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World Cup 2010 Pre-Tournament Thread

James

by James
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Guest Stephen927

Guest Stephen927

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Before that he was quality, hopefully he'll pick up again. It isn't helping him right now that he has to be away from his newborn.

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Dokko

Dokko

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Carrick has had a poor season like, was simply appalling against Mexico.

 

 

Slow, immobile, injury prone, lost, inconsistent, even his trademark ability to pass has just been average. How he's in the squad for England is a joke, i'd rather take the limited but at least on form Scott Parker, at least he'll try to put in a performance even if he's short of it.

 

Carrick is living off playing for Manu and his rep, really has done nothing this year and i'm sure Fergie if he could would love to lumber him with some other team than have to go in to the season with him again.

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MKSC

MKSC

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He was awesome for three seasons, one with spurs and then two with united. The last two seasons he has fallen a way a bit and I'd echo the sentiment that I hope he recovers his form though as on his day he is very good. A little short of top top class but certainly very close.

 

 

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Disco

Disco

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I honestly wouldn't even him him at Newcastle.

 

:mackems: and it is not the shocking English.

 

Whoopy fuking doo i put him instead of have.

 

You'd pay what Manu would want for him (say £12m+) plus £80kpw would you?  :lol: Now that's laughable.

 

Changing the parameters but yes he'd walk into most teams, particularly ours.

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Segun Oluwaniyi

Segun Oluwaniyi

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I'm very annoyed right now. Don't like the cuts Lagerback made from his squad. Dropped Anichebe, Ikechukwu Uche, and Onyeachi Apam. Kept Utaka (:suicide:), Kanu, and Shittu. I love Kanu, and he will forever be my favorite, but he is finished. Anichebe could have been an important physical prescence for us, and will be useful in the future. I know Ike Uche is struggling for fitness, but Utaka is quite literally one of the worst players going to the World Cup. They could have taken me over that wastepipe. Apam is also better than Mr. Shittu, imo.

Our ESPN thing is awful:

 

http://www.worldcupbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Nigeria1.jpg

:lol: Yes, that is Mikel Obi flying on a bird.

 

Played to a 1-1 draw with Colombia today. I liked the look of the team tbh. Obviously the result isn't what we would have desired, but several players impressed and the team was pretty industrious and played well together. Haruna Lukman was pretty good again and got himself a goal. It's absolutely imperative for us that Obi Mikel and Ike Uche get themselves fully fit, though. It's not all in place, yet but I think we can make noise in SA.

 

Bit off topic, but I've wondered for a while if you had an opinion on the old Obi Mikel transfer saga when he signed for Man Utd, but then went to Chelsea and in that way f***ed over his Norwegian club, Lyn, who now are bankrupt and facing relegation to the Norwegian third tier?

I think it's nothing to do with the young boy and alot to do with predatory European clubs and greedy old men, most specifically Morgan Andersen and John Shittu. It an indictment of what's wrong with current system for young African footballers if anything. I feel bad for Lyn, I suppose. I know nothing about them, but they nutured Obasi and Obi so I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them.

 

 

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womblemaster

womblemaster

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ive done some analysis of the grp stage games, and heres my pick of THE games to watch:

 

sat 12. 3pm. arg vs nigeria

                7. eng vs usa

 

sun 13 12. alg vs slovenia (to asses how well these teams are playing)

              7. ger vs aus Only one time in 4 years i can cheer on an ozzy team!

 

tue 15 7. Brazil vs North korea ?possible goal fest

 

wed 16 3. spain vs swiss*

 

thur 17 12. arg vs s korea ?goal fest

 

fri 18 3. slovenia vs usa

         7. eng vs algeria

 

sun 20 7. Brazil vs ivory coast poss cracker!

 

mon 21 noon   port vs north korea

 

              7.  spain vs honduras ?goal fest

 

tue 22  7.  greece vs argentina

 

wed 23  3pm slovenia vs eng finish top of grp ??

