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What a foolish thing to say!itfcabingdon wrote:Is it possible that Sven has done this to get his own back at the FA. They haven't treated him well and this could be a way of telling them to f*ck off!
The only thing is he's also taken it out on the millions of fans across the country aswell.
Pele was already a first team regular and top scorer in the league, to compare Walcott with him is ridiculous.Wikipedia wrote:In 1956, Pele's mentor took him to the city of São Paulo, to try out for professional club Santos Futebol Clube.
De Brito told the directors at Santos that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world." Pelé was offered professional terms and scored four goals in his first league game. When the new season started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team and, at the age of just sixteen, became the top scorer in the league. Just ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up to the Brazilian national team.
Fair play on the pele thing. But come on!toby wrote:Pele was already a first team regular and top scorer in the league, to compare Walcott with him is ridiculous.Wikipedia wrote:In 1956, Pele's mentor took him to the city of São Paulo, to try out for professional club Santos Futebol Clube.
De Brito told the directors at Santos that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world." Pelé was offered professional terms and scored four goals in his first league game. When the new season started, Pelé was given a starting place in the first team and, at the age of just sixteen, became the top scorer in the league. Just ten months after signing professionally, the teenager was called up to the Brazilian national team.
Walcott is just a ridiculous gamble when you have also named two strikers who are unlikely to play.
I keep seeing people say this but according to Wenger Walcott is not PREMIERSHIP class, let alone INTERNATIONAL!!!Luke wrote:But Bent is NOT international class, Walcott already has more NATURAL ability then Bent will ever have and for that i see Svens reasoning in selecting a unknown superkid!
Eriksson said he had discussions with Wenger to see if he thought he was upto it aswel! So come on stop being such a misrable tit mate! Get behind the country! If sven had picked the squad with 5 strikers Defoe Bent Shaun Wright-Phillips, etc in there everyone would be whingeing he isnt bold enougth! Damnd if he does damned if he doesnt!toby wrote:I keep seeing people say this but according to Wenger Walcott is not PREMIERSHIP class, let alone INTERNATIONAL!!!Luke wrote:But Bent is NOT international class, Walcott already has more NATURAL ability then Bent will ever have and for that i see Svens reasoning in selecting a unknown superkid!
Pele was scoring goals in the top division, as was Rooney, Walcott has scored for England U17's and against Luton FFS!!!
I suspect David Dein may have had an influence in Walcott's surprise selection.itfcabingdon wrote:Is it possible that Sven has done this to get his own back at the FA. They haven't treated him well and this could be a way of telling them to f*ck off!
The only thing is he's also taken it out on the millions of fans across the country aswell.
I highly doubt it! Come on get behind the team AND the manager!toby wrote:I suspect David Dein may have had an influence in Walcott's surprise selection.itfcabingdon wrote:Is it possible that Sven has done this to get his own back at the FA. They haven't treated him well and this could be a way of telling them to f*ck off!
The only thing is he's also taken it out on the millions of fans across the country aswell.
Very possibly!toby wrote:I suspect David Dein may have had an influence in Walcott's surprise selection.itfcabingdon wrote:Is it possible that Sven has done this to get his own back at the FA. They haven't treated him well and this could be a way of telling them to f*ck off!
The only thing is he's also taken it out on the millions of fans across the country aswell.
Complete BSitfcabingdon wrote:Very possibly!toby wrote:I suspect David Dein may have had an influence in Walcott's surprise selection.itfcabingdon wrote:Is it possible that Sven has done this to get his own back at the FA. They haven't treated him well and this could be a way of telling them to f*ck off!
The only thing is he's also taken it out on the millions of fans across the country aswell.
If Wenger is so sure that Walcott is up to playing against the best in the world let's see him put his money where his mouth is and play him against Barcelona then!Luke wrote:Eriksson said he had discussions with Wenger to see if he thought he was upto it aswel! So come on stop being such a misrable tit mate! Get behind the country! If sven had picked the squad with 5 strikers Defoe Bent Shaun Wright-Phillips, etc in there everyone would be whingeing he isnt bold enougth! Damnd if he does damned if he doesnt!toby wrote:I keep seeing people say this but according to Wenger Walcott is not PREMIERSHIP class, let alone INTERNATIONAL!!!Luke wrote:But Bent is NOT international class, Walcott already has more NATURAL ability then Bent will ever have and for that i see Svens reasoning in selecting a unknown superkid!
Pele was scoring goals in the top division, as was Rooney, Walcott has scored for England U17's and against Luton FFS!!!
How is bowing to media hype and the tried and tested old formula being brave? Hargreaves shouldnt be there, nor should cambell or rooney by most accounts. Beckham shouldnt be captain, lampard and gerrard imo dont work together well, but sven is too scared to change it. Hanging all his hopes on two crocks that have done well before, shows how unable sven is to change anything.Luke wrote:IMO its a good selection and im proud that Sven has been very brave with his selection.
