Fabio Capello has in the last half hour named his 30-man preliminary England squad, the biggest omission being David Beckham, who is not considered match-fit for what would have been his 100th cap. Granted, he is not playing competitive football at the moment (or even when MLS restarts depending on who you speak to) but if there is anyone who consistently gives his all for his country and deserves this milestone it’s surely David Beckham. The ‘door is still open’, to use a cliché, but I hope Capello does not regret in the future what must be an unpopular decision with the fans.
The other surprising, perhaps bordering on ridiculous decision is the continued omission of West Ham’s Rob Green. Even though Paul Robinson has also lost his place in the squad, Chris Kirkland has been called up ahead of a keeper performing fantastically week in week out at club level. It would seem from this that David James is set to become number one choice, and after his quite brilliant performance at Old Trafford last night I see no reason why it should not be James’ time. At the same time I cannot for the life of me explain why Rob Green is not his number 2.
The name that jumps out from players that have made it is Aston Villa’s Curtis Davies, a player who by his own admission has not had the best or most consistent of seasons. The squad is still to be whittled down of course, but even with John Terry missing through injury I cannot see Davies really threatening the starting line-up. Matthew Upson also gets the call, after a solid first half of the season with West Ham. Elsewhere, Emile Heskey returns to the strike-force after his brief spell towards the end of McClaren’s reign, so good luck to him aswell.
A mix of regulars and form players then, with only 15 out of the 30-man squad made up of the fantasy league ‘form’ players I listed yesterday making the cut. Dave Kitson may feel most aggrieved by this, having missed out, but I for one would not class him at international level. I am glad Crouchy keeps his place, as does Michael Owen, rumoured earlier to be unincluded. Despite being on a poor club run, Michael Owen will always score goals at international level. How does the saying go? Form is temporary…
With Fabio Capello apparently saying this week he intends to pick an England squad based on merit (Guardian, 28 Jan), I thought what better way to judge this ‘merit’ than on this season’s Fantasy League points? So here, according to this measurement, is this season’s 23-man ‘form’ squad:
GK
Rob Green – 102 pts
David James – 100
Scott Carson – 79
DF
Rio Ferdinand – 122
Jolean Lescott – 116
Glen Johnson – 88
Wes Brown – 85
Sol Campbell – 85
Matthew Upson – 78
David Wheater – 76
Nicky Shorey – 75
MF
Steven Gerrard – 120
David Bentley – 110
Gareth Barry – 98
Stewart Downing – 89
Frank Lampard (injured) – 87
James Harper – 74
James Milner – 70
Kevin Nolan – 69
FW
Ashley Young – 107
Gabriel Agbonglahor – 103
Dave Kitson – 80
Marcus Bent – 77
Wayne Rooney – 74 (Scraped in just ahead of Cameron Jerome, lucky Wayne…)
Whilst I agree that there needs to be some major England shake-ups at the end of the week, tonight I would like to state my case for why at least one of the established squad should retain his place in the England set up. Whilst Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney are shoe-ins for the next squad, anyone with a left testicle would agree that Peter Crouch is just as crucial a member of the frontline, and I would wager his place is far less secure.
Peter Crouch is an awkward and effective player who lulls the opposition into a false sense of security with his apparent newborn-elk-like movements, and as we all know will win any header that he wants to. Yes, he fouls every time he tries to jump, but most of the time he doesn’t need to. He offers a unique threat, and defenders don’t like playing against him. He also happens to be a great finisher, and has a fantastic international scoring record (14 in 24) which any world-class striker would be proud of. Critics would say these goals were scored against weaker nations. Like Croatia you mean? The fact is, the amount of goals against smaller nations is exactly why Crouchy should be in the squad. Goals against these countries is kind of how you qualify for tournaments…
We bemoan the lack of quality forwards in this country, but there are others waiting in the wings. Many are tipping Reading’s Dave Kitson to be included. Granted, a very good player, but international standard? Since Fabio Capello took charge of England earlier this month, Peter Crouch has scored 3 goals playing in only a bitpart role for Liverpool, Dave Kitson has scored none having played every game for Reading in the same period. Who’s the form striker now?
Coincidentally, Peter Crouch turns 27 tommorow (Jan 30), so Happy Birthday Peter.
All week Gameof2halves will be focusing on Fabio Capello’s first England squad selection, culminating in my predictions and recommendations at the end of the week.
Following on from yesterday’s look at an average Premiership weekend, today sees the birth of the All-English challenge. With increasing calls for limits on overseas players in matchday squads (unworkable) I thought I would take it a step further and consider how some teams in the Premiership would fare having to field a completely English XI. Liverpool and Arsenal need not apply.
