The England Squad thread

[AFCB_Mark]

Phil Jones has withdrawn from the squad through injury....

 

[Super_horns]

Be more of a surprise if he was fit...

 

[merseyboyred]

In this context? Yes, he does. He's far more talented than anyone else we have in his position, just like Scholes and Carrick were in their respective positions. If you'd said a decade or so ago the same about them then I'm sure someone would have been chirping in telling you that Gerrard and Lampard were miles better.

Correctly.

 

[GodsGift]

Expected team to face Germany:

Hart

Keane
Smalling
Cahill

Walker
Livermore
Dier
Bertrand

Lallana
Alli
Vardy

 

[St. Juste]

If anyone wants to have a good laugh, the previous friendly produced a satire proof article:

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/35849556

Extra credit for use of the word "magnificent" twice in the first three paragraphs!

If only the option to listen to why pundits think England should fear no one at Euro 2016 was still available

It's an absolute certainty they will start acting like this again prior to the World Cup.

 

[Luke_1884]

It was magnificent... I'd take that again tonight.

Not going to happen though. Just like Scotland qualifying for a major tournament.

 

[St. Juste]

It was magnificent... I'd take that again tonight.

Not going to happen though. Just like Scotland qualifying for a major tournament.

Scotland will qualify for more 24 team Euros than not - and have a decent shot at an expanded world cup.

Not terribly relevant to this discussion, however. Rather how the reaction to a friendly result can be massively overblown.

 

[Luke_1884]

Who cares though? Do you actually read much into that? If we get pummelled tonight they'll be absolutely slaughtered in the press, swings both ways. Don't really know what you want them to say, same goes for the no fear in Euro 2016.

 

[SF_]

Expected team to face Germany:

Hart

Keane
Smalling
Cahill

Walker
Livermore
Dier
Bertrand

Lallana
Alli
Vardy

Eurgh, that's so wank

 

[Reaper]

Expected team to face Germany:

Hart

Keane
Smalling
Cahill

Walker
Livermore
Dier
Bertrand

Lallana
Alli
Vardy

Take Smalling and Livermore out for Stones and Barkley and that would be the perfect formation and team available imo. I've always thought we should play with wing backs when we have Walker and Rose/Bertrand because their all good at getting forward and it will suit our style of play.

 

[DarkSithLord]

England last played back 3 in Oct 06 under Steve McClaren. England lost in Croatia, Gary Neville scored an OG and McClaren threw a hissy fit

 

[Leewilson]

Have to say, I love this 3-4-2-1 formation. If we can play it not far from the standard Spurs do, then we could be onto something.

 

[mente captus]

a better under 21.

we miss Neuer, Höwedes, Boateng, Khedira, Özil, Reus, Müller, Draxler; Gomez

 

[Jockney]

If anyone wants to have a good laugh, the previous friendly produced a satire proof article:

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/35849556

Extra credit for use of the word "magnificent" twice in the first three paragraphs!

If only the option to listen to why pundits think England should fear no one at Euro 2016 was still available

It's an absolute certainty they will start acting like this again prior to the World Cup.

This is a bit below-par, Hugh. The temperamental English press is a of a well-worn and unanimously accepted trope.

 

[AFCB_Mark]

Well, that's a reasonable half. Far more watchable than most friendlies.

 

[GodsGift]

Good performance but the lack of composure in front of goal was plain to see. Oh well, nice of us to let Podolski score on his last game.

Meanwhile Scotland laboured to a 1-1 draw against Canada (FIFA ranking: 117) in front of 5,000 at Easter Road.

 

[mente captus]

easy

 

[Super_horns]

Nice ending for Podolski - he seems to have done more at International level than at club level...

 

[Benji]

Will St Juste struggle to make fun of England now that Scotland almost lost to Canada?

 

[JimJams]

Population figures incoming....

 

[HarvSFC]

Felt we played pretty much as we did at the Euro's. I'd like to see Defoe on from the start against Lithuania now.

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

Correctly.

Neither Gerrard nor Lampard were ever better CMs than Scholes or DMs than Carrick.

 

[St. Juste]

Who cares though? Do you actually read much into that? If we get pummelled tonight they'll be absolutely slaughtered in the press, swings both ways. Don't really know what you want them to say, same goes for the no fear in Euro 2016.

