Who to use as Englands Strikers

[Manlove is my forte]

England striker partnership

Well Rooney has made his mark. It was only one start though. That could have been a one off.

My question is who to pair up with him. I think he has done more than enough to push Heskey out of the first 11 and to be fair I think he has also done enough to put Owens spot at risk.

How do we use him though. If Sven decides to keep the diamond centre 4 (which I think is a good Idea as we only ever seem to play centre midfielders anyway) Ronney could replace scholes as the link between midfield and attack. This would promote a much stronger feed to the attack and have 3 strikers giving the defence some grief.

He could also be part of a front 2 but I don't recommend pairing him with Owen. Owen was completely useless. Varsell in the short time he was on created far more. The problem with Owen is he doesn't make early runs or move into strong positions. several times last night he was facing a pass coming to him but he didn't move to the pass he stayed still. the ball rarely got to him as a result. Don't say he didn't have the supply. He was badly positioned and didn't make any real attempt to help the midfield.

If I was to play 2 upfront then My pick would be Varsell and Rooney.

If I was going to do three upfront it would probably be Varsell Jeffers and Ronney

With Owen coming on in the middle of the second half for which ever player is not performing on the night.

Owen has become a very complacent stricker for england of late he has had no compition to get into the team and has not really worked for any goals. f he loses his place I think he would work harder in the future. Maybe he hasn't fully recovered from all of his injuries and will never be the player he was. Either way Varsell and Rooney worked lastnight and we played some of the best football I have seen england play in a very long time.

 

[DirtyBerty]

I think it's criminal that Beattie hasn't been picked, as you say Owen should have to work to get his place in the squad not be a part of the furniture.

I'd like to see Vassell and Beattie up front with Rooney as the half-time super-sub if things aren't happening up front.

 

[Red and White]

Rooney and Owen start

Beattie on the bench

Heskey in the stand

 

[RealDeal]

Sum1 may have touched on this b4 but ill say it again :

England have a few too many players in the team who "can underperform" on a regular basis and still know in their mind tht they will b picked for the next game.

In my opinion these players are as follows :

Owen - not the player he was wen he 1st came on the International scene

Ferdinand - he knows full well tht he can play AWFUL and still b picked (shame really)

Scholes - another player who is playin pap atm (even thou he turns it on for Man U )

Beckham - doesnt play well every game (althou he is expected to play PERFECTLY every game)

Seaman - (wen hes about ) i fink Robinson is better





thts about it i fink ....

anyways bak to the question

id go with Beattie and Owen up front with possibly scholes or rooney rite behind them

 

[Davey_Pitch]

I think Rooney is capable of playing in the hole behind the front two. He showed last night he can tackle, run with the ball, make great through balls, as well as 40 yard cross-field balls. His control is near perfect at times though, which makes him ideal to play up front because you know if you hit him with the pass, chances are it'll stick and you can build from there (it seems the team knew it as well, as they always seemed to look for him rather than Owen).

I think the Owen Rooney partnership deserves another game. Wayne has shown he deserves it, and we all know what Owen is capable of when he's at his best. Beattie, Vassell and Jeffers should all be waiting though, while Heskey can sell the programs.

 

[Manlove is my forte]

I dont even think heskey should be alled into the stadium

 

[Cemetery]

Originally posted by RealDeal
Sum1 may have touched on this b4 but ill say it again :

England have a few too many players in the team who "can underperform" on a regular basis and still know in their mind tht they will b picked for the next game.

In my opinion these players are as follows :

Owen - not the player he was wen he 1st came on the International scene

Ferdinand - he knows full well tht he can play AWFUL and still b picked (shame really)

Scholes - another player who is playin pap atm (even thou he turns it on for Man U )

Beckham - doesnt play well every game (althou he is expected to play PERFECTLY every game)

Seaman - (wen hes about ) i fink Robinson is better





thts about it i fink ....

anyways bak to the question

id go with Beattie and Owen up front with possibly scholes or rooney rite behind them

I would add Gerrard & Heskey to that list. Heskey...never turns it on & Gerrard just sometimes is not there, just someone in his shirt pretending to be him. Oh Neville as well really.

Personally a fan of Beattie & Rooney (see how they do) With Owen & Vassell as backup on the bench.

 

[roboffer]

Originally posted by Kronologic
I dont even think heskey should be alled into the stadium

He should be allowed to sit and watch so he can try and learn

I still feel a bit sorry for him carrying the can from Saturday. And Owen must be glad Rooney had a good game or the press would have been on his back. He was awful yesterday.

 

[wassap]

Look guys the whole team bar rooney had a mare in the 1st half, owen had no service apart from 1 half chance, we went back to the old lump the ball forward routine, then in the 2nd half the midfield got it together and we played better alround

It is far too early to discount a player of owens class, dont forget owen is still 23/24. and it is far too early to proclaim rooney as the best thing since sliced bread, we dont want to build the lad up too much, but unfortunately this is what the press will do now,lets face this is what we were saying about owen in `98

But the future is bright, and future upfront is in merseyside

 

[Bossman]

Cant really see anyone other than Vassell and Rooney to start next game after last nights peformances. Good idea to have Rooney in the whole though and to creat forward play as i think he'd be better doing this than Scholes. I mean Scholes is a Midfielder that has been forced forwards and that leads to the drop in performance. Its a damn shame Beattie hasnt had at least an appearance from off the bench in the last two games at least.

