England Squad/Starting 11

[Colchester Kev]

Wes Brown was shite tonight ...

Rooney/Heskey or Rooney/Crouch ?

Crouch's goal scoring ability puts him in front imo.

[dino1980]

Wes Brown definitely has lol

Really?
Can't think of many right back options if Johnson isn't fit.

We looked better with Carrick but still had chances with Lampard on just didn't finish. I fancy Lampard to do better against the better teams when it matters.

Lampard has always been poor for england... maybe the world cup will be the last chance for him to shine...

What? He was England fans player of the year in 2004 and 2005 and if google is right, 21 goals from 76 caps. He might have not had the best of games tonight but to say he's always been poor for England is a bit rich. IMO over careers thus far he's played better in an England shirt than Gerrard and this is from someone who supports neither Chelsea or Liverpool and thinks Gerrard is the better of the two players.

[The Baron]

Wes Brown definitely has lol

Really?
Can't think of many right back options if Johnson isn't fit.

We looked better with Carrick but still had chances with Lampard on just didn't finish. I fancy Lampard to do better against the better teams when it matters.

Lampard has always been poor for england... maybe the world cup will be the last chance for him to shine...

What? He was England fans player of the year in 2004 and 2005 and if google is right, 21 goals from 76 caps. He might have not had the best of games tonight but to say he's always been poor for England is a bit rich. IMO over careers thus far he's played better in an England shirt than Gerrard and this is from someone who supports neither Chelsea or Liverpool and thinks Gerrard is the better of the two players.

Cant really argue this.

Lampard >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Carrick

[The Baron]

Wes Brown was shite tonight ...

Rooney/Heskey or Rooney/Crouch ?

Crouch's goal scoring ability puts him in front imo.

Rooney and the midfield will be what gives us a chance at the world cup and Heskey is better at bringing them into play and drawing defenders in and creating gaps. For this reason Heskey for me by a nose.

[Josedinho]

He'll probably cost us by missing a chance any decent goalscorer would score but Heskey ahead of Crouch for me and it's not close.
Half of Crouch's goals have come in friendlies and not many of his goals have come against decent teams. We play so much better with Heskey in the team.

Carrick probably assured himself of a place in the squad tonight. Walcott needs a good end of season to get him on the plane.

Surprised with the team Capello played tonight. I thought Hart would have started so we headed towards a world cup with 3 goalkeepers that have played for England before. I've got a funny feeling that Foster may go ahead of Hart now which i'm not too sure i'm happy about.

Right back could be an issue. Brown hasn't looked good for United but our lack of options sees him starting for England. If Johnson isn't fit for the World Cup are we really going to play Brown? I know it's probably not a position that will win us the world cup but i thought Milner would have started to test him out a bit more at full back. Any englishman that has a half decen spell at right back in the next few months is in with a decent shout of making the squad.

SWP is probably 2nd choice for right mid behind Lennon (Maybe Milner is but he's 2nd choice for every position). We need Theo to hit some form and Joe Cole to give Capello a bit of a selection headache as i'm not convinced by SWP.

Quite relaxed about this World Cup. Nice to be there after the Euros shambles. With Rooney we'll be in the shake up - quarter finals and from there we'll give anyone a game. Without him and we're one of the underdogs.

[mondatoo]

I would've played Milner ahead of Walcott last night,I thought Capello only picked players in form

The Crouch/Heskey debate is an interesting one I'm mixed on it but as I said previously in the thread I'm confident Capello will make the correct decision.Didn't actually see the game where defoe/rooney poor together ?

[The Camel]

England have virtually no shot at winning the World Cup.

The goalkeepers are moderate in the extreme. Whoever Capello picks is likely to make a howler or two. Hart is probably the best, but he can hardly pick him after the debacle of what happened to Maclaren after he picked a rookie keeper.

The defence is just not good enough. A good, but not world class, team in Egypt cut them to shreds on several occasions. The fact England had only kept 6 (I think) clean sheets under Capello was just amazing. And those were against the usual suspects of Trinidad, Andorra etc.

The midfield includes some above average players, but they have proved time and again they aren't as effective together as they are for their clubs.

Rooney is the one world class player who performs at a world class level for his country. But the choice of partners is just lol pathetic. Heskey, Crouch or Defoe.

England are a fantastic lay at 6/1 for the WC at the moment, but the good news is they will only get shorter because their group is trivially easy. I will be laying for my maximum.

[henrik777]

England have virtually no shot at winning the World Cup.

