Wednesday 16 May 2012

The Alternative England – Part 2


Well, all the guessing is over, Roy Hodgson has selected his 23 man squad for the Euro's, and I'm going to see how close I got with my previous suggestions.

Keepers

Clean sweep here (after Foster ruled himself out), and very pleased to see John Ruddy get the call up, he's clearly going to be behind Hart in the pecking order, but will gain great experience and I wouldn't be worried if we had to call on him if Hart has a problem. Green is also a very solid 3rd choice.

Right Backs

Glen Johnson the only true right back selected, although rumours suggest that Walker would have got the nod if not ruled out through injury. Out of the remaining defenders however, only Phil Jones can arguably play the role, which does raise the question over why maybe Micah Richards was left out.

Left Backs

As predicted Cole and Baines

Centre Halves

The big talking point here is the non-selection of Ferdinand, with John Terry getting the call instead. On the back of this last season and everything else that's going on, this seems a tad odd to me, especially after Rio had such a great season. Rumours suggest however that Roy is concerned about whether Rio can play numerous games in a short space of time, and he wasn't overly impressed on the suggestion that Rio couldn't play if Terry did. Looks like the better man may have lost out here. Lescott, Cahill and Phil Jones make up the numbers – again as I expected.

Central Midfielders

Barry, Gerrard, Parker and Milner.

So I got 2 out of 4 here, although I am very uninspired by the other 2 selections, Barry is nothing more than a very average plodder, and Milner has struggled to even get games this season, never mind perform well on top of this. A bit too much of the 'old guard' mentality with these selections. Let's just hope that Parker can get fully fit and stay fit, because the alternative looks a tad grim.

Wide Midfielders

Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Young and Downing.

SERIOUSLY? – STEWART f**king DOWNING made the squad??? On the back of his worst season ever where's he's done nothing right, looked like one of Liverpool's worst players, and has never convinced in an England squad every time he's played – DOWNING gets the call???

What an absolute shambles. Add in the omission of Lennon and A.Johnson, and our wing options look somewhat shaky. Arguably the worst area of selection out of the whole squad here.

Strikers

Rooney, Defoe, Welbeck and Carroll

I f**king knew Carroll was going to get the call over Holt despite everything Holt has done this year compared to Carroll, and frankly I'm too pissed off to go into much more detail here.

Congratulations Roy, on screwing up our already weak Euro chances with some truly awful selection choices. You have also proven the precedence that despite form and performances, if you're not at a 'big name' club, you won't get picked. Only 3 players out of the 23 come from sides outside the 'big' clubs, with Ruddy (Norwich 12th), Baines (Everton 7th) and Green (West Ham CCC), and even then Everton aren't exactly small. So in essence we've got 2 players from outside the usual suspects, and they're both keepers who won't play unless Hart is injured anyway.

It's a complete f**king joke, and makes a mockery of our National team. Players like Grant Holt have every right to feel gutted and like they've been kicked in the teeth, as apparently performing consistently well in the premiership against some of the best defenders in the game means f**k all if you're not doing it whilst playing for Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs or Man City - i.e. the top 6 sides.

As they would say in the armed forces “Same Shit – Different Day”.

Well that's me done with England for a while, I don't expect the manager to simply select the players I want or else, but I did hope that for once we'd have a manager who could look past names and clubs and pick players on merit, that have earned their place on the plane, and instead we've got a number of horribly under-performing selections taking the place of those that have had great seasons and justified their inclusion.

I bet Harry Redknapp is laughing his f**king arse off right now...

Friday 11 May 2012

The Alternative England

With Roy Hodgson's appointment as the new England boss, discussions have been rife amongst football fans as to which 23 players are likely to receive the final call ups to play for England in the upcoming Euro's. There's some obvious suggestions, some less obvious ones, some bizarre ones, and some notable omissions as well, but I'm going to put forward my suggested squad – chances are it'll be half right anyway!

Goalkeepers
  1. Joe Hart
  2. John Ruddy
  3. Ben Foster (If Roy convinces him) – if not – Robert Green
Hart was always going to be first choice, and bar some nasty injury he'll remain first choice for the foreseeable future.

