steve_69

Shelvey has the potential to be deadly in a counter-attacking team, particularly one with an abundance of pace. Tonight's game could be one where his passing ability on the break could've been invaluable if, as expected, there are long periods of the game where we're pegged back by Croatia's midfield.

Harmony is top notch in our squad by all accounts, including Shelvey. I'm not suggesting Shelvey would be a disruptive influence in the England squad, i'm saying that integrating a new player/character into an already tight-knit England squad could have been seen as a risk at such a late stage. Call it over-cautious but you could understand if that was the thinking.

I totally agree. I'd actually have Shelvey starting ahead of Henderson because his vision and range of passing would be a huge asset with so much pace and movement around him. I have changed my mind on Henderson to an extent, he's impressed me throughout this tournament but I still maintain that he doesn't have one outstanding attribute in his arsenal. A harmonious squad is clearly very important to this team's success though, especially when we're not blessed with loads of world class players. I can totally understand why Shelvey was left out but if it continues to happen beyond this tournament I think serious questions have to be asked because as you point out, outside the first 11, no one has stood out.

The more i see and hear about this squad the more i think Shelvey's omission was less to do with ability or temperament - it was to do with the fact that this is a very united, close knit squad that know each other well and enjoy each others' company. Bringing in an outsider at such a late stage could've upset the balance and potentially derailed the campaign. Hopefully, if Shelvey continues where he left off last he'll get his chance and there's time between now and the next major tournament to integrate him.

This is a good read. Definitely changed my opinion of Sterling: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/raheem-sterling-england-it-was-all-a-dream?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=worldcup18&utm_term=Sterling

What in the fuck of all fucks is this?! https://www.facebook.com/lequipe.fr/videos/10155626621602066/

It's £2 each mate, available numbers are in the first post. Sorry, it's my usual Monday morning brainfart. I'll take 75 please

Just sent my £2 over. 4 & 40 if available please?

Goes something like: Give Wullie 2 quid Wullie gives you the name of some random Saudi you've never heard of You passionately watch every Saudi Arabia match in the desperate hope of a goal No goals Some absolute freak and total weirdo wins all the money Sounds brilliant! If you want to win your £2 back i'd suggest you put a bet on me getting the shittest player in the tournament. It's a pretty safe bet.

In No idea what the rules are but fuck it

FFS!

Living within our means with £30m+ shaved off the potential commercial revenue because Ashley monopolises all of our advertising space with his tat brand.....for fucking free!! We'd be a lot better off if we lived within our means with £30m extra cash in the transfer kitty every season. There wouldn't be too much complaint then. How about asking the lying bastards about that next time, eh?!

Kluivert all over again Kluivert would've been class for us given time. Then along came Graeme 'i'm a cunt' Souness

Kinda shit? Nope, he's totally shit. And he's hardly player this season so fuck knows why he's anywhere near the squad

Why do so many people get Henderson so wrong? That's simply not true, like. At least for Liverpool anyway. He passes forward all the time, nigh on always first time as well. He was pinging them all over the shop against us. I've said this before - i've watched Liverpool a lot recently because there were a few weeks where they were never off the TV. Henderson played in all of the games and you could count on one hand the number of times he passed the ball forward. He may have games where he's pinging the ball around but his go-to is the simple sideways or backwards pass and that's in a team with Salah, Firmino and Mane causing havoc ahead of him. I don't see one single standout attribute to his game. He's bang fucking average IMO You're definitely lying. Why would i lie about something so trivial. I have nothing against Henderson at all, he actually seems like a decent guy. I just haven't seen anything from him that's any more than average. I'm talking about seeing him in maybe 6-7 games. Others may have watched him more and seen a world beater, but in the games i've seen him in he's been your average sideways pass merchant and nothing more. Maybe that's what Klopp was asking him to do, who knows?!

Phil Jones?! Phil Fucking Jones?! Someone's been sniffing marker pens.

Why do so many people get Henderson so wrong? That's simply not true, like. At least for Liverpool anyway. He passes forward all the time, nigh on always first time as well. He was pinging them all over the shop against us. I've said this before - i've watched Liverpool a lot recently because there were a few weeks where they were never off the TV. Henderson played in all of the games and you could count on one hand the number of times he passed the ball forward. He may have games where he's pinging the ball around but his go-to is the simple sideways or backwards pass and that's in a team with Salah, Firmino and Mane causing havoc ahead of him. I don't see one single standout attribute to his game. He's bang fucking average IMO

Henderson passes sideways or backwards almost every time he touches the ball. No wonder he has such good passing stats. The fact that he has the best front three in the Premier League in front of him and only has assists in the single figures shows how fucking useless he is and should never be used as a stat to try and back up how good he is. Livermore is a joke! If he's international quality then i'm not far off. Shelvey has been playing in a Championship team, with strikers who couldn't hit a fucking barn door. His long range passing is sublime and his vision makes every other midfielder in the England squad look like a school boy. Southgate's job should be to pick the best team with the strongest chance of winning the World Cup fullstop. 'Who's the best fucking tourist?!' No wonder we're so fucking shit at international football

I guess because some of us have a heart. If it's his dream to play in a World Cup and he should be going based on ability & form, but isn't for reasons that seem beyond anyone with a brain and a pair of eyes, then we feel sad and disappointed for the guy.

If he doesn't take Shelvey, you can guarantee that'll be the stick that the media use to beat him with when we inevitably crash of the tournament early (and rightly so) We have no creativity in CM at all so all of our attacking play will come from the front three. When that gets sussed out and nullified by world class defenders, we'll have nothing to fall back on. It'll be the same old story - "England need someone in the centre of the park who can open up a defence". Sadly the beautiful bald bastard will be sat at home watching it on his sofa with his head in his hands like the rest of us.

Sad isn't it. Barring injury the only NUFC player at the World Cup will be Mitro. I'm biased as hell but I would have both Shelvey and Jamaal on the plane if I were Southgate. I agree. It's likely that neither would start, but both have what I would consider invaluable assets to bring to the squad & tournament. Jamaal's attitude, desire & commitment is as good as anything I have seen in my years following football, and I truly believe Shelvey would be the best passer of a ball in the squad - as biased as I am. I second that bit. Maybe a bit of bias but I like to think it's more football knowledge and common sense. Who else is there that's a better passer of the ball in the England squad? There are only a handful better in the PL really. With all the pace and movement he'd have around him, he could be deadly. Instead we'll probably have to endure watching Dier, Henderson and Livermore, wondering what could've been.

This guy needs to go to the world cup. The more i watch him the more impressed i am, and the more you realise we don't have anyone in the England squad who even comes close to him in terms passing ability and vision. I've watched quite a lot of Liverpool lately because they never seem to be off the telly and how Henderson has managed to convince everyone he's international quality is beyond me. Every pass is either sideways or backwards and that's despite having some of the best pace and movement in the league ahead of him. He reminds me of Jack Colback. With the movement and pace he'd have around him in the England team, I could see Shelvey developing into our most important CM (if Gareth would pull his finger out of his arse and bother to pick him).

I wonder if Chelsea might think twice about selling him now after seeing how De Bruyne and Salah have turned out. They're also likely to bring in a new manager who could give him first team action.

That kit will always be synonymous with Michael Owen for me. Therefore, it's tainted. WNB