The goalkeepers are moderate in the extreme. Whoever Capello picks is likely to make a howler or two. Hart is probably the best, but he can hardly pick him after the debacle of what happened to Maclaren after he picked a rookie keeper.

The defence is just not good enough. A good, but not world class, team in Egypt cut them to shreds on several occasions. The fact England had only kept 6 (I think) clean sheets under Capello was just amazing. And those were against the usual suspects of Trinidad, Andorra etc.

The midfield includes some above average players, but they have proved time and again they aren't as effective together as they are for their clubs.

Rooney is the one world class player who performs at a world class level for his country. But the choice of partners is just lol pathetic. Heskey, Crouch or Defoe.

England are a fantastic lay at 6/1 for the WC at the moment, but the good news is they will only get shorter because their group is trivially easy. I will be laying for my maximum.

McCamel speaks sense.

Sandy

[TheChipPrince]

If they win all 3 group games do you think they'll drop to 4/1 Camel?

[The Camel]

If they win all 3 group games do you think they'll drop to 4/1 Camel?

Obviously depends on the way the draw pans out and how Spain, Brazil and Argentina are playing.

But 4/1, 9/2 sounds about right.

[mondatoo]

England have virtually no shot at winning the World Cup.

The goalkeepers are moderate in the extreme. Whoever Capello picks is likely to make a howler or two. Hart is probably the best, but he can hardly pick him after the debacle of what happened to Maclaren after he picked a rookie keeper.

The defence is just not good enough. A good, but not world class, team in Egypt cut them to shreds on several occasions. The fact England had only kept 6 (I think) clean sheets under Capello was just amazing. And those were against the usual suspects of Trinidad, Andorra etc.

The midfield includes some above average players, but they have proved time and again they aren't as effective together as they are for their clubs.

Rooney is the one world class player who performs at a world class level for his country. But the choice of partners is just lol pathetic. Heskey, Crouch or Defoe.

England are a fantastic lay at 6/1 for the WC at the moment, but the good news is they will only get shorter because their group is trivially easy. I will be laying for my maximum.

I agree with the keepers

The defence comment I totally disagree with,the egypt game lnite had 3 players in the starting line up that without injuries prob wouldn't even make the squad.I think the starting defence if everyone's fit would be Johnson,Terry,Ferdinand,Cole.Out of them four if they are at 100% three of them are World Class,no doubt about this imo,Rio I have concerns about as he hasn't seemed "on it" for a while now but Terry and Cole who has a good chance of being fit in time are both solid/consistent performers at the top level.I also think Johnson is a very good right back I think he took some unfair stick for maybe 1/2 at most bad performances a Int.level.The liverpool fans on here same to rate him highly so I'm happy with him as 1st choice.Lescott and Richards are good back up players imo.

As for the midfield,above average ?? Although i agree with your comment about not playing as well for country as they do for club Lampard and Gerrard are both world class midfielders Gerrard on his day is as good as anyone in the world.I blame the previous performances as much on poor managers as I do them and with this being probably there last WC for both of them I'd imagine they'll be up for it more than ever and I think Capello can get the best out of them.

I agree with the striker comments to an extent as the rest aren't great.

I think the core of our team in Terry,Gerrard and Rooney gives us an outside chance of winning but the goalkeeping situation is a worry.I don't think anyone other than Spain and Brazil have a better chance than we do,we will need to get lucky but we are due some.Really looking forward to it,World Cups are heaven.

[The Camel]

England have virtually no shot at winning the World Cup.

The goalkeepers are moderate in the extreme. Whoever Capello picks is likely to make a howler or two. Hart is probably the best, but he can hardly pick him after the debacle of what happened to Maclaren after he picked a rookie keeper.

The defence is just not good enough. A good, but not world class, team in Egypt cut them to shreds on several occasions. The fact England had only kept 6 (I think) clean sheets under Capello was just amazing. And those were against the usual suspects of Trinidad, Andorra etc.

The midfield includes some above average players, but they have proved time and again they aren't as effective together as they are for their clubs.

Rooney is the one world class player who performs at a world class level for his country. But the choice of partners is just lol pathetic. Heskey, Crouch or Defoe.

England are a fantastic lay at 6/1 for the WC at the moment, but the good news is they will only get shorter because their group is trivially easy. I will be laying for my maximum.

