Football: England squad

Ok so the squad has been named & there will be alot of surprised faces but I'm actually one to back up Sven on his desicions. Incase u didnt know, heres the squad goal: Robinson no.1 with james & green as backup, defence: Terry, Ferdinand, Campbell, Bridge, Neville, Cole, Hargreaves & Carragher. Only 4 up front with Rooney going, owen, crouch & walcott. Walcott & Lennon were the surprise picks but then less surprisingly was Downing who has had a great season. I think Sven is only going with 4 up front cuz he has to greater midfield with Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham, Carrick, Jenas, Downing & more to choos from. Back ups are Reo Coker:party-smiley-018:, Young, Carson, Defoe & Johnson. There u go, no more comments from me apart from CMON ENGLAND!!!

Good to see a post on the team selection....

Robinson will go in as 1st choice keeper, i think hes pretty solid and i think playing at the world cup will only make him a better keeper. Calamity James no doubt will be on the bench, but with him i think during a game hes always going to make a mistake at some point. Dont really know much about the young other keeper Green, is that the geeze from Norwich. I read there was talk of Carson of Liverpool going but i thought that would be a bit of a farce, the guy doesnt get near the Liverpool 1st choice keeper

In defense, it looks pretty solid but a few wierd choices i thought. Hargreaves seems to make all the major competitons for some reason, but when you look at the major teams in England, would he get a game for any of them? i think hes average, there is certainly better who could be picked. I thought Dawson was worth a call up, same with Ledley King but am thinking Hargreves made it since hes much more versatile.

Taking Cole, i think is a bit of a gamble but with England your left side aint the best. He may be lacking the pace against really fast International teams and the same with big Sol at the back.

I would imagine it will be Cole, if hes not fit Carragher along with Terry and Ferdinand, with G. Neville on the right. Ferdinand seems to be a bit of a goof ball these days but the other 3 are pretty good

Midfield looks good, the two main men there for me would be Lampard and Cole. Cole can play out left but likes to cut in, can take players on and scores goals. Lampard is just solid in midfield. I would like to see Downing start, i guess he a lift winger so throw Cole to the right and with Carrick too in the middle. I aint a major fan of 1 foot Gerrard (i thought Beckham was bad with his left foot) and same with Beckham, they are both good at work rate etc but aint really skillfull

Upfront it makes me wonder..... was Walcott picked to get peope to talk about him rather than discuss the injuries to Owen and Rooney, hence relieving pressure of the injury talk. No point in picking Beckham cos Crouch cant header the ball.

Ant Lennon, cracking player but him and Walcott, aint they very similar in the same position?

I hope Defoe gets in, i rate him

But without Rooney, i think it will be a hard job for you. A.J is well ummm, could he do it at that level? he scored goals a plenty for Palace in the premiership, and is he any more of a gamble than Walcott? plus... i think A.J can score goals, hes a goalscorer plain and simple

Still... the Walcott one, will he get a game?

Here's the full list.

England's 23-man squad for the 2006 World Cup:

Goalkeepers: Robert Green (Norwich), David James (Manchester City), Paul Robinson (Tottenham).

Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole (both Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Gary Neville (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea).

Midfielders: David Beckham (Real Madrid, captain), Michael Carrick (Tottenham), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham).

Forwards: Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).

Standby: Scott Carson (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Andrew Johnson (Crystal Palace), Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham), Luke Young (Charlton).

Just taking a look at the 4 forwards for now, why did he only pick 4?

Rooney is going to miss the group stage and if we get through to the next stages, there is not a guarentee that he will play. Christ knows whats happening with Owen, if they pass him fit he could break down again and there is a huge possibilty in that happening as he is injury prone. So if it passes the deadline and he sticks with the 4 we are in serious trouble if all we have is Peter Crouch spearheading our attack. He has been rubbish all season and it says alot that our only fit reconized striker in the actual squad got hauled off in the FA Cup final by Benitez becasue he was pony.

Darren Bent has scored more goals than Crouch, Defoe and Johnson put together and he didnt even make it. Emile Heskey and James Beattie both had good seasons and they wasn't even considered. Vassell found his feet again and was playing real well towards the end of the season and at least they have had the experience playing for England.

I know with Rooney he is pretty much screwed and its unlikely he will make it, but whats the deal with Owen? did he get injured during a match?

You would think, if hes picked Owen and Rooney the medical people hes talking to are being very encouraging about the chances of them making it. I think Owen before Rooney though or Sven is taking a massive gamble, and Walcott has been picke to try draw attention away from this.

Either way, aint Sven regarded as an a$$ by English fans for all his comments etc? maybe hes just trying to screw your chances

I can see the point in taking Owen but why take Rooney? He probably won't play at all. Theo Walcott hasn't played for a senior team since moving to arsenal so that leaves Crouch up front and we're never going to win with him up front

[Edited on 5/16/06 by cokewithorange]

lol good first post mate, ur right, but hopefully wrong if u know what i mean, I would have taken Konchesky & Harewood but only cuz i know them more than other team supporters & of course all west ham fans will agree... or ...

What ya talking bout cokewithorange you dont know waht ya talking about rooney is the best you must support aresnal

yes, go england bring on the world
(we have your best players here anyway)

Oi aj7! Arsenal are scum!!

They didn't even play an english player in the European cup knock-out rounds until the semis and even then it was only one player - Sol Campbell. And they're supposed to be an English team! Come on Barce!!!!!!!!!

sorry cokewithorange
diddnt mean to offend you
i bet you support birmingham cos you love heskey :party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018:

I love lee trundle and dhoni :party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018::angry-smiley-034:

Dhoni couldn't catch a cold

But Salmon Butt is good:party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018:

dhoni is a legend
you dunno what your talking about
you love ashley crowe:party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018::party-smiley-018:

Is ashley the one with the bowling ball head???

OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is he really i have never noticed:party-smiley-018:

Do you think rooney will be ok to play in the world cup??????????

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

According to todays papers, he is well on target to play in the group games. He will be so important to England if he is fit, but i wouldn't risk him too early in the competition. Looks like Dawson is on the standby aswell now as Luke Young wont be fit to be in the squad.

Reo-Coker's World Cup dream is over after the West Ham midfielder picked up a back injury that has forced his withdrawal from England's training camp. They replace him with Phil Neville, i guess they went for someone with experience and he has had a good season.

Phil Neville has had a great season and he can play in defence or midfield which is good. He would link up with his brother well and he has lots of experience which also helps in crucial matches. He would also have extra drive to play well because this is his last world cup chance