John Ruddy has been getting more vocal support recently in the press and media, and as Norwich fan, I can fully understand why. The big man has been excellent for us this season, and whilst 2 clean sheets is poor in comparison to Hart's 17, you also have to factor in that Hart is playing for the potential title winners, with probably the best defence in the league in front of him. Compare this to Ruddy who's had a back four which has seen TWELVE different permutations across the season, and it's not hard to understand why clean sheets haven't been the easiest to come by.

Ben Foster has also had a very strong season for West Brom, potentially even better than Ruddy's at Norwich, but the key issue here is that Foster has previously declared himself out of selection for England, and unless his old gaffer can change his mind, then this selection could be somewhat of a moot point.

As backup in event of this being the case I've gone for Rob Green, this isn't because of the Norwich link, but simply because I think he's a very able keeper, and I also feel that the Championship is a more competitive league overall than the Turkish league where the other option in Scott Carson is playing. West Ham are on the verge of a premiership return (assuming they can beat Blackpool), and Green has proved his consistency for many years previously at this level, he'd also bring a bit of maturity to a relatively young keeper setup.

Right Backs
  1. Kyle Walker
  2. Micah Richards
  3. Glen Johnson or Danny Simpson as Backup choice
Again, probably not too surprising here, with Walker winning a place in the PFA team of the year whilst still being relatively young and improving all the time, he's the obvious choice.

Richards is probably the most defensive of the three despite still offering an attacking threat, but what he can offer if needed is the extra strength and aerial power that Walker misses at times, and against much more physical opponents, this could be more valuable than Walker's attacking options.

My backup picks show again the different options available, with Johnson providing the strongest attacking threat from defence out of all the players, but trading this off with poorer possession and tackling stats.
Simpson is someone I feel deserves a mention here, as despite a good season at Newcastle where he's marked some top players out of the game at times, he's gone almost completely under the radar of most fans as an England option. I'd argue that this is primarily due to the performances of players like Walker, Richards and Johnson, but there's also another side to this with some fans not seeing him as a 'big enough name'. This sort of logic baffles me, as if you're good enough to handle premiership strikers and wingers each week, then you can handle players from Poland and Ukraine.

Left Backs
  1. Leighton Baines
  2. Ashley Cole
  3. Kieran Gibbs as backup
Again, not much different to see here, although for me Baines has to be first choice over Cole, as he's proven stronger both defensively, and with his excellent attacking, crossing and set pieces this season. 

I actually this is an area there's a bit of a dearth of talent in, as Gibbs still really needs time to develop and get over his consistent injury problems. Overall options are very thin on the ground after these main three, and you need to start thinking about options like Warnock at Villa, Tierney of Norwich, Bertrand of Chelsea and Shorey at WBA, if you want alternatives. None of them are really up to the task in my opinion though - although with more development we could see Bertrand step up in the future but game time at Chelsea is very limited whilst Cole is fit.

Centre Halves
  1. Joleon Lescott
  2. Rio Ferdinand
  3. Phil Jones
  4. Chris Smalling  Gary Cahill
I must admit that I've surprised even myself here, as if you'd have asked me this before Christmas, then Rio Ferdinand probably wouldn't have been in there, but this season has seen a real return to form, something Man Utd badly needed due to the long term absence of Nemanja Vidic. Although Rio's legs aren't quite what they used to be in terms of pace, his passing, tackling and aerial performances have been almost as good as they've ever been, and I think his form and experience could be vital in what's otherwise a relatively inexperienced set of defenders internationally.

Lescott had to be first choice after an outstanding season at Man City, and although Vincent Kompany has been getting all the plaudits, Lescott has been getting on with his job – and doing it bloody well in the process. If anything, Lescott is almost inheriting Rio's mantle, by doing almost all the things that Rio has traditionally been recognised for – but doing for their biggest rivals! The downside however is that there's only a couple of years between them, so whilst we should make the most of this whilst we can, Lescott isn't a long term solution to our defence.

