The Three Lions

pretty sure this is only his 5th penalty for England if the commentators are to be believed

GoonerJay29 wrote:2-0. Rooney penalty (he gets a lot of those).

That damn record is finally out the way. Now maybe he can start playing the top forward he's supposed to be.

my god the the pants creaming over rooney is now getting silly. the guy has racked up a cricket score v crap teams over the years. where was he in the big games against good teams when he didnt get a touch of the ball.

well I mean England haven't exactly covered themselves in glory in big tournaments as a whole.

Think he has like 2-3 goal in Euros and WC combined

Relax. You've got Kane now, who's the English Müller. Should be called Miller.

He is more like the english Luca Toni

B-Mac wrote:well I mean England haven't exactly covered themselves in glory in big tournaments as a whole.

true. but he was ment to be our world class player for over 10 years but he has never stood out in the big games.

It feels a bit wrong that Rooney was able to claim the all-time top scorer title in an era where England have failed at every tournament.

Then again, it's not like the English teams pre-Rooney had too much success, either.

BREAKING NEWS: @JackGrealish1 has made a decision over his international future and opted to play for England. #AVFC

That probably means he'll be in the next squad for the final round of qualifiers, which is totally fine with me.

England squad for the final two qualifiers:

Keepers: Joe Hart (Man City), Jack Butland (Stoke), Tom Heaton (Burnley)

Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Chris Smalling (Man Utd), Phil Jones (Man Utd), John Stones (Everton), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool)

Midfielders: Michael Carrick (Man Utd), Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea), Delle Alli (Spurs), James Milner (Liverpool), Ross Barkley (Everton), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Man City)

Forwards: Danny Ings (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester), Harry Kane (Spurs), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd)

Help me out here, if we don't include Phil Jones, who's England's 2nd-choice right-back right now?

I also have no idea what's England's best midfield at the moment. And I usually know everything.

Any one of Stones, Smalling or Jones will fill in at right back when Clyne isn't playing. Chambers played there for a bit, too, but he's with the u21s currently. As far as natural right backs go, we're short at the moment.

England's first choice midfield, though not necessarily the best, is Wilshere-Henderson-Delph-Sterling-Welbeck. Obviously four of those guys aren't available right now. From the current squad, I'd say Carrick-Shelvey-Ox-Barkley-Sterling is probably the best combination.

Not sure if many care, but England team tonight:

Hart; Clyne, Smalling, Cahill, Bertrand; Lallana, Milner, Barkley; Walcott, Kane, Sterling

Only watched the last 30 minutes but was Lallana this bad in the first half too? I don't think he has a place in the squad at all.


Barkley has so much talent. Hope he can bring consistency to his game.


Also I am actually liking Vardy. Won't mind him being part of the squad if there is a space.

Lallana showed some good skill but didn't produce anything substantial. Barkley produced during the game but also made some poor decisions.

Overall feeling towards the match:

Lots of possession, but little quality on the ball, and almost zero interplay between the players made for a dull game. It's too individualistic at times. This team will struggle to create against any decent defence.

Also, with our lack of central midfielders we're going to get done on the counter so often.

GoonerJay29 wrote:Lallana showed some good skill but didn't produce anything substantial. Barkley produced during the game but also made some poor decisions.

Overall feeling towards the match:

Lots of possession, but little quality on the ball, and almost zero interplay between the players made for a dull game. It's too individualistic at times. This team will struggle to create against any decent defence.

Also, with our lack of central midfielders we're going to get done on the counter so often.

I know what you mean about Lallana. he drives me mad at Liverpool. gets into good space. has a great first touch loses his man then does nothing at the end.

England XI: Butland, Walker, Jones, Jagielka, Gibbs, Shelvey, Barkley, Lallana, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Vardy, Kane

I wonder how many of them might start the first game at the Euros. Kane maybe.

Start? Barkley and Gibbs maybe depending on Baines being fit. Kane isn't a starter yet as hopefully Sturridge will be fit for the euros.

Jagielka and Ox could be starters, as well.

Anyway, Hodgson did say tonight's team would be "experimental". Was hoping to see Walcott get a start down the middle instead of Kane. I thought Alli could have started, as well. Not like we need to see anything more from Barkley or Lallana.

Hope for a nice, confident performance tonight and not another drab 90 minutes where nobody gives a damn.

Jagielka, lol. Smalling and Cahill all day long. Although Micah Richards has looked a really good CB for Villa. A pity he plays for Villa and won't get noticed.

Barkley starting, I don't know, is there room for Rooney if Barkley starts?

The LB spot is probably wide open between Gibbs, Baines and Shaw. Maybe even Bertrand if he does good in the Prem again. I kinda doubt Gibbs is going to come out on top here.

Oxlade might be a good choice for a starter, but his problem is he's got too many guys eating into his game time at Arsenal. Will he have enough chances at club level to convince Hodgson of a starting berth?

But the big question is Rooney and should he play striker or behind the striker or bench warmer. He's the captain and the leading scorer etc so he's probably a sure starter, but he's starting to look past it and England have a number of other options.

Ideal solution is that Rooney is benched and the starting role goes to Sturridge, but there are obvious issues with that becoming reality. Kane and Walcott are options but they've a lot to prove between now and the Euros.

I think the ideal starting eleven would be:


Then we pad out the bench with Baines, Gibbs, Stones, Barkley, Lallana, Kane, Chamberlain, Walcott, Rooney, etc. But ultimately it comes down to fitness.

The really annoying thing is that we've got good players (not necessarily quality players) in a lot of positions, but have only one genuine defensive midfielder to choose from and he's 34. I know Wilshere has done excellently in the position, but playing him there means having Delph in midfield and I don't rate him at all.

^ That XI is relying on Henderson and Wilshere to be the creative players, I wouldn't go with that. And yeah, the DM thing is a problem. Garrick is the only obvious one, but I don't think he should be in the XI any longer. Too old. I might take a chance and play Milner / Henderson / Wilshere as the DM or just go with a pivot.

I also don't think Welbeck is good enough to start, at least not both him and Sterling, one or the other, imo.