 

Fri 25  3. north korea vs ivory coast ?goal fest

 

           7. Port vs brazil watch ronaldo crying!

 

*asses what form spain are in, swiss will try and scrape a draw imo.

 

As i think spain, england, brazil, argentina, are all possible winners, then all their games are worth watching.

 

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oldtype

oldtype

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http://img.khan.co.kr/news/2010/04/30/20100430000636_r.jpg

 

The South Korea 23.

 

GK: Lee Woon-Jae (Suwon Bluewings), Kim Young-Kwang (Ulsan Horang-i), Jung Sung-Ryong (Seongnam Ilhwa)

 

DF: Lee Young-Pyo (Al-Hilal), Cha Du-Ri (SC Freiburg), Kim Dong-Jin (Ulsan Horang-i), Oh Beom-Seok (Ulsan Horang-i), Kang Min-Soo (Suwon Bluewings), Cho Yong-Hyung (Jeju United), Lee Jung-Soo (Kashima Antlers), Kim Hyung-Il (Pohang Steelers)

 

MF: Kim Nam-Il (Tom Tomsk), Park Ji-Sung (Manchester United), Kim Jung-Woo (Gwangju Phoenix), Lee Chung-Yong (Bolton Wanderers), Ki Sung-Yong (Celtic FC), Kim Jae-Sung (Pohang Steelers), Kim Bo-Kyung (Oita Trinity)

 

ST: Ahn Jung-Hwan (Dailan Shide), Lee Dong-Gook (Jeonbuk Motors), Park Chu-Young (AS Monaco), Yeom Ki-Hun (Suwon Bluewings), Lee Seung-Yeoul (FC Seoul)

 

                  WJ Lee

 

DR Cha  YH Cho  JS Lee  YP Lee

 

  CY Lee  SY Ki  JW Kim  JS Park

 

          CY Park  "The Gook"

 

A few thoughts about our side: this is by no means the best 23 we've ever fielded, but it's certainly the best 11. Assuming Gook can get his fitness back we'll have the ideal (by Korean standard ) strike partnership of him and Chu Young Park, who's been progressing at a ridiculous pace since joining Monaco.

 

The midfield is just about perfect, Lee and Park are both Premiership stars, Ki would have been one right now if he wasn't an idiot and chose to join an SPL club (under Tony Mowbray no less, a man who has previous with screwing up creative Korean central midfielders.) Kim is a Scott Parker kind of player who never stops running and cleans up all the s*** that the other three inevitably cause while being creative. He's had offers from the Premiership in the past (including a trial offer from us a couple of years ago I recall) and I can see him moving abroad after he wraps up his military service in a year.

 

The defense is where we're a bit shaky. At age 33 YP Lee is still about as good as he was for Spurs and is a fantastic commander of the defensive line to boot. Cho is a decent defender but JS Lee has a history of being suspect in high-pressure situations. DR Cha is a terrible footballer but he's ridiculously strong, pacy and a laugh to watch so whatever. WJ Lee has been an amazing keeper and is one of our last remaining heroes of 2002 but he's a couple years past it. I pray to God that he'll have an Indian summer this year because there's no way the manager will be able to work up the courage to drop him.

 

Once we get to the depth portion though we're in deep s***. You take out our starting four midfielders and the rest are pretty much dross, and there are literally no strikers beyond our first choice two that I would trust to score at World Cup level (other than Ahn I guess, who'll do it three tournaments running just to spite me.) But most worrying at all is the central defense. The ones we have available are pretty average to begin with, but the s*** we'll have to turn to if somebody gets injured literally has me up at night.

 

Overall a decent selection. Our first XI was always going to pick itself and the options we have beyond that are all pretty similar. We've still got one of the hardest-working, well-drilled sides out there but this year we have 3~4 players who can create moments of magic if necessary. If Ki Sung-Yong can reclaim some of the form he's lost at Celtic and we stay injury free, I think we have a very good shot at the knockout rounds. If either of the two Parks, Chungyong Lee, or one of our central defenders gets injured, we're basically f***ed.