This brings me neatly onto Phil Jones, and if anyone represents the future of English defending it's this lad. Somewhat of a rarity in the modern game, Jones almost represents the classic 'utility' player, someone who can be put anywhere on the pitch and play well. Initially deployed by Blackburn in a defensive midfield position, it's arguably his performances when moved further back that he's had his biggest impact. After his move to Man Utd, even Ferguson seems unable to decide where best to use him, although had it not been for the form of Ferdinand and Evans (along with a couple of injuries for Jones), I think we'd have seen him at the back far more this season. Strong, composed, with a great reading of the game, Jones is probably the closest example to a Bobby Moore type defender that England have had in decades, and on the potential he's shown so far – he could go on to be just as big a legend.

Wrapping up what is essentially a Man Utd dominated defensive selection is Chris Smalling. It was a toss up here between Smalling and Gary Cahill as I've got a lot of time for both of them, but in competition for a single place, I think Smalling has the edge – defensively at least, and this has to take precedence over Cahill's goal offerings, come the World Cup in 2 years time however, then Cahill will likely have taken Rio's place anyway, removing the need to decide between both. One other bonus I think Smalling offers here, is that he's played in the centre with Phil Jones for the U21 side, and together they made a formidable partnership, and looking again to the future, this really is something we want to build on ready for the WC2014. ED - Due to Smalling's injury against Swansea, he has been ruled out of Euro 2012, and therefore Cahill slots in as replacement.

The notable omission here is John Terry, and let me be frank here – I think he's past it. So many times this season have I seen him beaten easily, especially for pace, his positioning has been dire at times, and no matter how much he and some of the pundits want to blame David Luiz – Terry has been shocking at times. Add in the upcoming court case with puts a dark cloud over proceedings, and I just don't see how he can travel.

Central Midfielders
  1. Scott Parker
  2. Steven Gerrard
  3. Michael Carrick
  4. Tom Cleverley
Scott Parker had to be first choice here, there was no question about it, as there's no-one else even close here in regards to the role Parker plays and the dedication and commitment he puts in every game. In the last friendly against Holland, Parker showed exactly why he should be one of the first on the place, with tackles, blocks and interceptions galore amidst a relatively poor first half for England. Had Parker not been playing, we could easily have gone down by 2-3 more goals by that stage.

Alongside Parker I've gone for another 'old hand' in Steven Gerrard. Frankly I think Gerrard's England performances haven't been good enough for a long time, so why the f**k are you picking him I hear you say? The reason is because I think Gerrard's natural game has been crippled either by the formation, or the fact he's been played alongside Lampard for so long. No matter what anyone says – THEY DON'T WORK TOGETHER! Take Gerrard out of that scenario and put him in his favoured role at Liverpool and we see a totally different player. Forceful, attacking, tackling play, with the ability to play great through balls or take chances himself. If we assume that Roy will play a 4-4-2, then whilst Parker is handling the defensive side of things in midfield, Gerrard can look after the attacking and creative side. Also, despite some saying he's nowhere as good as he used to be, I'd question how a player so 'out of form' can score 5 goals having only played a third of the season minutes wise, and create more clear cut chances during those minutes than pretty much anyone else. I don't think he'll still be in contention come the next world cup, but this is his final chance to truly shine on the world stage, and I think he deserves to get it.

That leaves 2 more central spaces, and logically I've looked to go for similar options as 'cover' players, the first of which is Michael Carrick.

Carrick has a problem, the problem is not his football – it's his image, as for some reason a lot of fans just don't rate the guy, even when shown in black and white the level of his contribution to the team. With the 2nd highest passing accuracy of any of the midfielders in true contention for a place, Carrick offers great distribution, but whilst providing a bit of defensive security as well. Only Scott Parker tackles and intercepts more frequently than Carrick does, but Carrick also provides the aerial competition that Parker really struggles to offer. Add in the fact that he can score a few goals here and there, and that's he's generally very consistent, and I'd argue that there's nobody better to replace Parker in the defensive role than Carrick if needed – and that includes the horrendously slow plodding of Gareth Barry...

