England Squad

[Evertonscouser]

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Joe Hart (Man City), Chris Kirkland (Wigan).


Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Man Utd), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), John Terry (Chelsea), Stephen Warnock (Blackburn), David Wheater (Middlesbrough), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham).


Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), David Bentley (Blackburn), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Owen Hargreaves (Man Utd), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Frank Lampard (Chelsea)


Forwards: Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd).

This is just the provisional 30 man squd to play against USA and Trinidad and Tobago.

[kyan]

OK some good decisions, some poor ones.

For example, what the hell has Carrick done to Capello to still be omitted from even a 30-man provisional squad!?

He's certainly got more to him than Huddlestone & Jenas

Where's Lescott as well...

Surprised to see Warnock there, he's solid, but 3 LBs?

He's definitely got the GKs right though, and the strikers.

[Dragoen]

I am surprised that Ashley Young was not nominated.

[kyan]

He was, but as a striker, I almost missed that as well.

[Evertonscouser]

Lescott is having something done with a niggling injury and will be out for 3 weeks.

I don't know why Carrick has been left out, definatley should be in there in my opinion. Osman could had been in there with an outside shout, he's been at least on par with Jenas I'd say in the last few months.

I agree the Gks and strikers are right, but it just shows in my opinion the lack of depth we have in the striker department..

Good to see Jagielka in there, deserves it totally, been a revelation at centre back. Good enough to push Lescott out of position.

[Sven]

no SWP or Carrick, supraised not to see Carrick but to be fair he's not as good or offers as much as Barry,Gerrard,Lampard or even Jenas going forward.

[hanuma]

Huddleston is a bigger, stronger, younger version of Carrick.

Warnock, Wheater and Beckham are a waste of space.

[Olzy]

No Carrick. Crazy!!!

He's part of the champions team, plays in champions league football. He's the best passer of the ball none of the England midfield can dictate a game / control a game at international level. Gerrard and Lampard have the likes of Alonso and Makele doing all the doggy work for them.

Carrick's defensive game is very strong which is under rated. He may not offer anything going forward as you put it Sven but thats not his role at club level and even then you cant knock how class he is at putting through balls and so on. He is more than capable of scoring goals aswell. Plus he is a good height so would be good for England defensively at set plays.

I'm hoping Ashley Young who is in blinding form at the minute plays instead of the out of sorts Joe Cole. We need pace in the England side to get in behind defences and Joe Cole is a turn out pass it to left back everytime option.

Be good to see how Ashton does rather he come of the bench rather than Crouch.

lol @ Warnock and Wheater.

Jagielka has been quality this season, I watched him at the Emirates the other week and he has Adeabayor in his pocket.

[hanuma]

Originally Posted by Olzy

No Carrick. Crazy!!!

He's part of the champions team, plays in champions league football. He's the best passer of the ball none of the England midfield can dictate a game / control a game at international level. Gerrard and Lampard have the likes of Alonso and Makele doing all the doggy work for them.

You couldn't be more wrong on so many levels.

The first part you're wrong about is that there is an 'international level' any more. Invariably the opposition isn't nearly as good as a top European club side, nor could it be even if it had the same level of talent, on account of the fact they get a month to prepare.

The second part would be the suggestion that Carrick can control a game where there is any level of midfield competition. If you hadn't noticed the only English player in Utd's squad capable of doing that is Scholes.

As for the third part, it doesn't even make any sense, considering Makalele's amount of games this season and Alonsos skillset. If anything, you'll often find Gerrard doing more fetching for Alonso.

Carrick's defensive game is very strong which is under rated.

Carrick's defensive game is not 'very strong' by any true defensive midfielders standards, it's strong for someone who has previously shown almost no aptitude for it.

even then you cant knock how class he is at putting through balls and so on. He is more than capable of scoring goals aswell. Plus he is a good height so would be good for England defensively at set plays.

I can and will knock his ability to put through balls through...as ever with him he's shown an ability to hit the hollywood pass once in a while, but the consistency with which he does it is miserable. For you it's great because you can watch the highlights and think it's all sexy and cool, but if you really watch him he plays just as many of those passes into the path of a defender. At your 'international level' keeping the ball is more important than what he does. If height was the only criteria for defending at set pieces Huddlestone is the better option, again, because he's taller and has a better leap. How many goals has he scored again btw?

[Olzy]

Gerrard plays 2nd striker for Liverpool. Alonso sitting deep he is the one who gives him the ammunition plus there is another anchorman in Javier M. Why do you think Gerrard and Lampard cant play together because neither of em are displicined enough to sit back while one attacks and dont play the role at club level. Although they are both decent passers Carrick is used to playing from deep and doesnt look to play the killer pass everytime.

True Scholes does help alot with Carrick, but Carrick is a mighty fine passer of the ball. I watch Man Utd all the time live so I dont just watch 'highlights' as you put it.

Makalele was just an example. Obi / Essien or whoever plays defensive mid then.

I think if you've watched Carrick this season you will see he makes alot of vital tackles and interceptions.