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David28

David28

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I know I'm a bit of a Scott Parker fan. But I still don't really understand why he won't go to the WC and why he hasn't even had a chance to play in the England games now vs. Japan or Mexico. I always thought that Capello would pick his squad based on the current form a player has. With choosing Heskey over Bent and with don't picking Parker he hasn't really done that imo.

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Guest ObiChrisKenobi

Guest ObiChrisKenobi

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Posted this this morning on my Blog: http://coachckuk.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/englands-world-cup-squad-prediction/

 

My Prediction of who's going to the World Cup

 

Today, 1st June, is the deadline day for England Coach Fabio Capello to name his 23 man World Cup Squad. Of course everyones had their say, examined and covered to death who could be going, who should be going, why someone isn’t going – so I thought I’d join in too!

 

Naturally, England’s would be one of the last squads to be announced/confirmed to the rest of the world. Would we really want it any other way? The papers would be beside themselves with boredom if they had known the squad for the last week or two!

 

Lets take a look at the current 30man Squad:

 

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham).

 

Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa).

 

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Scott Parker (West Ham), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City).

 

Forwards: Darren Bent (Sunderland), Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).

 

Lets have a look at the certains.

 

Three keepers. They’re going, simply because the FIFA Rules state you need three keepers in your squad, even though a well known ‘Sports Pundit’ seemed to forgot that and started to ask ‘Why does he need to take three keepers; why not two?’.

 

So lets add:

 

David James

Rob Green

Joe Hart

 

on the plane, which is 3 players already, which leaves 20 places open on the trip to South Africa. The other givens would be Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand (Captain), which means those 20 open places falls to 18 straight away. The fact that Fabio Capello is waiting till zero hour on the health of Gareth Barry would suggest that Barry is in Capello’s plans too, so that 18 becomes 17 – unless Barry’s injury is too severe, in which case it quickly becomes 18 open spaces again.

 

I guess the major debate over the keepers will be who should be #1.

 

David James hasn’t had the best season leading up the World Cup, however given the circumstances its hardly surprising. His club Portsmouth has had a long hard season with relegation and administration. Though, to James’ credit he did seem to emerge as a Lockeroom Leader and showed some unselfish behaviour to help Portsmouth. At 39 you have to believe that this is his last chance to feature in a World Cup final, save for some Gordon Banks extended career run and a lack of better keepers to choose from in 4 years time, however, that seems unlikely.

 

People are keen to suggest that he’s dropped (Pun?) his calamity tag. I think they’re right to a degree, he’s not as prone to mistakes as he once was, however he still has it, however deep, in his game.

 

Robert Green has also, by his standards, had a poor season leading up to the World Cup finals. Though in fairness I haven’t really seen much of Rob Green this season to truely judge him. Interestingly enough though, he does have a good record of saving penalties.

 

Joe Hart personally, I’d start him, though I could be getting caught up in the hype of the great season he’s had. He’s a vocal lad, and does well at bossing the back 4 around. The question will be, will he feel comfortable telling John Terry and Rio Ferdinand what to do? There are big characters in that defensive unit in front of him if he gets the #1 shirt. Whatever happens it’ll be a huge experience for him, and one that he can only benefit from – bit like a Rookie QB holding the Clipboard for a year or two and learning from the great QB a head of him. I guess.

 

Starting in Goal: David James

 

The experience will give him the nod in the 1st game at least, though I think Fabio will most likely drop him mid Tournament if he James isn’t on top of his game. How disruptive will that be?

 

Defenders

 

Certains

 

John Terry

Rio Ferdinand

Ashley Cole

Glenn Johnson

 

Thats his starting back four, and save a freak injury in the next few hours they’ll be on the plane for sure. Which leaves 16 places to fill. Who will he drop?