The final midfield place is a bit of a wild card in many ways, as without a single England cap to his name, Tom Cleverley would be a bold selection from Hodgson – bold, but not silly. Cleverley spent last season on loan at Wigan, where a number of strong performances caught the eye, and following a pre-season match against Barca on his return to Man Utd, lead Ferguson to believe that he could fill the gap left by the departed Paul Scholes. Early indicators were good, and strong performances in the first 4 games of the season seemed to suggest Ferguson may have been right, then niggling injuries struck, and it's been a long road to get back to fitness and to get his place back, especially due to the unexpected return of Scholes. His passing accuracy is 3rd behind that of Carrick and Scholes, but he's also shown the ability to tackle and create during some all-action performances.

Notable omissions here come in the form of Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Paul Scholes and James Milner. Firstly, at 37 years old, Scholes is unlikely to be convinced to return for one last tournament, and his age also draws potential concerns about fitness, although he's proven these wrong so far since his return to Man Utd.

Lampard was a tough call, as he clearly offers the biggest goal threat at club level, yet has rarely replicated this internationally. Again, this could partially be explained by the pairing with Gerrard, but often Lampard has had the freedom to play his role much more than Gerrard has, and still hasn't capitalised on it. Again, at 33 he's unlikely to make the next world cup, and I'd rather give an up and coming player the chance here, than someone who's had repeated chances and failed.

Barry shouldn't be anywhere near the England side in my opinion, he's slow, clumsy, and most of his passes could be described as 'barbershop' i.e. Short, back and sides...Quite how he's managed to get the game time he has at Man City this season is a mystery to me, and his inclusion would probably be one of the worst choices should it happen, as there are better options in pretty much every way.

As for Milner, although some would argue he's a winger, I'd argue that his best performances came for Villa when O'Neill played him in the centre, but since then he's struggled for form and game time, and he just doesn't offer enough to justify his place at this time. If he'd stayed at Villa and maintained his form – he'd have already been in his seat on the plane...

Wide Midfielders/Wingers
  1. Aaron Lennon
  2. Adam Johnson
  3. Ashley Young
  4. Anthony Pilkington
Do me a favour, and ignore your incredulity at option 4 for the time being, I'll get to that in a short while, and lets look at the other selections.

Lennon for me is a no-brainer, I don't know how anyone can't think he shouldn't be going, and had it not been for an injury plagued season, he could have helped Spurs maintain their push for the title and Champions League football. One of the most accurately passing wingers available (only A.Johnson offers better accuracy), he combines this with speed and dribbling to great effect, and whereas a few years ago we'd have complained about his end product, he's improved on this massively, with crossing and distribution showing vast improvements across the board, arguably at the expense of a goal or two, but this is a trade that was well worth making. He should have the right wing spot nailed down if fit.

On the opposite side we should have Adam Johnson. Another player who hasn't had as much game time as he probably should this season, but whereas Lennon's loss was down to injury, Johnson's is down to formation and competition. Getting in a Man City team where you're looking for a place against the likes of David Silva and Samir Nasri is always going to be tough, yet when Johnson has been given the nod – he's performed. Accurate passing and crossing are on offer here, along with a genuine goal threat, as 6 goals in 1100 minutes of football is a tidy return, if he'd played more I think double figures would have been highly likely. The major downside here is that due to his highly attacking nature, he tends to lose possession more than other potential candidates, but I'd rather have Johnson doing something, than the likes of Downing doing jack all...

Ashley Young is my penultimate selection, and had it not been for recent controversy, I don't think I'd have faced much argument, however Young's decision in a number of games to go down under the slightest of contacts has left a bad taste in many people's mouths, and it's going to take some hard work to get people back on side after this, as once labelled as a 'diver', it's pretty tough to shake the moniker. That aside, Young offers a genuine goal threat, and with good close control, can make a mockery of more sluggish defenders. Indeed his shooting ability from outside the box is a highly valuable asset, as it means defenders need to get tighter to prevent this, thereby creating more room for the strikers to move around in. Assuming he doesn't trip going through airport security he should get a seat.

