Latest England squad

moody · 18 Nov 2007 at 02:56

peetee said:
downing is just not good enough for international. wright-phillips is a more feasable option, he has the pace to beat people and has looked ok for england already, but young is by far the best left winger we have, joe cole aside.

Downing isn't good enough yet you say Young is? Young was awful when he came on the other day. He left Bridge wide open so often it was a joke.

peetee · 18 Nov 2007 at 13:20

didnt see the austria game, he just needs some time tbh. you're a boro fan, you should be slating downing too :O

Id love for gerrard and lampard to be able to play together but its just never gunna happen is it. maybe if gerrard was pushed onto the right and told to stay there or hes off it could work, and use joe cole as a wing forward on left or something

Ripper · 18 Nov 2007 at 13:24

I'd play the following team against Croatia:

Carson
Brown - Richards - Campbell - Bridge
Beckham - Gerrard - Barry - Lampard - Cole
Crouch

Although if Hargreaves is fit i'd stick him in ahead of Barry. Nobodies good enough to play up front so we may as well play to our strengths (the midfield) and hope we can pull it off.

peetee · 18 Nov 2007 at 14:09

thought beckham was a STINKER in that friendly? they were just ripping it outa him on radio

Ripper · 18 Nov 2007 at 14:13

For an important game like this, i'd rather have Beckham in there than someone who beats 3 players then kicks it out for a goal kick.

Rosbif · 18 Nov 2007 at 15:55

Crouch in a 4-5-1? It would just end up 4-6 in reality .. has he ever played up front on his own for Liverpool?

peetee · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:01

yes he has. wouldnt really end up that bad, with players like gerrard cole and lampard bombing forward with crouch knocking down, he does do it very very well after all.
He would do the job perfectly to be honest, and if it wasnt working its hardly such a task moving joe cole up with him, or bringing defoe on.

MadMan-JaMeS · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:02

Rosbif said:
Crouch in a 4-5-1? It would just end up 4-6 in reality .. has he ever played up front on his own for Liverpool?

i think it would work.

Crouch holds the ball up pretty well which would give the midfield chance to get up and hopefully gerrard/lampard can bang a few in

BaZ87 · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:08

Rosbif said:
Crouch in a 4-5-1? It would just end up 4-6 in reality .. has he ever played up front on his own for Liverpool?

He played a large part of his first season with us playing up top on his own and the likes of Gerrard thrived off it and im sure Lampard will too.

The situation with our front line in the long-term is becoming difficult, Owen loves playing with a big man up front (and seemingly doens't like playing with Rooney) and his record with Crouch has been brilliant and im sure our midfield will thrive off the knock downs and lay-offs he can provide. Then add the fact that Crouch's performances and goalscoring record for England have been far superior to Rooney's but Crouch will never be picked ahead of either Rooney or Owen.

Ripper · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:16

Thats because Crouch isn't as good as Rooney no matter what statistics you throw in. Owen's England days would be numbered if we had someone else coming through. I've never seen a player do so little for 90 minutes apart from getting the odd goal every now and then.

BaZ87 · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:20

Ripper said:
Thats because Crouch isn't as good as Rooney no matter what statistics you throw in. Owen's England days would be numbered if we had someone else coming through. I've never seen a player do so little for 90 minutes apart from getting the odd goal every now and then.

If only Rooney showed it for England though, no matter what you say Crouch's performances for England have been excellent and Rooney's have been **** for a long time. As for Owen, thats his job and what seperates him from all our other strikers, he's a goalscorer

JohnnyG · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:21

Ripper said:
I'd play the following team against Croatia:

Carson
Brown - Richards - Campbell - Bridge
Beckham - Gerrard - Barry - Lampard - Cole
Crouch

Although if Hargreaves is fit i'd stick him in ahead of Barry. Nobodies good enough to play up front so we may as well play to our strengths (the midfield) and hope we can pull it off.

Hargreaves and Bent are joining up with the squad so it must mean OH is available so assuming he replaces Barry I'd go with your line-up except I like Richards at RB so perhaps him and Brown could swap.
Don't mind Crouch playing at all, you just can't knock his scoring record

Ripper · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:22

BaZ87 said:
If only Rooney showed it for England though, no matter what you say Crouch's performances for England have been excellent and Rooney's have been **** for a long time. As for Owen, thats his job and what seperates him from all our other strikers, he's a goalscorer

Yes but he doesn't do that anymore either, only every now and then.

BaZ87 · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:28

Ripper said:
Yes but he doesn't do that anymore either, only every now and then.

Not really; according to the BBC stats he's got 10 goals in 21 starts since joining Newcastle, they say 1 in 2 is what top strikers should be getting and cosidering how stop-start its been for him its even more impressive (he had a similar record for Madrid and with Liverpool and England).

Owen's problem is that he's constantly injured but when he is fit his goalscoring record hasn't changed from his time at Liverpool.

Ripper · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:33

Well I think footballs changed and players need to offer more then being in the right place at the right time. His constant injuries have disrupted the flow of the team. One minute he's out injured and someone else gets a game, then he's back and that persons out of the team. For the last ten years nobody has been given a proper crack at playing upfront for England.

BaZ87 · 18 Nov 2007 at 16:38

It would be nice if he offered more than goals but its still certainly enough to place him up there with the best around, RVN is showed that at Real by more or less winning them the league on his own. The only reason he's not at a top club is because of the injuries and clubs don't want to pay £m's for 20 games a season.

The reason why he goes straight back into the side is because we have nobody else who's good enough to replace them, his injuries are a pain though.

Burned_Alive · 18 Nov 2007 at 17:04

Bent in for Owen, so decent options up front at the moment.

Slinwagh · 18 Nov 2007 at 17:56

All we need to do is draw, but we've got to be positive," said McClaren.

"We've got to attack, be up-tempo and really go to win the game. We've got to make sure that we're not negative."

Isn't that statement slightly contradictory.

johnyccc · 18 Nov 2007 at 18:03

Beckham was terrible in the friendly.
However, he created a goal.
In such an average side (on performances), you have to play people who consistently score or create goals.
England have two such players - Owen and beckham.
He should start vs croatia

JohnnyG · 18 Nov 2007 at 18:09

johnyccc said:
Beckham was terrible in the friendly.
However, he created a goal.
In such an average side (on performances), you have to play people who consistently score or create goals.
England have two such players - Owen and beckham.
He should start vs croatia

You're missing Lampard and Gerrard out of that theory of yours as they both fit the bill and remember that the 2 can't play together according to most so apparently you haven't got to play people who consistently score or create goals