Quote:
Originally Posted by NBC
Capello has some mighty big decisions to make regarding the England squad. Neither first-choice left or right back (Cole and Johnson) are available through injury and might not be fit in time for South Africa. And no one knows if the newly appointed captain, the glass man of the EPL Rio Ferdinand, will be fit as well.
The Goalkeeping situation is as muddy as ever with three fairly decent players in the mix for the number 1 shirt. This is the first time in years where there doesn't seem to be a consensus number 1 in the squad. Arguably Joe Hart has been the best of the three this year, but it is unlikely that he'll be given the starting assignment.
Since there is no natural left winger amongst the perceived starting 11, thoughts are that Steven Gerrard will play the left side of a 4 man midfield diamond, with Lampard and Barry down the middle and Milner/Beckham/Wright-Phillips/Lennon and a host of others potentially on the right side.
Up front it looks like Crouch, Rooney, Heskey, and Defoe have all booked their seats on the plane. Probably room for one more striker and thoughts are either Carlton Cole or Gabriel Agbonlahor.
All said, if this squad is healthy and united in the wake of the John Terry debacle, with Capello a proven tactician, motivator and disciplinarian, they could have a decent World Cup. But right now there just seems to be too many question marks in key positions. Regardless, with Canada perpetually failing to qualify for the big dance yet again, my allegiances will be firmly with my new adopted home nation.
ENG-LAND!
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I must say, thats not a very impressive roster regardless of the EPL over-valuing of English players.
Moving Gerrard to the left just so that Lampard stays in the middle is ######ed despite what the 'master tactician' thinks.
Emile Heskey is like 75 years old and has scored, what, like 7 goals for England? The other strikers arent much better. They've got Rooney + Whoever up front essentially.
No #1 Keeper, a fairly threadbare and injury prone defense, a rotating door on the right midfield of fairly marginal or over-the-hill players.