Now for the really controversial choice, and what are the odds that a Norwich fan would put another Norwich player in the England squad? The answer is the same as for any other option under consideration, I've picked on merit and form, not on name or club, and on this basis 'Pilks' deserves a look. Firstly, you remember how I've picked up on the crossing accuracy of Johnson and Lennon? Well they average 25% accuracy with their crosses – Pilks is 35%. This is a HUGE difference at this level, as even a few percent can be the difference between getting the ball onto the strikers head with the one chance you have to deliver it – or sending it behind the goal instead. What's more he's weighed in with 8 league goals this season. Bearing in mind that Norwich do not have the most technically gifted squad in the league, this is a very impressive return for a player who last season was in League 1 at Huddersfield! He's also naturally able to play on both wings, but usually the left, and isn't afraid to have a shot or take a man on. At 23 he's got his best years to come as well, and with options like Young, Lennon and Johnson, we have great potential for the world cup – and the next Euro’s as well.

Notable omissions include – Stewart Downing, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott

Firstly I'll deal with Downing. £20 million in exchange for 0 goals, 2 assists, 23% crossing accuracy and 77% pass accuracy. Absolutely awful return on their investment so far, and whilst Downing was much better last season, he's been terrible for Liverpool this year, and shouldn't get anywhere near the plane, the airport, or even a football pitch on this showing. Expect a big improvement next season or a cut price deal to offload him will be on the cards.

Now for the Arsenal boys. I'd like to have taken 'The Ox' as he's become known, but I just don't think he's ready, or that he can manage the full games and pressure he'd be under. Just like Walcott got taken years ago for no apparent reason other than experience, I think we'd be doing something similar here, and giving up a spot just for the hell of it. If he continues to improve and perform as he has done for Arsenal this year, then he's likely to be a shoe-in for the World Cup, but for now he's simply too young for sensible consideration.

Walcott is a totally different kettle of fish, and there's something important I have to say here – Walcott hasn't made my cut as a winger – he's got a spot amongst the strikers instead. He may have had a better season than last this year, but the truth is that his best position is not on the wing, it's as a pacey forward, something that should be backed up by stats such as the following: crossing accuracy – 13% and pass accuracy – 70%. Contrast this with this 8 goals and blinding pace, and we can see that he should be receiving the balls through defence – not supplying them. So without further ado, onto the final part – the rest of the strike force.

Strikers
  1. Wayne Rooney
  2. Grant Holt
  3. Theo Walcott
  4. Jermaine Defoe
That's right – No Andy Carroll, No Danny Welbeck or Daniel Sturridge, No Peter Crouch or Darren Bent and No Danny Graham either.

Rooney would be a given for virtually anyone, and whilst recent England performances haven't matched his club form, he's the most talented played in the whole squad, as well as the biggest goal threat as well. His 2 game ban is going to hurt us however, as it means that whoever plays in those 2 games instead needs to really perform or Rooney's inclusion could be moot anyway.

I've already covered Theo Walcott, and I want to leave Holt for last, so I'll move onto Defoe.

Defoe is probably the most 'natural' striker on offer at the minute (along with Darren Bent), but what's most impressive about Defoe is his performance with relatively limited game time. At under 1200 minutes this season, Defoe has been forced to play second fiddle to Adebayor and Van der Vaart in the Spurs pecking order, yet has managed 10 goals in that limited time. Only Wayne Rooney offers a better return in regards to goals per minutes played, and like Walcott, Defoe offers pace and movement. In honesty, Darren Bent is probably a tad unlucky to miss out here, but with his injury being a potential concern, along with a middling season for a poor Villa side, Defoe just has the necessary edge here.

