England, English Players and such...

[jw5]

Too taxing to name 22 or 23. I'll just name my first 11.

Goalkeepers: Paul Robinson

Defenders: Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Wes Brown, Matthew Upson

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Theo Walcott

Forwards: Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch

Who will play left back and left midfield/wing?
SWP and Walcott are both predominantly right footers and right sided players.
There is no left back in your team.
In my opinion, Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole are 2 of the key players for England. They are average defenders but are both very good going forward.

 

[Glaringly]

Good point about Rio.
I didn't pick James for the same reason, he's very injury prone.
Brown hasn't played enough games this season, don't think he's fit.
Who's your backup left back?
What's your first XI and the formation? 4-4-2?
It's Zamora, not Zamoro.
Don't know whether it's 22 or 23. If it's 23, I'll also take Michael Dawson or Theo Walcott. Ok, Walcott.

Both Milner and Barry can play left back. Knew abot Brown , but can't find any that can play right back and cover CB.

 

[jw5]

Both Milner and Barry can play left back. Knew abot Brown , but can't find any that can play right back and cover CB.

Milner is right footed so he is better suited as a backup right back.
Barry can play left back, he used to play for Aston Villa at left back and is used as left back for Man City when they are chasing the game. But he is not that familiar at that position. It will be risky to bring only 1 specialist left back.
The answer to the back up right back and centre back dilemma is Jamie Carragher.

 

[Ramseth]

Who will play left back and left midfield/wing?
SWP and Walcott are both predominantly right footers and right sided players.
There is no left back in your team.
In my opinion, Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole are 2 of the key players for England. They are average defenders but are both very good going forward.

Just put anyone on the left. Right-footers can play right, centre or left no problem. England has no world class left-footer since Steve McManaman anyway, and business as usual on the left. Of course, in high speed flank attack, a left-footer down the left flank is worth a couple of seconds (that's a lot in world class matches) advantage. Go down right or centre as much as possible. I didn't see Alf Ramsey needing any winger, left or right, to win World Cup. David Beckham at his peak was also basically a midfielder that doubled up as winger when opportunity arised to go down the flank.

 

[elephanto]

The Italian Kepala (Capello) has released his 30 names :-

England provisional squad:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Man City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham)
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Spurs), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Spurs), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa)
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Man City), Michael Carrick (Man Utd), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Spurs), Adam Johnson (Man City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Spurs), James Milner (Aston Villa), Scott Parker (West Ham), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City)
Forwards: Darren Bent (Sunderland), Peter Crouch (Spurs), Jermain Defoe (Spurs), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Man utd)

Spurs got the most - 6 players: 2 strikers, 2 midfielders, 2 defenders
3 players each - Man U, Liverpool, Villa, West Ham
4 players - Chelsea, Man City

Yea, no Wes Brown or Owen Hargreaves !
Zomora, Ashley Young & the Garbraman (both Villians), all ignored ?!

I think Carra will make the final cut ... but of course, in public now, Fabio must say no guarantees lah !

 

[Glaringly]

The UEFA European under 17 finals and under 19 Elite round are now in progress.

England under 17 continue their impressive runs by winning all their group matches ( Cezh, Greece, Turkey ) and overcame France in the semi to reach the final against Spain ( tomorrow ). The players are:

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Samual Johnstone
Defenders: Nathaniel Chalobah, Luke Garbutt, Ben Gibson, Bruno Palatos, Tom Thorpe, Andre Wisdom
Midfielders: Ross Barkley, Conor Coady, William Keane, Joshua McEachran, George Thorne, Luke Williams
Forwards: Benik Afobe, Saido Berahino, Robert Hall, Connor Wickham

These group of youngster have now won all their matches, if if they manage to beat Spain, they will became the first English youngest to win at European youth level.



In the Elite round for under 19, each country must top their group to proceed to the final to be held sometime in July. So far, England won 2 of their games ( Ireland and Bosnia ) and will play host Ukarine on Monday.

Btw, there are many young technical gifted players produce right now by many clubs, besides Arsenal, Chelsea seems to have an abundance coming up.