 

Leighton Baines and Stephen Warnock have been fighting for honor of covering Leftback Ashley Cole. Baines has started a game, Warnock hasn’t featured. People assume that means Warnock is going home, however, it could be that Capello is well aware of what Warnock can offer to the team if he goes along, so didn’t need to see him play, whereas he was unsure on Baines so wanted to see him play.

 

In the game against Mexico I thought Baines was very lightweight and showed his lack of experience at International level. He comes across as a very quite and withdrawn character, which could possibly see him being overawed by the World Cup. You need leaders and strong personalities all over the field, even more so in a big (The Biggest) International Competition. What Baines does bring is a toned down version of Ashley Cole’s natural attacking play, which would hopefully mirror Glen Johnson on the right.

 

However, I think both Baines and Warnock will go home and we’ll see Jamie Carragher taken, simply due to his ability to play anywhere across the back.

Carragher doesn’t have pace anymore, and he’s in sharp decline, having endured one of the worst seasons with Liverpool in a long time (though he wasn’t alone in that respect). However, he can play anywhere across the back four with little complaint. He won’t bring the dynamic runs from deep like Glenn Johnson and Ashley Cole bring, or that Baines and Warnock can offer, but he will bring, potentially, a solid no nonesense defense. Its interesting to note that Capello has called up a player from International Retirement (Carragher) and two players with 3 caps between them to find someone to cover Ashley Cole. That suggests to me that Wayne Bridge would have been on the plane if he hadn’t put himself into International Exile after the whole the Terry/Bridge affair that happened in the New Year.

 

Without a doubt John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are the starting pair together, which leaves the question who will be their cover. I’ve already selected Jamie Carragher to go on the plane as cover for the whole defense (not just LB), so he’s there as a utility player.

Of the players in the 30man squad remaining in defense with have:

 

Matthew Upson

Michael Dawson

Ledley King

 

Ledley King‘s injury problems are known to most in Football, for those who don’t know he has a reoccurring knee issue which sees him train rarely and often rest a week after a game. In a tournament that lasts a month the big question everyone has been asking is: Can Ledley King last the whole Tournament?

I’m not sure he can, but then he’s not going to be the starting CB (as mentioned earlier thats going to be John Terry and Rio Ferdinand). He’ll be going as cover for injury or poor form. If he can offer his ability for a game or two, thats a game or two that will benefit England. So I think he’ll be on the plane, unlike his Spur’s CB partner Michael Dawson. I think Matthew Upson will get the nod a head of him, despite West Ham’s poor season, simply due to his experience and, hopefully, understanding with Rob Green (though the same could be argued that Dawson and King will have an understanding having played at club level together).

 

There isn’t much between Dawson and Upson, so the deciding factor was down to experience. Upson hasn’t failed to impress at International level under Capello and I wouldn’t see a problem with him going as cover for the starting defenders. Lets not forget that Rio Ferdinand has been plagued with a chronic back issue over the last two seasons or so. That could flair up at anytime, so having a good amount of cover at CB is important.

 

Our team so far:

 

David James

Rob Green

Joe Hart

 

Glenn Johnson – Right Back

John Terry – Center Back

Rio Ferdinand – Center Back

Ashley Cole – Left Back

Jamie Carragher – Utility (CB preferred)

Matthew Upson – Center Back

Ledley King – Center Back

 

Of the midfielders there’s a lot to choose from, and some surprise exclusions already (namely Ashley Young). I can’t imagine Capello not taking Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, simply because they’re both great footballers and too dynamic to leave out. Between they’ve turned games on their heads for the club teams, and both are fulcrums to their team’s success.

As mentioned earlier Capello is waiting until the last possible moment on Gareth Barry’s fitness, so if he is fit and can play, even for a handful of games, he’ll be on the plane too. So thats three spaces taken up straight away (unless Barry can’t go in which case there’s one space wide open for anyone to enter).

 

The question will be who plays on the wings, and who comes in as cover for the center of the park.