It swings both ways but the pendulum is broken. Friendly results don't matter, ever, and it's more than a little amusing that the England fans and press will readily discard 20 years of heroic underachievement because they scored a last minute winner, in a friendly, against a half decent side.

It's a collective delusion that I find very amusing, and am more than a little jealous of. I wish Scotland fans seek out the negative in everything whilst England fans are the opposite - I wish we were more like that. Rubbish yet delusional.

This is a bit below-par, Hugh. The temperamental English press is a of a well-worn and unanimously accepted trope.

It's hardly Daily Mail I'm quoting, it was a BBC article.

Meanwhile Scotland laboured to a 1-1 draw against Canada (FIFA ranking: 117) in front of 5,000 at Easter Road.

True, nobody went. It's almost as if it didn't matter.

Will St Juste struggle to make fun of England now that Scotland almost lost to Canada?

By almost lose do you mean, eh, draw?

But friendly results simply don't matter - it is Italy who infamously have never cared, and in the past few years have drawn with Romania and been hammered by Germany. They recently struggled past Malta. It doesn't matter, they approach it as a training exercise - if they learn something it's worthwhile and the result is superfluous.

Were Scotland of that opinion? I have my doubts, Strachan is assuring people a lot was learned but we will only see if there is an uptake in results that do matter.

Canada are not as good a team as Scotland, their best player (or at least the one that plays at the highest level) is a Scotsman deemed not good enough for our bench. The only way this result will be damaging is that the overreaction will hurt the confidence of the players. Which of course, being Scotland, it will.

Personally, I didn't watch either game.

Population figures incoming....

Not particularly relevant when football isn't the primary sport of that country.

 

[Luke_1884]

It swings both ways but the pendulum is broken. Friendly results don't matter, ever, and it's more than a little amusing that the England fans and press will readily discard 20 years of heroic underachievement because they scored a last minute winner, in a friendly, against a half decent side.

It's a collective delusion that I find very amusing, and am more than a little jealous of. I wish Scotland fans seek out the negative in everything whilst England fans are the opposite - I wish we were more like that. Rubbish yet delusional.

If we can't enjoy nights like that, regardless of previous competitive competition "failures" then we might as well sack football off. Friendly or not, that one game, one night was magnificent in it's own respect. The team we had out against the "half decent" world champions (Only Neuer, Hummels, Hector, Khedira, Kroos, Muller, Ozil, Reus and Gomez) pulled off a class smash and grab in their own back yard. No points, no trophies but who cares? Football is about winning, no matter what game it is. We enjoyed it, the boys and girls in Berlin certainly did and we move on.

The only delusion I can see is a Scottish football fan bringing up something we'd all forgotten about, yet still convinced we're still banging the drum about it. Literally everybody in this thread, and widespread across the nation and media for the first time in years, actually has realistic expectations. We're 14th in the world for a reason.

 

[SALTIRE]

Tell Tyldesley and Hoddle about being realistic, they were fawning over the England side just because Lallana was being creative (yet as usual didn't do anything with it).

 

[mente captus]

(...)We're 14th in the world for a reason.

yeah, piss-easy quali Groups and playing friendlies with the best team available against testing big boys.

 

[Luke_1884]

yeah, piss-easy quali Groups and playing friendlies with the best team available against testing big boys.

Come on mente, that's just wet talk.

Plenty of times some of the bigger footballing nations have fell foul of these "piss-easy" qualifying groups. Us in 2008, the Netherlands most recently failing to get to last years Euro's. Don't be a hater just because we've been decent in qualifying, we all know how we play when it matters mind. We don't treat friendlies any different to anybody else either, as last night clearly showed. First appearances for plenty of younger players and the usual multiple subs made on and after half time.

 

[Reaper]

Well i see Livermore has been selected again after his 0% pass ratio the last time. Phil the power Jones and 4 keepers? WTF is Southgate on.

 

[HarvSFC]

Four goalkeepers and three right-backs. Remember the days when we went to international tournaments with the one recognised right-back.

 

[Liam_SWFC]

Too many goalkeepers and right backs, but other than that I don't think it's bad. Should be enough to beat Scotland and give the French a good game in the friendly.