England Squad

England squad: James (Portsmouth), Green (West Ham), Carson (West Brom); Brown (Manchester United), Johnson (Portsmouth), Terry (Chelsea), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Lescott (Everton), Upson (West Ham), A Cole (Chelsea), Bridge (Chelsea); Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Walcott (Arsenal), Barry (Aston Villa), Jenas (Tottenham), Lampard (Chelsea), Gerrard (Liverpool), Downing (Middlesbrough), Wright-Phillips (Manchester City); Heskey (Wigan), Crouch (Portsmouth), Rooney (Manchester United), Defoe (Portsmouth).


What is Capello's starting eleven?


Capello's Starting Eleven:

James
Brown Ferdinand Terry A Cole
Walcott Lampard Barry Gerrard
Rooney Heskey


With Joe Cole not been picked (due to today's injury?) and Hargreaves still injured, I don't think Capello has a lot of choice. Downing is not good enough and Beckham is past it. I suppose he could put Rooney out left and go with Crouch and Defoe, or Heskey and Defoe, but Rooney seems isolated to me out left and doesn't perform as well as he can.

Does anyone know if either SWP or Walcott can play on the Left?

Surprised with no inclusion of Bentley, but then with Spurs bad run of form and him not starting every game maybe not so.
Owen being rejected again really does bring into question his future as an England player. 2 more than winnable games, and anything but 6 points will be a surprise and any formatoin we play should be good enough. The only way I can see Gerrard coming in is him being used on the left for J. Cole, or switching Walcott there and playing Gerrard on the right. I dont want to see Gerrard on the left, and if you want to get anything from Gerrard on the right you will have to change the formation slightly allowing him a bit of freedom, and to be fair there's no need to do that - otherwise it has to be the bench. I hope Heskey and Rooney start up front too, but I have a feeling Crouch's recent good form might get him a place in the starting XI.

Against so called weaker sides I see absolutely no problem with Gerrard on the left. During his absense Lampard played well and should be allowed to continue in the centre. Gerrards influenced in reduced slightly by sticking him out wide but the fact is, he can roam from that position in a way that will not affect the shape of the side.

Against sides that will be looking to contain, Ashley Cole will provide more than enough width from the left side allowing Gerrard to have more of a free role. His ability to cut in from the left and deliver top crosses will be of benefit if Crouch plays. His current for has been good.

Any team we play will be capable of beating these two sides, but that has been the case over the past few years yet we have failed. Against Croatia I believe we saw the performance from Rooney that we hope he will continue to provide and if players like Lampard and Gerrard can replicate their club form for England, as the confidence of the team grows we shall become a top side.

After Croatia, it is important to not get carried away and expect some 8-0s. A good performance and a couple of 2 goal victories would be VERY good. That said, probably, anything less than 6 points will raise a few eyebrows. Given that we have beaten Croatia away, we could be in a very good position after 4 games, something we are usually not used to. Something has to go wrong....

SWP does have a left foot, but it is more of a "swinger" than a "wand"

In his time with us he did not figure on the left very much - once for Jose at Fulham and was subbed with Joe Cole after 30 mins.

I am happy for him to get back in the squad and he was the topic of conversation last night after this career success.

He will benefit from platying at City far more as he will not face packed defences as he did while playing for chelsea most weekends.

Far more space for him to do his trick of pushing the ball farward and running onto it.

Did you notice the great run he had against Liverpool at the weekend when all the city players wanted the ball but ran offside and he continued with the ball past the line of defenders knowing he couldnt be offside.

The player that came to Chelsea would never have been abole to do that.

He improved alot with us... City will benefit....but he still wouldnt get in our side with all the injuries.

TickTok wrote:

SWP does have a left foot, but it is more of a "swinger" than a "wand"

Bit like his right foot then?

rumour has it Gerrard and Lampard will be played as a central pairing - though you have to say just about every rumour that has come out about Capello's possible selection seems to be wrong so I'm not too sure. Against Borat's homeland I think we cuold play anyone to be honest.

huzup wrote:

rumour has it Gerrard and Lampard will be played as a central pairing - though you have to say just about every rumour that has come out about Capello's possible selection seems to be wrong so I'm not too sure. Against Borat's homeland I think we cuold play anyone to be honest.

I have heard the same rumours. Don't say who will start on the left, Barry being one of the few left footed players may play on the left if Gerrard and Lampard start in midfield.

The problem is with Joe Cole and Hargreaves out there isn't a lot of options and while Kazakhstan is a pretty weak team, England may have problems if they try to play without a holding midfielder against Belarus, who will not be pushovers at home.