Guest palnese Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 England will really struggle for a Plan B if (read when) this diamond bollocks fails. Five strikers and no-one to serve them from wide areas. The likes of Milner, Henderson, Barkley, Sterling, Lallana and Vardy are all more or less central players with very little to show for when pushed out wide. Think England will struggle to get out of their group. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEMTEX Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Only team with a 100% win record in qualifiers marra. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyt Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Drinkwater not missed but Townsend? Maybe “Drinkwater in the middle, and Kante either side” – and with that Leicester’s head of recruitment Steve Walsh gave Roy Hodgson his most convincing argument against taking Danny Drinkwater to the European Championship. He has thrived in a formation England do not play alongside a player that England cannot replicate. As harsh as this may sound, Drinkwater is not one of England’s best central midfielders when removed from Leicester’s system and Leicester’s players. Winning the Premier League does not change that. Hodgson is the manager of England and his job is to pick the 23 available players he believes will contribute to tournament success; his job is not to ‘reward’ players for good seasons. Drinkwater no more deserves an England place than any other player considered by Hodgson, who has watched the Foxes’ midfielder in training – something often disregarded by those who claim to know better than the actual manager – and on the pitch for England and decided that he has not made a compelling case. Certainly he was poor against Australia on Friday. Was the system to blame? At least a little because Drinkwater excels in Leicester’s two-man central midfield rather than in a crowd, but in a scenario when a fringe player plays in a different system to his national side, it is the player who should adapt. Unfortunately, he looked utterly lost and out of his depth without Kante to his left and right. Those who call for England – two years into a successful campaign – to adopt Leicester’s tactics are being wilfully naive. Drinkwater deserves our sympathy because a previously locked door has been opened ajar and then slammed shut and it really isn’t better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, but the player himself would probably admit that Jack Wilshere is a more gifted footballer. He may quite rightly glance back at Jordan Henderson and wonder quite what he has done in 25 underwhelming England performances to earn a place on the plane, but England’s advancement in this tournament will not be decided by whether Drinkwater or Henderson is on the bench. Not taking Andros Townsend could make such a difference. As I wrote in 16 Conclusions after the initial squad announcement: ‘In a squad that screams ‘much of a muchness’, Townsend is one of the few potential match-winners. With him on the pitch – presumably as an impact sub – nobody will be left wondering what would have happened if only somebody had taken a shot. With their left foot. Really hard.’ Against Australia, Townsend was on the pitch for 15 minutes and dribbled past three players; Ross Barkley was on the pitch for 28 minutes and was dispossessed three times. In the three months since Townsend joined Newcastle, he scored four goals; in the same time frame, Barkley scored twice against a Newcastle side still being managed by Steve McClaren. Barkley may be the more technically gifted player, and certainly he has his outspoken fans in the media, but in a 1-0 down with 15 minutes left on the clock scenario, Townsend would be my choice to make an impact. Of course, the caveat is that Hodgson has seen more of all 25 players in training – arguing with his selections is like making a proposal after a two-minute speed date – but it feels like not taking Townsend is an opportunity missed. We might not lose in the quarter-final because Drinkwater was on the bench, but we could conceivably lose because Hodgson looks towards his substitutes and wonders who is going to target that slow, exhausted full-back. Dynamic, direct and now discarded. http://www.football365.com/news/drinkwater-not-missed-but-townsend-maybe Good piece this Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallowgate Toon Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Gutted for him, he should be going. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdckelly Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 can only assume he's bringing 5 strikers because he's worried (rightly) sturridge will break something during the tournament. Picking Ross Barkley seems kinda insane considering how garbage he's been Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Barkley has been utter hoop since Christmas, why he is going I have no idea. Andros is the perfect impact sub, quick direct and crosses the ball (sometimes). I never thought we would win, but these selections dont help improve the odds. Sterling has done nothing this season, Sturridge isn't even fit no way they should be going. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Sturridge, Sterling, Henderson and Barkley? Silly woy! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toontownman Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Absolutely gutted for him, think he would have been a great option of the bench. Lets hope someone gets injured and he can be on standby or is that already too late? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Stupid to leave him out. You look at his last 10 games for club and country and he should have been one of the first on the plane. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaus Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 For selfish reasons, it is probably good for us that he is not going. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkeye Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Wiltshire and Henderson barely kicked a ball all season yet they are going?? I was at the match on Friday last week in Sunderland, Henderson was absolutely shattered by the end of it. It will take at least 10 full matches before he is up to full match fitness... Wiltshire has every chance of breaking into 1000 pieces (along with Sturridge) leaving the squad depleted and completely lacking a plan B.... Gutted for Townsend, if anyone deserved a shout it was him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Milner is the only handy wide player we have now Townsend isn't going. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubestationatmidnight Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Milner a handy wide player ? Wilshere getting picked ?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Apparently Milner has had loads of assists this season. Not sure where he's been playing but L'pool fans seem to rate him Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanshithispantz Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Milner's looked handy on the wing whenever I've watched Liverpool after their little revival. Klopp clearly rates him too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubestationatmidnight Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Knew he had a few assists but average player at best just works hard which should be the minimum. Still can't understand how that little prick Wilshire gets picked though! Even if he wasn't made of glass, he's awful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 It was always a long shot for Townsend, but there are average and unfit players going which I find strange. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foluwashola Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Townsend's form probably came too late. Drinkwater not going is an absolute disgrace tbf. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nufc4eva Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Milner I kind of understand, but Barkley offers nothing, Sturridge likely to break down. There are no genuine wide players and Townsend would be ideal as sub. Fuck them all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I wouldn't take Barkley or Sturridge, probably not Wilshere, Henderson or Sterling either. I'm aware that leaves a lot of gaps! I would pick international teams almost completely based on form. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Townsend's form probably came too late. Drinkwater not going is an absolute disgrace tbf. Leaves them with only one defensive midfielder as well. Who sits deep if Dier goes down, Henderson? I don't really see the point in taking five out-and-out strikers. Sturridge should be probably be left home on form, Townsend would've made sense as a true wide fret. Don't have the wingers to play a standard 4-4-2. Options are limited in the 4-3-3, with really only Sterling and Lallana as the wide forwards. 4-4-2 diamond probably makes the most sense. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawK Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I wouldn't take Barkley or Sturridge, probably not Wilshere, Henderson or Sterling either. I'm aware that leaves a lot of gaps! I would pick international teams almost completely based on form. Hard to argue with any of those tbh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanshithispantz Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Teams who actually win the tournaments don't pick their players on form either like. There has to be a ballance, but I think Wilshere's inclusion is mental given he's been injured for as long as I can remember. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Think Milner had 11 assists in the PL alone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Imagine some of the stupid exclusions/inclusions over the years if you picked based on form alone. Has to be a balance, as Hans says. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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