As for underperforming i think Gerrard and Scholes are the major worries as with Owen as they are all expected to play really really well. IMO Beckham does enough he runs all over the place gets back and tackles when he can. Its just as Hansen said last night they need someone whos more vocal than Beckham who can gee up the team and get them playing. Sol would be ideal for this role.

...

 

[Tom L]

What an insane thread!

How can you even start to compare Vassell and Beattie to Owen?

Rooney and Owen should be the first 2 picked.

Beckham, Scholes and Owen had bad games yesturday, but they are proven internationals and when they are on top of their game, they are in a different world.

I wish SGE gave Le Saux a chance. I'm not a Chelsea fan (infact, hate them) but Le Saux is a natural left midfielder and would give great balance thats required to the England midfield along with Beckham, Gerrard and Scholes.

Team (when every player is availabe):

Kirkland

Neville Ferdinand Campbell Cole

Beckham Gerrard Scholes Le Saux

Owen Rooney

 

[Weebull]

Well as I said in the match thread. Vassel and Rooney together really impressed me last night. Enough to grant them both a start in the next match. Owen is class yes, but he hasn't turned it on for England for some time. Maybe he just needs a kick up the rear to motivate him.

Beattie does also deserve his chance, so maybe him on the bench to come on at half-time, or maybe Rooney behind the front two (Beattie + Vassel), as has been said elsewhere.

 

[Manlove is my forte]

Originally posted by Tom L
What an insane thread!

How can you even start to compare Vassell and Beattie to Owen?

Beckham, Scholes and Owen had bad games yesturday, but they are proven internationals and when they are on top of their game, they are in a different world.

yes when I wouldnt play a player in a team that was know to be unstopable when he played well on the off chance he might perform when his recent form suggests he is likely to play poorly.

Also as I keep saying Becks is of more use in the center where he can roam and move the ball around. Like he did last night. Ok he was still on the right and he mostly played on the right but he was positioned closer to the center and was allowed to roam, the difference was noticable

 

[Gilly]

I think if Rooney starts, he should be up front alongside Smith or Beattie. This is as long as Beattie can keep his form. If not, Smith and Beattie/Vassell up front with Rooney in the hole behind them.

TBH I don't think Rooney should start, I think he should be a sub to come on if it aint working for us, if only to keep the press from building him up for a fall.

 

[[ASSE]Hinchy]

Originally posted by Gilly
I think if Rooney starts, he should be up front alongside Smith or Beattie. This is as long as Beattie can keep his form. If not, Smith and Beattie/Vassell up front with Rooney in the hole behind them.

TBH I don't think Rooney should start, I think he should be a sub to come on if it aint working for us, if only to keep the press from building him up for a fall.

Course Beattie can maintain his form hehe

I would play Rooney and Owen for another game simply because Owen is capable of having a good game now and again. If in the next few England matches however he doesn't do anything useful then I would give Beattie more of a chance, then Vassel. Or even both, as mentioned before, with Rooney in place of Scholes who doesn't seem to be able to find form for England at the moment.

 

[Gilly]

Originally posted by [ASSE]Hinchy
Course Beattie can maintain his form

I don't think he can, and I don't think he has enough quality to maintain a push for a place in the England squad, but he should have been in this side purely on his performance this season.

I think that was his one chance TBH.

 

[silverpaw]

I think Beattie and Defoe or Rooney and Defoe. I think Defoe needs trying out as I reckon he's way better than Vassell and Owen just seems permenantly off form to me so I think should be dropped or at least lose his automatic place.

 

[memphisto]

I sitll think we lacked a target man cos without one we are doing ourselves an injustice as we lose out on one of our most potent threats which is Beckhams Crossing.

I would prefer it if we played more to feet rather than the long ball so a player with good heading ability and skillful on the ball is what I see needed up front to partner any of the pacey lads Rooney, Defoe, Vassell or Owen.

To me there really are only 2 players that can possibly do this role and they are Smith and Beattie.

So although it doesn't happen often I'm gonna have to agree with Gilly on this and go for

either Smith and Vassell

or Beattie and Vassell

with Rooney coming on for the last 30mins or so.

 

[Big Kev]

I think Rooney and Owen are our best front two and they could, hopefully, see us through the next two World Cups.

Beattie could have a shout if he performs this well over the next couple of seasons, but a place on the bench should be his limit at the moment.

 

[wassap]

TBH I don't think Rooney should start, I think he should be a sub to come on if it aint working for us, if only to keep the press from building him up for a fall.

Problem is the press are already building him up for a fall, u watch he is gonna be the messiah for the next few games, then as soon as he puts a wrong pass in, misses a chance or generaly makes a gaffe, the flippin press will villify him.

On pure form vassell should be given a go, he hasnt really put a foot wong when he has played for england, maybe this is the pressure owen needs to be put under, but i still believe owen will be a starter, even this season for a bad un he has scored 20 goals in a pretty average liverpool team.

I havent really seen too much of rooney, what is his finishing etc like, is he a potent goal scorer? why i ask this is, if we play play rooney and say someone like smith, we havent really got a potent striker there, or have we?

I wanna see more of beattie next season, im still not convinced he isnt a one season wonder?