As for the final choice – was there any doubt I'd pick Holt? I've made enough fuss in a couple of my other articles about his selection, and after another great performance against Arsenal, I genuinely can't see why some people won't even give him the time of day. He's the second highest goalscorer in the league behind Rooney, averages a goal every 155 minutes of play (compared to 110 and 117 for Rooney and Defoe), converts chances at 23% - the same as Defoe and 1% better than Rooney, and has also created a number of good chances for his team-mates this season. He offers as much body strength and aerial threat as the likes of Carroll or Crouch, and would offer a superb foil for the likes of Defoe and Walcott to play off. Let's also not forget that Holt has to score his goals against the likes of Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle, whereas strikers from those sides have to score against Norwich...in fact the only 2 of those he hasn't scored against are Man City and Spurs.

I've already listed my exceptions, but here's the reasons:

Carroll – Seriously? Has been s**t all season for Liverpool, and even when Suarez had his 8 game ban, Carroll couldn't take any advantage from it and perform in his absence. Whilst he showed the potential at Newcastle, one good game against a second string Chelsea side last week doesn't justify his selection. If however he can find some consistent form over the upcoming seasons, there's every chance he'll be in the World Cup squad, but on his form this year, and to paraphrase Simon Cowell “Absolutely, categorically – NO”.

Danny Welbeck was a tough call, not because I think he's a great striker, but because I think he's a good support player. Welbeck's had an awful lot of game time at Man Utd this season, yet has disappointed with his goal returns, and had it not been for his work rate and team play, he'd have been dropped and probably sold long ago. I'm still not sure how he's kept the likes of Berbatov and Hernandez out of the side as much as he has, especially following Berbatov's 6 goals in 4 games return (before he was inexplicably dropped again). In 4 games Berbatov virtually replicated Welbeck's goal returns for a full season – that's laughable really, and whilst Welbeck might make Rooney et al look better, being a striker is about scoring goals, and until he can do that consistently – next.

Daniel Sturridge was another difficult one, mainly because I think he's played very well considering how he's been played out of position all season. Like Walcott, Sturridge is not a winger, and although he went on a strong goalscoring run despite being stuck there, it began to take it's toll, and his form has dropped horribly since Christmas, with only 2 goals to his name. Whilst he's getting the game time at Chelsea, it's in the wrong position, and I'd argue that a move elsewhere or a change in tactics is needed before he can be in full contention here.

Peter Crouch (along with Carroll) is probably the main player many fans would take over Holt, and I can understand why to a certain extent, he's done ok for England before, hasn't had a bad season (brightened up by his 'once in a lifetime' wonder goal), and clearly won't be phased by the experience. My problem however is that he simply hasn't performed against ANY of the major sides in world football, so whilst 22 goals for England looks great on paper, they've been scored against 'powerhouses' such as Hungary, Estonia, Andorra and Belarus – oh, and don't forget 3 against Jamaica...Crouch takes longer to score than Holt, is less accurate both at shooting and passing, and despite what you might think – doesn't create as much either (although he officially has 1 more assist than Holt, Holt has created for many opportunities, shame the other Norwich lads couldn't finish them!). All that being said – if Holt wasn't fit or available, I'd take Crouch as his first replacement.

And that leaves me with Danny Graham. I'd like to come up with something better here, but the best I can manage is 'nondescript' in regards to Graham. I don't mean that in a nasty way either, simply that he just hasn't stood out in any single way this season, he's also seen a notable drop in form following the brace he scored against Norwich in Feb, with only a single goal since that point, and he's simply weaker in almost every way to Holt statistically, nor does he really fit a particular role within the squad. He's not a great hold-up man, he isn't an instinctive striker, or goal poacher, he's not a long range master, or great at playing on the last defender, he's simply just a solid striker. There's nothing wrong with that, and he deserves full credit for his goals this season, but at the top level you need something more, and whilst like Holt he's a very committed player, there's little else there to justify selection.

So that's the squad selected, my first XI would look like this:

Hart

Walker Ferdinand Lescott Baines

Parker

Lennon A.Johnson

Gerrard

Holt Rooney (Defoe)

With Defoe playing instead of Rooney for the first 2 games.

Controversial selections in some areas, but at least it's not the same old crap we've trolled out for years and won jack shit with.

Come on Roy, do me a favour here :)