ENGLAND'S STARTING ELEVEN
Great captain that John Terry is!!! Hacks down Ashton and he is out of the match with Greece.
What do you think of the line up?
England team to face Greece in a friendly at Old Trafford tomorrow:
Robinson, G Neville, Ferdinand, Terry, A Cole, Gerrard, Hargreaves, Lampard, Downing, Defoe, Crouch.
Looks like Hargreaves and Lampard in the middle, Downing on the left(Boro ties), and Gerrard on the right.
Can you get any more little and large up front?
Dave
posted by United We Stand @ 8:41 AM
23 Comments:
What is it with England strikers these days? Wee Mikey is almost permanently crocked, Rooney can't get through 90 minutes without seeing a red card, and now Dean Ashton has broken his ankle....in training! How does one do that? In any case, Dean's out for three months, and it's almost certain now that Defoe and Crouch will start up front against Greece tomorrow with Stevie G. playing wide right in the Beckham Memorial Position.
Now, what if everyone was fit and eligible to play? You'd probably have Owen and Rooney up front, Joe Cole out left, but I'm not sure McClaren would change anything else right now. Would Carrick replace Hargreaves? I'm not so sure. So this is reasonably close to McClaren's first eleven anyway, apart from the front two pairing.
So, the keys to look for tomorrow are whether Gerrard works on the right side and whether Hargreaves continues his good form in the holding role. Everyone else is either a sub or already established in their positions.
Here's a well-written rant about John Terry's ascendency to the England skipper role from Friday's Guardian.
"John Terry's appointment as England captain is a sad indictment on English football as a whole. Consider how many other nations would have such a character as the captain of their national team. This is one of the reasons that England lag so far behind other footballing nations - the love of a 'trier'. We just can't see past it. The 'Tony Adams Syndrome' that pervades our football and sees us promoting players beyond their capabilities is what genuinely holds us back from competing at the top level. Just because someone shouts and is demonstrative does not make them a leader in any way"
I've previously stated my misgivings about Terry and also about Downing.
The revolution in the squad is the inclusion of Hargreaves from the off. I guess that Gerrard can play on the right--he doesn't have the pinpoint accuracy of Becks, but he can hit a cross long and accurate enough to pick out a giraffe like Crouch. I'd like to see Defoe get among the chances and convert a few. If he goes wastrel on us again, he'll likely be given the Beattie treatment. In an otherwise insignificant game, I'd have started Bent because we know what Crouch is about.
Also, it's going to be important for Lamps to pick himself up. He's rapidly losing his first 11 place.
Too bad that Gary Neville has been selected ahead of Luke Young. Young is the future and it says a lot that McLaren is clinging to the Nevilles in their declining career.
And Downing? Not enough class at this level when he barely stands out in a negative Boro side. Bob may be right that this is the sentimental pick of the bunch.
I'm going to use this thread to comment on the U-21s match against Moldova this afternoon. If the Red Deviler is out there, maybe he'll join me for the match.
Steve McClaren has wisely sent Theo Walcott back down to the U-21s, so much of the interest in today's match is seeing how he gets on alongside Preston's "Cat Scratch Fever" Nugent.
And Theo's off to a flier with a classic center forward's header in the third minute. England are 1-0 up!
The game's now settled down a bit after a bright start. Scottie Carson's just dropped one that might have crept in but for the intervention of Anton Ferdinand. When might we see the Double Ferd defensive pairing for England?
Theo's lighting it up today! He nearly had a second there. Tell me again why Van Persie is fancied over this kid, Gooner? Oh yes, Arsene doesn't like the English, does he?
I'll tell you - the future's bright for England when this lot starts to make it's way into the full squad. Peter Taylor's done an excellent job here blooding the likes of Ferdinand, Nigel Rio-Coker, Citeh's David Bentley, Nugent and Theo. Good side!
The Moldovans are doing plenty of clogging, which is slowing down the pace of the match - not the game plan of this side, which has plenty of speed in Wayne Routledge, Rio-Coker and Theo.
Nugent just skinned the left back but his ball across the area was just too far in front Theo. Could easily have been 2-0.
Half-time: 1-0; Frenetic start a la World Cup matches this summer followed by some thuggish play from the Moldovans. There should be some more goals in the second half.
60 Minutes: Birmingham City's Jerome - who got sent off on the first day of the Coke season - has come on to replace Theo.
Apparently picked up an ankle knock during his outing today - sorry Gooner.
I have to say that Scottie Carson's form today has been alarming. He hasn't collected a single ball cleanly. Everything is knocked down and then collected at the second attempt. Not good enough at this level. And I say this of a former Leeds youth star, now plying his trade at Charlton.
I have to say that I'm really tired of the current England kit, especially the chinzy gold lettering on the back, which makes the already cheap looking polyester look even tattier. What's wrong with your ordinary white or black lettering?
GOAL: 1-1; Alexev is clean through and beats Carson with a chipped shot. Stephen Taylor - the center half - looked poor on that, trying to play the ball out of the back and giving it right away.
GOAL: 2-1; And England go straight back up the pitch and score. Good on 'em. A delightful Beckham style looping cross from Cameron Jerome nodded in at the back post by David Nugent. The keeper might feel aggrieved about not covering his near post.
David Ambrose on for David Bently. He's got a huge hand as a former Ipswich player from the Portman Rd. crowd.
GOAL: 2-2; And Moldova are right back in this one. A nicely worked equalizer with balls sprayed to the left and right before a neat finish from the substitute.
Game on!
Full time: 2-2; Honestly a bit disappointing from the England boys' perspective. They looked lively and full of goals up front but surprisingly weak in the back. You can't give up two goals to the likes of Moldova at home!
Oi! Next time please use a separate thread to report live games and mark it "Live." Wage slaves like meself can't watch and were lured into this thread without knowing it would give away the score.
Sorry, mate. Will do in the future. I'm on the road today, so I'll be missing the big match with Greece. I'll be looking forward to everyone's comments.
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