned Rooney will be detained keeping the two center backs occupied NO,he would interchange with Gerrard,and rooney can roam free pulling the defence out of position.

This would also rely on quick counter attacking like united did at arsenal and 2nd half v milan.

We can agree to disagree but that team would have more movement.

Still dont understand what playing a ageing heskey would bring to the team? slow the team down like berbatov does to united at times?

Fast quick counter attacking is a better option.

in an ideal world it probably is nev, but england are not going to have much opportunity to counter-attack in the world cup, particularly in the group stage. they'll be playing teams who will be organised and who will sit and defend deep, meaning that england will need a presence in the box to occupy defenders and to act as a hold-up man and wall for the players coming on from deep, rooney, gerrard and lampard.

4-2-3-1 with heskey up top and gerrard and rooney roaming has been working a treat for capello in the qualifiers. see no reason why he would change that now.

[oldgit]

A couple of other names to ponder over would be Ashley Young and Chris Eagles.Two young players that can make things happen. The fact that Eagles plays for an unfashionable club like Burnley and was surplus to requirements at United shouldn't detract from what a good season he's having.Both are talented two footed players with pace.

[StevieH]

A couple of other names to ponder over would be Ashley Young and Chris Eagles.Two young players that can make things happen. The fact that Eagles plays for an unfashionable club like Burnley and was surplus to requirements at United shouldn't detract from what a good season he's having.Both are talented two footed players with pace.

have always rated eagles as a player, think young is a bit flatter-to-deceive though. adam johnson at city could be a late entrant.

[smokie36]

England should recognise there is no magical fourth striker going to appear in the next few weeks and instead bring a player who can score in a penalty shootout cos they'll need him in the latter stages. Maybe I'm being too optimistic though.

[mommysboy]

You have to have more than being able to hold the ball up to be a center forward there is a certain thing called score goals of which heskey cannot do,i am sure bent and zamora can do the job heskey does and they can score a few too.

I still think 4 5 1 with rooney up front with carrick gerrard and lampard the 3 central midfielders and two wide players is a better option,we will agree to disagree,just hope england can finally be in with a shout.

Still think it will be between argentia spain italy or brazil,but i hope to be proven wrong and england win it.

Nev, who are all these midfielders and wingers crossing the ball to?

And we're not talking Watford here, Heskey and Crouch are very good and mobile target men, this is not simply long ball game. But I do think it comes undone against better opposition, and that's when your formation probably gives us a better option.

Mate that is why england should use the formation i have stated you dont get better oppositon than we will face in the world cup,It is the same as united used to win at arsenal.

Not saying we should start every game with it against lesser teams playing a target man might work,and do the same fergie did play rooney out of position and put him on the left wing

After watching Man U rip apart AC, perhaps Nev has a point, Rooney really is superb. If he is there England will be there. About 45 million English people await with fingers crossed.

[nev]

You have to have more than being able to hold the ball up to be a center forward there is a certain thing called score goals of which heskey cannot do,i am sure bent and zamora can do the job heskey does and they can score a few too.

I still think 4 5 1 with rooney up front with carrick gerrard and lampard the 3 central midfielders and two wide players is a better option,we will agree to disagree,just hope england can finally be in with a shout.

Still think it will be between argentia spain italy or brazil,but i hope to be proven wrong and england win it.

Nev, who are all these midfielders and wingers crossing the ball to?

And we're not talking Watford here, Heskey and Crouch are very good and mobile target men, this is not simply long ball game. But I do think it comes undone against better opposition, and that's when your formation probably gives us a better option.

Mate that is why england should use the formation i have stated you dont get better oppositon than we will face in the world cup,It is the same as united used to win at arsenal.

Not saying we should start every game with it against lesser teams playing a target man might work,and do the same fergie did play rooney out of position and put him on the left wing

After watching Man U rip apart AC, perhaps Nev has a point, Rooney really is superb. If he is there England will be there. About 45 million English people await with fingers crossed.

He is brilliant mate and i am sure the team i stated would start rooney could do the same job for england that he does at united.

I just hope he does not pick up a injury before the world cup as i am really looking forward to seeing him over there.

[StevieH]

bye bye becksie-wecksie then. at least that saves capello one of his should-have-been-easiest decisions.

[bkkjames]

bye bye becksie-wecksie then. at least that saves capello one of his should-have-been-easiest decisions.

(and SWP grins.)

[carmine]

bye bye becksie-wecksie then. at least that saves capello one of his should-have-been-easiest decisions.

(and SWP grins.)

Though i doubt many England fans will be grinning. SWP is nothing more than slightly above average.

[StevieH]

bye bye becksie-wecksie then. at least that saves capello one of his should-have-been-easiest decisions.

(and SWP grins.)

Though i doubt many England fans will be grinning. SWP is nothing more than slightly above average.

should be walcott and lennon above SWP anyway. in fact i'd have ashley young ahead of SWP.