Fantaastic post mate, welcome to the site hope you stick around, Need more geniuses on hereN1blue wrote:Once again I find I'm in broad agreement with Luke - whether that's because great minds think alike or fools seldom differ I couldn't say. I suspect most people postulating conspiracy theories about Sven having ulterior motives for ensuring England perform badly or that he's kowtowing to others (such as Dein) with sinister agendas are just making jokes out of frustration. I would be amazed if anybody was really childish enough to seriously believe such views.
On balance, I was quite excited by the selection. I haven't rated Sven that highly for at least four years. I was there in Japan and Portugal when he lost the plot with his ridiculously conservative defensive tactics as soon as we scored (everyone back in their own half, most of them in their own penalty area), when the games were crying out to be won through more positive play which could have buried the opposition. And I'll be there again in Germany. As others have said, he's done a good job getting us through qualification (albeit against far weaker opposition than previous managers have typically faced). But my concerns have been his lack of imagination, unwillingness to change tactics and persistence with players that are obviously out of form or injured. I feel he should have done much better with a group of players that I too believe are possibly the best England have had in my footballing memory. Like everybody, I hope this time he gets it right. To do so, I think he has to shake things up tactically and in his chosen squad, I think he's got a lot of options to do so.
For what they're worth, my rambling thoughts on some of the selections and omissions:
- For myself, I would have taken a fifth striker.
- Defoe: while he's had a frustrating season, I think he's a high quality player and I would take him. Remember the goal he scored at Portman Road a couple of years ago? He does stuff like that all the time (when he's playing). He looked good at international level and I think we should have cut one of the midfielders to make room for him.
- Bent: I would love to see us get the £400k appearance money for Bent but personally, I've never seen him as top international class. This year, his goals have surprised me and I may be proved wrong. Or maybe next season, more defenders will have worked him out and he'll never score so many in a season again. We'll see. But I wouldn't have taken him.
- Crouch: Now I've always been really negative about him and I've never liked the "hoof it up to the big man" school of English football. But when combined with high quality, pacy midfielders bursting in to the box, I can see how it can be effective, at least as a Plan B. And I can also see how several of the key squad players (Gerrard, Lampard, Cole) are used to playing that way, week in, week out. And while I far prefer watching Arsenal, I can't deny Chelsea and Liverpool are effective.
- Walcott: I just don't know whether this will come off but (without any justification, I admit) I like the gamble. From the little I've seen, he looks like a superior version of Bent (even faster but with a lot more control of the ball), possibly a player who will grow in to the next Henry (obviously a long way off now, I'd agree). Of course Arsenal weren't going to pick him ahead of Henry but that doesn't necessarily mean you wouldn't pick him ahead of Bent (or other striking options) to do a specific job - an "impact player" that can run on to passes slotted by our high quality midfield players behind the defence or on to knock downs from the beanpole. I was also in St Ettiene in 1998 and remember the Argentinian defenders sh*tting themselves every time the kid Owen ran at them. If Hoddle hadn't decided the only way to play with ten men was to get them all back in our penalty area, we could have won that game too. I admit I have no idea whether taking Walcott will prove a total flop or a spectacular success - either way I think it's a brave, exciting choice.
- Downing: I'm delighted he's going. I think having a genuine left sided player who's a top quality winger and crosser of the ball is a great asset, especially given we may look to play 4-5-1 (or variations on that theme) against some sides.
- Lennon: For the same tactical reasons, I can see why we'd want a proper right winger in the squad. I'd probably have taken SWP. Lennon has had several good games recently but still has a lot to prove in terms of final delivery, while I thought SWP proved himself very capable at international level and would have had time to sharpen up (and could also play as a striker if required, as his goals for Man City showed last season). I guess he's paid the price for signing for Chelsea reserves.
- Carrick: Always rated him and very happy to see him in the squad. I think he can play the "holding midfielder" role well and unlike some in that position, can actually the pass the ball when he wins it. A much better choice than Philip Neville!
- Hargreaves: The biggest disappointment to me. I don't see what he brings at all. A waste of a player.
- Jenas: I rated him as a youngster but not convinced he's developed as well as he should and according to friends that are Spurs fans, not sure he's been in particularly good form (Carrick has had much more to do with Spurs success).
- Defence: No major arguments. My initial reaction was I wouldn't have taken Bridge. But I suppose the feeling is there has to be cover for Cole, given his recent injury. I think we should be able to find better than Bridge but off the top of my head, can't really think of anybody English for the slot. I also wasn't convinced about taking Campbell - he's playing so poorly at the moment and may have lost it permanently (remember what happened to Des Walker?). But he may not. It's very soon after his time out and with his record and experience, I can see how it may be worth giving him the chance to get himself back in shape. I think it's tough on King but I can see the logic of not taking the chance on him given the other players available in his role.
- GK: God help us if Robinson gets injured.
So let's think positive! No Heskey! No Phil Neville! Some positive selections (surely most would agree with Downing and Carrick, regardless of their views on Walcott or Lennon) which give a lot of tactical flexibility. In the absence of Rooney, we're much more likely to win by being unpredictable and bold than predictable and conservative. Let's go for it!