I agree with the keepers

The defence comment I totally disagree with,the egypt game lnite had 3 players in the starting line up that without injuries prob wouldn't even make the squad.I think the starting defence if everyone's fit would be Johnson,Terry,Ferdinand,Cole.Out of them four if they are at 100% three of them are World Class,no doubt about this imo,Rio I have concerns about as he hasn't seemed "on it" for a while now but Terry and Cole who has a good chance of being fit in time are both solid/consistent performers at the top level.I also think Johnson is a very good right back I think he took some unfair stick for maybe 1/2 at most bad performances a Int.level.The liverpool fans on here same to rate him highly so I'm happy with him as 1st choice.Lescott and Richards are good back up players imo.

As for the midfield,above average ?? Although i agree with your comment about not playing as well for country as they do for club Lampard and Gerrard are both world class midfielders Gerrard on his day is as good as anyone in the world.I blame the previous performances as much on poor managers as I do them and with this being probably there last WC for both of them I'd imagine they'll be up for it more than ever and I think Capello can get the best out of them.

I agree with the striker comments to an extent as the rest aren't great.

I think the core of our team in Terry,Gerrard and Rooney gives us an outside chance of winning but the goalkeeping situation is a worry.I don't think anyone other than Spain and Brazil have a better chance than we do,we will need to get lucky but we are due some.Really looking forward to it,World Cups are heaven.

Johnson is fantastic coming forward, but he is not (and never will be) a world class defender.

Cole is way way overrated imo.

Did you see the way Terry was exposed for pace when one against one v that Egyptian forward last night? He had about a 2m start over 30m and was 2m behind when they reached the ball.

Frankly it was embarressing.

[The Camel]

England have virtually no shot at winning the World Cup.

The goalkeepers are moderate in the extreme. Whoever Capello picks is likely to make a howler or two. Hart is probably the best, but he can hardly pick him after the debacle of what happened to Maclaren after he picked a rookie keeper.

The defence is just not good enough. A good, but not world class, team in Egypt cut them to shreds on several occasions. The fact England had only kept 6 (I think) clean sheets under Capello was just amazing. And those were against the usual suspects of Trinidad, Andorra etc.

The midfield includes some above average players, but they have proved time and again they aren't as effective together as they are for their clubs.

Rooney is the one world class player who performs at a world class level for his country. But the choice of partners is just lol pathetic. Heskey, Crouch or Defoe.

England are a fantastic lay at 6/1 for the WC at the moment, but the good news is they will only get shorter because their group is trivially easy. I will be laying for my maximum.

I agree with the keepers

The defence comment I totally disagree with,the egypt game lnite had 3 players in the starting line up that without injuries prob wouldn't even make the squad.I think the starting defence if everyone's fit would be Johnson,Terry,Ferdinand,Cole.Out of them four if they are at 100% three of them are World Class,no doubt about this imo,Rio I have concerns about as he hasn't seemed "on it" for a while now but Terry and Cole who has a good chance of being fit in time are both solid/consistent performers at the top level.I also think Johnson is a very good right back I think he took some unfair stick for maybe 1/2 at most bad performances a Int.level.The liverpool fans on here same to rate him highly so I'm happy with him as 1st choice.Lescott and Richards are good back up players imo.

As for the midfield,above average ?? Although i agree with your comment about not playing as well for country as they do for club Lampard and Gerrard are both world class midfielders Gerrard on his day is as good as anyone in the world.I blame the previous performances as much on poor managers as I do them and with this being probably there last WC for both of them I'd imagine they'll be up for it more than ever and I think Capello can get the best out of them.

I agree with the striker comments to an extent as the rest aren't great.

I think the core of our team in Terry,Gerrard and Rooney gives us an outside chance of winning but the goalkeeping situation is a worry.I don't think anyone other than Spain and Brazil have a better chance than we do,we will need to get lucky but we are due some.Really looking forward to it,World Cups are heaven.

Johnson is fantastic coming forward, but he is not (and never will be) a world class defender.

Cole is way way overrated imo.

Did you see the way Terry was exposed for pace when one against one v that Egyptian forward last night? He had about a 2m start over 30m and was 2m behind when they reached the ball.

Frankly it was embarrassing.

[mondatoo]

Terry is playing shit at the minute obv has his mind elsewhere

Not many better LB in the world than Cole imo

I agree Johnson will not be World Class but do think he's very good and  3 WC defenders with 1 very good can't be beat by many other teams.

Spain are so strong everywhere but anything can happen in a WC,I'm not that concerned by Brazil but they are better than us

[Acidmouse]

Egypt aint no mugs and its hard to look at the defence too much as it was a 2nd string.

I do hope however he starts with crouch upfront come the real games.