England World Cup Team???

[panzerwagen]

So boys, what's the opinion on the team? Sven brings in an tested 17yr.old kid on to the team!? With Rooney out for who knows, the Young Lions virtually have no attacking forwards what so ever!! Owen is still on the mend, Crouch is a question mark, Alcott is a question mark. What is he thinking? Shaun W. Phillips is not even a reserve. Defoe will most likely be called up soon. Betcha the odds on England winning the Cup just took a dive.

[dm80]

Betcha the odds on England winning the Cup just took a dive.

Yeah - they went from perhaps quarter finals place to now the same chance as Scotland's

[Jamo]

Walcott is a very good player, surprise factor, dont forget owen was 18 when he went to world cup and Rooney was only 17 on his debut.

The only things i can't understand from the squad is:

a) No reserve Right Back - Young on standby wtf?
b) Defoe on standy and Jermaine Jenas in the squad: You must be having a laugh!!!
c) Scott Parker overlooked!!!!!!!!! What does the man have to do?

[s2avant95M]

The thing with Owen and Rooney was they had already been playing a couple of season's with Liverpool and Everton before call up to the squad. Walcott is raw talent and has the unknown factor for other teams, ie they wont have scouted him i would think. Time will tell but if we can't get through the group stage with that squad then we deserve to come home.

Wright-Phillips should have been included and he probably regrets not going to another club now.

[Jamo]

The thing with Owen and Rooney was they had already been playing a couple of season's with Liverpool and Everton before call up to the squad. Walcott is raw talent and has the unknown factor for other teams, ie they wont have scouted him i would think. Time will tell but if we can't get through the group stage with that squad then we deserve to come home.

Wright-Phillips should have been included and he probably regrets not going to another club now.

Wright-Phillips no, because he's really out form, that wasn't a surprise for me, he should have stayed at Man City, if he had he'd be playing now for England.

Jose has fecked him up big time there.

[s2driveruk]

i like the wildcard approach for Walcott myself, a bit do or die but it may just provide a suprise when we need it most and he's bloody quick on his feet. Crouch should never be boarding a flight to Germany.

We'll know how our chances are after the first game i'd reckon, expect a shaky start though...

[jubjub]

Load of crap. I am just wondering how much influence McLaren has had on that squad.....
As for Walcott, well you have a Swede (Sven) taking advice from a Frenchman (Wenger) for the English national team Its ridiculous double standards. SWP has not been picked alledgedly because he is out of form/not played enough games. So how the **** can you pick a player who has not even kicked a Premiership ball

I just wonder would Walcott have been picked if he had cost only £2 million from Southampton, or if he played for Charlton/Villa/West Ham etc...

Likewise with Lennon. His stats show he only has 4/5 assists, and has only scored the 1 goal. Again, if he had played exactly has he has done all season but for a "smaller" club, i suspect he would not have made the squad.....

I would have sacrificed a couple of either Walcott/lennon/Downing, and picked another couple strikers.Its highly unlikely Rooney is going to be fit enough in time, and I would not be suprised if Owen breaks down; that only leaves you with Crouch and the unknown Walcott....

I really do hope I am proved wrong,but its looking unlikely its going to be our year.....

[volcano rs]

i would have defoe in anytime and wright philips too .england had a bit of chance before now i can't see england going far .why do they always have a yes man as a manager mclaren isn't the right choice for the position england will go backwards with him in charge.

[stevieyid]

Lennon has to go in my opinion he scares full backs to death with his pace. Many teams are putting two men on him now just to try and stop him. He also is playing a big part in getting Tottenham to where they are so i dont go along with he plays for one of the big clubs opinion. Defoe also for me has to go, afterall didnt he score a very important and quality goal against Poland to help us get there? Walcott again he may be a big surprise and i hope he is but he has not played top flight in England so how can he get ahead of people that have scored a number of goals at the highest level. Whats the opinion on Sheringham? Honestly he is still quality and in my view still better than Crouch. I think u have to release Gerrard and Lampard forward now to get goals and not make one of them hold. Anyway COME ON ENGLAND

[Jamo]

I've seen Walcott play, i agree Defoe should be going (instead of Jenas) but the reason Bent isn't going no matter how many premiership goals he's got he hasn't got the attributes for international football.

Bent relies on balls inbehind to latch onto with his pace, but when teams deny him the space he's non existant in the game as he doesn't have the technical skills to do something special.

Walcott has both, the pace and the skill to do something special, you will be surprised when you see this Kid, he is a top top prospect.

[stevieyid]

Seen him play for Southampton and agree a top player and very mature for his age. Im 50/50 on whether he should go, 1: he is an unknown name so how do u go about stopping someone u no know nothing about? But he ha not played at the top so how will he cope against the not just the ability but the experience and dirty tricks of say the Italian defenders? One player i think has impressed me is Marlon Harewood. I didnt rate him at all before the premiership but he is so strong and causes problems with power and pace, i think he has improved a hell of a lot this seaon and maybe he should be ahead of Johnson at least.

[Robatron]

Walcott has both, the pace and the skill to do something special, you will be surprised when you see this Kid, he is a top top prospect.

I've got to agree with that, im expecting something abit special from him. His pace is outstanding and at the age of 14 he was running the 100 metres in 11.5 which is bloody quick.

Another thing to remember is that Pele was only 17 when he first playing for brazil, not many people knew who the hell he was.

I think this could be a great thing, but by the same token it could completely backfire on Sven as its make or break time for him. I personally think he is taking a risky strategy hoping for a huge pay off.

[Jamo]

Yes but with Sven leaving he can take the gamble.

If he was going to be manager after the world cup Walcott wouldn't be going IMO

A death or glory technique

[Fat Audi 80]

IMO death or glory is better than an average squad. I am still a bit miffed that SWP is not there, he has played will for England and is a great impact player who can change a game. I am happy to see Walcott in there too. I personally think putting younger players into tournaments like this really works. The invariably rise to the occasion and provide much needed competition to the established players making them raise their game too.

I am worried about the striker situation, and feel we are relying on the likes of gerrard and Lampard to score too. A bit risky but we have a pacey team and that has to be a good think at top flight football....

Cheers,

Steve.

[Jamo]

For those who haven't seen Walcott play before

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/56388/theo_walcott/