Right now, the English under 17 are on a rampage in international games, winning their last 7 games successively and by big margin. Though it may be too soon to pick the cherries.

 

[Glaringly]

For English Club fan, here's the player list with their club.

1 Samuel Johnstone (Manchester United FC, goalkeeper)
Sam's a brilliant goalkeeper. A very lively person who lights up the whole team, a very good person to have around the camp.

2 Bruno Pilatos (Middlesbrough FC, defender)
Bruno's a funny kid! He can be a bit gormless in the head sometimes but he's a top, top player and has done well for us in this tournament playing every game, he's a brilliant player at right-back.

3 Luke Garbutt (Everton, defender)
He's had a run-out for Everton's first team and done really well for us at this tournament. He's a reliable defender who'll always do a job for you and brilliant to have in the camp as well.

4 Conor Coady (Liverpool FC, midfielder)
No comment

5 Nathaniel Chalobah (Chelsea FC, defender)
He's only 15, he's absolutely brilliant for his age. He comes in and does a job for us in every single game. He's very solid at the back, big built for his age and very strong, he can live up to any expectation you give him.

6 Andre Wisdom (Liverpool FC, midfielder)
Andre plays for the same club as me so I'm with him every single day. He's a brilliant lad and a great mate to have. He's solid on the pitch and very demanding, and you know if he says something you've got to listen to him – and he's right.

7 William Keane (Manchester United FC, winger)
Keano's very quiet around the team. He's a quiet lad on the camp but on the pitch he shows how good he is. He's a brilliant player and he shows it for Manchester United and England.

8 George Thorne (West Bromwich Albion FC, midfielder)
George is funny around the camp, he livens up the team. He makes it a great team spirit, he's a very good player on the pitch and very gifted technically.

9 Benik Afobe (Arsenal FC, forward)
Benik is a fantastic player to have, you know he'll always score goals for you and do a job up front. He's brilliant to have in the team and in and around the hotel he's a very funny player to have with you, he's a great friend.

10 Saido Berahino (West Bromwich Albion FC, forward)
Saido came in late but he's been a very big bonus to the team. He helps everyone around the team and he's a great laugh. He's a brilliant player when he gets on, he scored a goal so very good for him.

11 Robert Hall (West Ham United FC, winger)
He's still in school. He's a brilliant player, very nippy, very good on the ball, and when it comes to being around the hotel he's a good player to have.

12 Benjamin Gibson (Middlesbrough FC, defender)
Ben came in late, he's been an extreme bonus to the team. He's very good around the hotel and when he played the other night he did a really good job, you can rely on him.

13 Jack Butland (Birmingham City FC, goalkeeper)
He's had some storming games. He's been brilliant around the hotel, he's fantastic to have, a great friend to talk to.

14 Thomas Thorpe (Manchester United FC, defender)
Tom's quite quiet around the hotel, on the pitch he shows how good he is. He's a brilliant player to have in defence, you can always rely on him.

15 Joshua McEachran (Chelsea FC, midfielder)
Technically Josh is really, really good. He's funny in and around the hotel, he likes to have a laugh with you and a little joke, but on the pitch he shows what he's really about.

16 Ross Barkley (Everton, midfielder)
Ross is the joker of the team I'd say. You can just laugh at him, he comes out with some cracking jokes, on and off the pitch he's brilliant.

17 Connor Wickham (Ipswich Town FC, forward)
I think people see him as a target man but I don't think he is. You give him the ball and he can do anything with it, as he showed against France scoring two goals. Brilliant to have around the hotel as well.

18 Luke Williams (Middlesbrough FC, winger)
Luke's quite quiet but he just gets on with his job. When he played against Turkey he did a job for us and you can rely on him. He's done brilliantly.

http://www.uefa.com/under17/news/newsid=1493600.html

Fyi, Chabolah ( ChoBoLan ) is the youngest player in the tournament. Very mature for his age and is very compose on the ball. Player to watch for Chelsea Fan. 2 very good players that misses out through injuries that derserve mention are Chuck Aneke ( Arsenal ) and Morrison ( ManUtd ).