I'm not saying he should be starting but he is part of the champions team, played in the champions league team thats got to the final. He's had a very good season. He's played in the midfield role more times than Hargreaves this season.

One think Carrick lacks for me is pace but his positional play tends to get him in good positions.

But its no suprise that you and sven dont rate him. He cant be as crap as you make him out to be when he's playing for the best club in the country and possible Europe.

[hanuma]

Originally Posted by Olzy

Gerrard plays 2nd striker for Liverpool.

You say it as if he's just sitting there waiting for the ball to come to him, or that he's never played any other position, either this season or before. And weren't you one of those that used to insist he'd be the saviour of England if only he were played in the centre in his 'rightful position'? Sorry if you weren't, it's just there were so many of them it's hard to tell the difference.

Why do you think Gerrard and Lampard cant play together because neither of em are displicined enough to sit back while one attacks and dont play the role at club level.

It's not a case of ill-discipline, because there was never a moment where the team lost a goal or lost a game simply because one of them didn't do their jobs properly, the point was that when they were asked to play together they were asked to work as if they had played all season together, knowing exactly what one another was going to do and covering every inch of the pitch all at once. It was ridiculously optimistic to think they could operate like that, I was one of the people that believed it possible too. Of course they can work together, but only if they have clearly defined roles, and even better if they have a holding midfielder. Carrick could be that man, but I'd prefer others to do that job.

True Scholes does help alot with Carrick, but Carrick is a mighty fine passer of the ball. I watch Man Utd all the time live so I dont just watch 'highlights' as you put it.

Then you should know that Carrick CAN be a mighty fine passer of the ball and that he is not THE finest passer of the ball.

I think if you've watched Carrick this season you will see he makes alot of vital tackles and interceptions.

Yes, you'd hope he would playing for one of the best teams in the world, it depends what standards you're judging him by though. There isn't a single sane Utd fan that would choose Carrick over any of his predecessors at the club (with the exception of Djemba Djemba).

He cant be as crap as you make him out to be when he's playing for the best club in the country and possible Europe.

He's not 'crap', but there is context here.

[Olzy]

I wasnt knocking Gerrard's role. 2nd striker is his best role. Gives him the licence to surge forward and get his shots away without having to bomb back and defend everytime like he would have to if he was playing in centre midfield.

Who else do you think can pass the ball better than Carrick in such tight situations and under pressure. He is cool as a cucumber on the ball. Shows for the ball, keeps it simple most of the time and can make a cutting through ball aswell. Passing is probably his main attribute which is why Sir Alex brought him in the first place so they can do quick passing and give good service to wingers/forward players.

I rate Huddlestone his time will come but Carrick is a better player than him at the moment. He's playing for a bigger club has more experience.

As for the comment about Man Utd fans, you'd have to ask them, obviously they would prefer Roy Keane and so on. But Carrick seems to be highly rated by fans and most importantly Sir Alex. 2 titles in 2 years for M.C.

All Im saying is that Carrick warrants a place in the squad. All the midfielders bring something to the table in that squad.

[kyan]

hanuma your opinions on Carrick are just that. Opinions. Very irritating when you put them forward as if they were facts.

And if anyone "couldn't be more wrong", it's yourself.

Carrick has held his place in the Premiership Champions's starting XI for two consecutive seasons, in a very competitive position with players like Hargreaves and Anderson second choice to him. Considering Ferguson has won 10 league titles, I have a sneaky suspicion that he might know what he's doing...

And Carrick's pass completion rate is around 80%. Now I reckon you'll counter with "that's because most of his passes are sideways or backwards", but that makes your other argument redundant, that he loses possession too often or that he chooses the hollywood pass too often. It's not as if Lampard (or Gerrard even moreso) hits his target every time he attempts a long pass, so why does Carrick get barracked when he finds his targets as often as the other players...

And as for Carrick's defensive qualities being found wanting - bollocks. He reads the game, just because he doesn't make big blocks too often or slide in to make tackles doesn't make him poor defensively. The number of interceptions he's made this season is pretty huge. And even when Ferguson chooses 4-5-1 it's Carrick that plays as the deeper of the 3 CMs, not Hargreaves.

[Sven]

The fact is , he's isn't better then Gerrard,Lampard or even Barry .

He doesn't offer enough. I9 rather England play attacking,m then having two cm staying bk in hargreaves and Carrick.

[kyan]

Originally Posted by Sven

The fact is , he's isn't better then Gerrard,Lampard or even Barry .

He doesn't offer enough. I9 rather England play attacking,m then having two cm staying bk in hargreaves and Carrick.

No, once more that's not a fact, that's opinion, I'm not going to argue that he's better than Gerrard or Lampard, but he occupies a different position and plays a different role as effectively as they play theirs.

What have Gerrard and Lampard done for England which has been particularly impressive since Euro 2004?

Have you seen England play in the last 4 years? Playing Lampard and Gerrard does not mean it's attacking. I'd rather have 2 players making runs from deep and dictating play allowing the 2 wingers and 2 strikers to have enough space to create than have what we've had for the last few years.