Below are the 5 teams I would consider to be able to field the strongest sides, in no particular order:
Manchester Utd England XI: Foster
Neville Brown Ferdinand Simpson
Eagles Hargreaves Carrick Scholes
Campbell (Hull) Rooney
Perhaps a little lightweight in places but still a pretty formidable side packed with experience.
Aston Villa England XI: Carson
Cahill Knight Davies Barry
Gardner Reo-Coker
Young Agbonglahor
Harewood Moore
Does not severely reduce the quality of their usual team, although they might miss Martin Laursen.
West Ham England XI: Green
Davenport Ferdinand Upson
Dyer Etherington
Parker Noble Bowyer
Ashton Cole
Pretty much full strength Hammers.
Everton England XI: Ruddy
Hibbert Stubbs Lescott Baines
Neville Jagielka Osman
Johnson Anichebe Vaughan
I have no idea what Ruddy’s like as a goalkeeper but didn’t he save a penalty once? Also, Anichebe is technically Nigerian, but played for England Schoolboys. Could slot Dan Gosling in somewhere instead.
Tottenham England XI: Robinson
Huddlestone Dawson King Gardner
Lennon Jenas O’Hara Routledge
Defoe Bent
Hit and miss, but looks pretty solid.
So these are the sides that I would imagine would challenge for an All-English title. What strikes me is how a number of Premiership sides would struggle to even field an English XI, and I would imagine there are a number of Championship sides that would be better equiped for this challenge than the likes of Arsenal. But what do you think? Vote below for which of those sides you think would come out on top. Or do you disagree with my selections? Have I left players out? Or do you think you could build another club side that could challenge? A Newcastle midfield of Milner, Butt, Barton, Smith maybe? Or a patchwork Chelsea side with Joe Cole upfront? Stoke? Vote and leave comments below…
For the past month Fabio Capello has been attending matches up and down the country to size up his options in preperation for his first squad announcement this coming weekend. So what would he have made of our little circus? How much choice does he really have?
A bit of number crunching from last weekend’s premiership matches (Sat 19th) shows that just over 35% of players involved in the 10 matches were English. Now, for all the moaning about not enough English players in the Premiership, it strikes me that over a 1-in-3 choice is not actually bad, certainly not to be sniffed at. 23 of the 114 Englishmen in matchday squads were unused subs, but if every week involves a similar 91 to choose from, is that really that terrible? Let’s break this down further…
I would note that there are a number of English players who would have almost certainly been involved in the games if not for injuries and/or suspensions, here I’m thinking John Terry, Keiron Dyer, Michael Johnson, Joey Barton, Alan Smith, Nicky Butt to name a few. At the same time however, the African Nations have depleted many of the squads of a few extra foreigners that may also have taken their place.
The best place for Englishness last week was the JJB stadium, where 13 English players were involved in the game between Wigan and Everton. That’s around half the players on show. Even discounting Titus Bramble it still comes out on top. The worst ground was predictably Craven Cottage, where Fulham and Arsenal used a grand total of 3 English players (all Fulham), and Justin Hoyte sat unused on the Arsenal bench. Almunia, however, did play…
Aston Villa and Everton both used 8 Englishmen, and West Ham started with 7. These are clubs in the top half of the table and doing well, and even if the ‘Big 4′ perhaps lack Englishness (13 used between them, 5 for Man Utd) It cannot be said that there is a lack of competitive English football being played. It would seem more accurate to say that previous England managers have been afraid to look beyond the big guns, as, with the exception of the retired Carragher, all 13 of the players used by the ‘elites’ have been regularly involved in England squads.
So if Capello really wants to make the most of a clean England slate, I would urge him to look beyond the superstars, and consider players who are consistently gaining top-flight, and in the case of Everton, Spurs, Blackburn and even Bolton players, European experience. Who knows? Maybe next Saturday we’ll be looking at a squad of Warnocks and Osmans rather than Gerrards and Lampards? It’s only a friendly after all.
Hello world, and welcome to Game of 2 Halves, a blog dedicated to the ins and outs of the wonderful world of football, and my general musings about the game. I am a football fan, and an Oxford United fan (I distinguish the two as they become increasingly seperate), and so hopefully this blog will provide combined coverage of international and premiership football with lower league stuff on the side.
In its first week, in the build up to Fabio Capello’s first England squad announcement, this blog will focus on his range of choice, looking at the state of the English game, and what gems are on offer for Capello to discover in the Premiership.