 

[jw5]

The only player I have seen in action is William Keane, playing for Man Utd reserves on MUTV.
He is a very exciting player with flair.

 

[Glaringly]

England won the European under 17 title after beating Spain 2-1 in the final. A feat that was repeated after 17 long years when England won the Euro under 18. Considering this group of youngsters won all their matches from qualifiers to the final is really very impressive.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

A fine goal by Ipswich's Connor Wickham earned England their first European Under-17 Championship title as they beat Spain 2-1 in Liechtenstein.

Spain took a 22nd-minute lead when a Gerard shot deflected off Liverpool's Andre Wisdom, but Wisdom made amends shortly after by heading home a corner.

The highly-rated Wickham then sealed victory early in the second half, with a sweet finish after a powerful run.

The sought-after win was England's first age-group title since 1993.

That triumph, at the European Under-18 Championship, was earned by a team that included Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Robbie Fowler and Sol Campbell who all went on to play for the senior team.

Doddsyyellowandblue
And England U-17 manager John Peacock said that England boss Fabio Capello had been keeping a keen eye on the current crop, asking for DVDs of their matches to be sent to the England training camp in Austria.

He also said that some of the senior team had sent a video message to the U-17 team on the morning of the final, but Peacock was keen to highlight the victory as proof of improved standards in English football.

"The English game gets criticism sometimes that we don't produce enough good quality players so it is nice to show that things are working well at this level," he told BBC Sport.

"There are no guarantees that this group will go and achieve what the likes of Scholes, Neville and Campbell did but they have every chance. We always knew this group had the potential to do very well.

"The last time a group came through was in 2003 when we reached the semi-finals only to be beaten by Portugal. That team had Aaron Lennon, James Milner and Tom Huddlestone so recent history shows it can be done."

Wickham, who scored six times for Roy Keane's Ipswich team last season and is reportedly attracting the attentions of a number of Premier League clubs, should have put the result beyond doubt not long after his strike.

The 6ft 3in striker latched onto a clearance from captain Conor Coady, of Liverpool, before skewing his effort wide with the outside of his right foot after beating the last covering defender.

The miss ensured that England endured a tense finish, with Barcelona winger Gerard firing wide and Real Madrid's Jese Rodriguez forcing a fine save from England goalkeeper Jack Butland.

Wisdom also breathed a huge sigh of relief when his attempted clearance hit team-mate Luke Garbutt before rebounding off the post for a corner.

"I'm absolutely delighted but I'm more happy for the 18 players who have all made a contribution during the tournament," added Peacock.

"It is also nice that we beat Spain in the final as they are often seen as the benchmark for football development across the age groups. They win European and World titles on a regular basis.

"We have been there or thereabouts with our U17s and U19s - Spain beat us 1-0 in the final three years ago - but it is nice to finally win one. Hopefully it is the start of something and we can win many more."

Peacock also praised the much-maligned Premier League and Football League Academies which have been criticised for diluting talent and importing players at a young age from overseas countries.

"To win the European title is a testament to all the good development work that is going on in the clubs," he said.

"We know there is good work going on in the Academies and all we do is pick up on that good work. The clubs want to go on from where they are and they can feel proud of the victory tonight too."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8713980.stm

 

[elephanto]

CONGRATS !

England are EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS at last !

under-17 Champion also champion what !

All the way unbeaten, beating Spain in the final !

Yo! English Men Seniors, learn from your kids okie :p !

may this be the new GOLDEN GENERATION that will end England's long drought once & for all .....

It was reported England last won Euro under-18 17 years ago - so should be 1993 who are the under 18 stars then ? under-18 manager was Howard Wilkinson, no?

 

[Glaringly]

William Keane is a good technical player. Play on the wing, he's injured in the semi final early in the game but recovered to play in the final.

Good prospect.

The only player I have seen in action is William Keane, playing for Man Utd reserves on MUTV.
He is a very exciting player with flair.

 

[Glaringly]

The problem with the current senior squad with the players they got is, they play with wide winger which left gaps in the centre of the park and therefore crowded out and can't hold possesion to control the game. So they are best playing counter attack.

CONGRATS !