 

James Milner will go, not only for the same reasons Jamie Carragher will go (Utility), but because he has never ending energy and work ethic. He’ll play anywhere, not complain and put 100% into the job. So while it may look like the cover for Left/Right Back was thin with the exclusion of Leighton Baines and Stephen Warnock, lets not forget that Milner can, and will if asked, play there and do a good job as cover.

 

So who else will cover in the middle? I don’t think Scott Parker will be going if Gareth Barry is fit, if Barry isn’t able to go then Parker might have an outside chance of making the team. OK, so thats easy to say as anyone in the 30man squad might have the chance to go, but he has more chance then Tom Huddlestone.

Huddlestone failed to impress against Japan. He looked immobile, hardly ran into space, rarely created space, and never really seemed to break up Japan’s attacking play.

He’s billed as a ‘Quarterback’ someone with vision and the ability to spray the ball around the field for his ‘Outs’ on the wings, but to me thats a lazy media creation. Huddlestone isn’t good enough for the World Cup squad, and the only reason I could see him going is if Michael Carrick was injured.

 

Michael Carrick has been really poor lately for Manchester United, his passing has been astray and hardly a patch on what he was capable of when he was at Tottenham a few years ago. However, I’d have more faith in him then Tom Huddlestone to carry out the waterholder role in a midfield with Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard looking to attack. I don’t think he’ll start many games, unless Gareth Barry is unable to play, but he’ll be a good player to have around the team and as cover.

 

I’d also take Joe Cole, though I’m a big Joe Cole fan which might be a biased. He’s just something different to what England have already. He’s skillful and has a natural awareness of the game, he’s not blistering fast, but he has fast feet and a knack for finding space, similar to Peter Beardsley.

He can play in the hole behind the strikers, or on the wings and offer the same game, to have someone like Joe Cole to come off the bench would be a different weapon to break down a tight defense. The only thing against Joe Cole, for me, is that he’s just came back from a long injury lay off, so I’m not sure if he’ll be up to peak fitness. On the flip side of that, he’ll have not played as many games as other players, so the danger of burnout should be slight.

 

So that leaves four midfielders fighting for a place on the plane – all of which are speed merchants. There’s not much pace in the England midfielders I’ve chosen so far, Gerrard has deceptive pace, but its not something you naturally attribute or associate to his game.

 

Adam Johnson, Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott and Shaun Wright-Phillips on the other hand have pace as their weapon – some would say their only weapon.

 

Adam Johnson has been a sensation since joining Manchester City from Middlesboro in the Winter, and his form and seen him pip Ashley Young to the provisional squad. Some would say Johnson is untested and too young to take the World Cup, but thats just a weak excuse to take him.

He’s a natural left footed player, can play on the left wing as an orthodox winger, or can play on the right wing (as he does for Man City) and offer a direct inside threat by cutting inside.

England have been screaming for a left winger for nearly 20 years, and we now have one. To not take Johnson would be absurd.

 

The battle for the right wing falls between three very similar players in Walcott, Lennon and Wright-Phillips.

 

Of the three, I’d take Aaron Lennon and his quality and end product is more consistent than the other two. He too is coming back from an injury plagued season, so while he might not be 100% match fit he’ll certainly not be lagging if England reach the final stages of the World Cup. His understanding with Peter Crouch could be crucial against teams who have locked England out of the throughball game. Likewise, Wayne Rooney’s improved ability in the air can only thrive from the crosses Lennon can now offer.

 

That leaves the final battle for the midfield position (as I’m taking 4 strikers to the World Cup) between Shaun Wright-Phillips (SWP) and Theo Walcott.

 

There’s not much between them at all. Both have blistering pace, both can be game changers on their day, both can be equally frustrating with the final ball. Walcott seems to receive more hype and media attention then Wright-Phillips at the moment, or possibly ever did, due to his age and the fact he was taking the last World Cup when no one knew who he was.

Has he progressed since then? Arsenal fans would have you believe he has came on leaps and bounds. He’s certainly developed his game slightly, but I don’t think its improved as much as some people would have you believe.

He’s still a very heads down and run player, rarely looks up and sees what he has with him once he gets into the space. He’s been training with David Beckham, who’s been teaching him the art of creation and crossing (aim for the space), which could be exactly what Walcott needs.

The main thing that separates Walcott from Wright-Phillips for me is their dribbling. Walcott seems prone to go down very easily on tackles, whereas Wright-Phillips bounces and shows determination to drive past his man to get a cross in.

 

Position wise SWP is willing to play Right or Left wing, where as Walcott plays on the right or up front and I think this will be the deciding factor. As soft as it might sound, it’ll come down to where, as a squad player, the cover can be offered. There are already several players selected who can cover the flanks, so Walcott will just get the nod as a deep threat up front if injuries ravage the team.

 

For me this is the hardest decision to make.

 

Our team so far:

 

David James

Rob Green

Joe Hart

 

Glenn Johnson – Right Back

John Terry – Center Back

Rio Ferdinand – Center Back

Ashley Cole – Left Back

Jamie Carragher – Utility (CB preferred)

Matthew Upson – Center Back

Ledley King – Center Back

 

Aaron Lennon – Right/Left Wing

Gareth Barry/Scott Parker – Holding Midfield

Michael Carrick – Holding Midfield

Steven Gerrard – Center Midfield

Frank Lampard – Center Midfield

James Milner – Right/Left/Center Midfield

Joe Cole – Right/Left/Center Midfield

Adam Johnson – Left/Right Wing

Theo Walcott – Right Wing/Striker

 

Which leaves us selecting the strikers. Of the Five we to choose from, I’ve chosen to take four. The unlucky player to go home is Darren Bent – and I have to say I’m disappointed that I’ve left him out of the team. The reason why is skill sets.

 

Wayne Rooney

Peter Crouch

Emile Heskey

Jermaine Defoe

 

All of those strikers are different and offer something unique to the team. Darren Bent can offer ability similar to all of the players, and in league competition often finishes as the Top English Goalscorer in the Premier League (or there about), but he’s an all round stirker.

 

Rooney is World Class and can be your box striker, or deep dropping link up man.

Peter Crouch is a targetman and his sheer physical height in the area will unnerve some people.

Emile Heskey, while he never scores, is a great link up man, which will allow Rooney to play as a box striker.

Jermaine Defoe is a blistering poacher, who can also score the odd wonder goal from outside the area.

 

Which means the team I’d take to the World Cup would look like this:

 

David James

Rob Green

Joe Hart

 

Glenn Johnson – Right Back

John Terry – Center Back

Rio Ferdinand – Center Back

Ashley Cole – Left Back

Jamie Carragher – Utility (CB preferred)

Matthew Upson – Center Back

Ledley King – Center Back

 

Aaron Lennon – Right/Left Wing

Gareth Barry/Scott Parker – Holding Midfield

Michael Carrick – Holding Midfield

Steven Gerrard – Center Midfield

Frank Lampard – Center Midfield

James Milner – Right/Left/Center Midfield

Joe Cole – Right/Left/Center Midfield

Adam Johnson – Left/Right Wing

Theo Walcott – Right Wing/Striker

 

Wayne Rooney

Peter Crouch

Emile Heskey

Jermaine Defoe

 

with

 

Leighton Baines

Stephen Warnock

Michael Dawson

 

Tom Huddlestone

Shaun Wright-Phillips

 

Darren Bent

 

all going home, though I wouldn’t be surprised if all of that was wrong and Capello took a different team all together! Thats the joy of football.

 

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steve_69

steve_69

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No Darren Bent from Caulkin on Twitter

 

So much for the players who perform at club level getting their chance. What the fuck has Heskey done this season apart from get splinters in his arse and fall over a lot?

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