England are EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS at last !

under-17 Champion also champion what !

All the way unbeaten, beating Spain in the final !

Yo! English Men Seniors, learn from your kids okie :p !

may this be the new GOLDEN GENERATION that will end England's long drought once & for all .....

It was reported England last won Euro under-18 17 years ago - so should be 1993 who are the under 18 stars then ? under-18 manager was Howard Wilkinson, no?

 

[Ramseth]

In recent years, England quietly reverted back to white jersey + white shorts with red trimmings and numberings (away: red jersey + white shorts), the colours of the St. George's flag, instead of in the 70s to 2000s with St. Andrew blue shorts and/or jersey with designs incorporating St. Andrew blue trimmings along with basic St. Andrew red. That combination was of course the Union Jack colours and England was pretending to be team UK. I like the new (or retro) design better; it's more like England. Scotland has kept to their distinctive St. Andrew blue all through the years.

 

[Glaringly]

If you watched the games, this is not your usual English football style, instead it is more continental. They did not play with the typical wide wingers, but with 2 wing backs.

There are many good individuals, especially with the combination of William Keane ( left winger ), Ross Barkley ( play in the hole ) and Josh McEachran ( attacking Midfielder ), all 3 are very good in possesion and allows them to dictate the game. Very impress with McEachran, he can play in very tight area without losing his cool and can dribble and pass very well ( Jack Wilshere has a strong contender ).

Cornor Wickham may seems to take all the credit ( score both goals in the semi and the winning goal in the final ). He is like Peter Coach in height but stronger, we will see, because for a 17 year old his built is an advantage.

The back lines ( Garbutt, Wisdom, Chabolah, Pilatios ) are all very good, all ball playing without the need to anyhow hoof up the ball.

In this tournament Afobe is play out of his usual position and play in the wing, still he looks lively in the first few games.

The second choice goalkeeper Jack Butland did very well to earn a spot in the semi and final. Very good , however, don't like it when he more than often hoof the ball and cost England to lose possesion.

If there is one that I am not impress is the captain Conor Coady ( defensive midfielder ), in his suspension for the first game against Cezh, I thought George Thorne did very well. But for Conor Coady, he seems to be giving the ball back to the opponents most of the time.

 

[jw5]

How did you watch the games Bro Glaringly?

 

[Glaringly]

How did you watch the games Bro Glaringly?

Mostly download the delay matches from

http://www.fbtz.com/forum/

or look for available streams. ( recently from below, but may disappear )

http://www.firstrow.net/

 

[Glaringly]

England top their group in the Euro under 19 and through to the last 8 of the final round to be played in July after drawing 1-1 with host Ukarine.

As the date of the final is too close to pre-season, some of the players won't be released, so this tournament isn't quite measure up to it's full potential to guage each other strength.

In any case, for England, the players in this age group isn't as exiciting as their under 17 counterpart.

--------------------------------------------------------------

A Dean Parrett goal seals the draw which takes England into the last eight of Euros.

UEFA European U19 Championship
Elite Qualifying Round
26-31 May 2010
Kiev, Ukraine
Click here for fixtures
By Nicholas Veevers

After the triumph of England U17s in Liechtenstein on Sunday, their elder contemporaries now have the chance to match that achievement after securing a place in the Finals of the UEFA European U19 Championship for the third consecutive year.

Noel Blake’s side went into their final Elite Qualifying Round game with hosts Ukraine on Monday knowing that if they avoided defeat it would be enough to see them through into the Finals which are to be held in northern France this summer.

They were certainly made to work hard for it too, with Ukraine really putting them under pressure from the first whistle only to find an England side in resilient mood.

It was backs to the wall stuff throughout the first half, as Ukraine chased the goals which would’ve put them in pole position for a place in the last eight of the competition.

After holding out for the first half, Blake had chance to regroup his team at the break and whilst the pressure was on again in the second half, the longer the game went on, more openings came their way.

That all changed with just less then ten minutes remaining though, when striker Igor Zubko struck Ukraine ahead in the 81st minute.

The host nation knew that they still needed a second goal in order to better England's superior goal difference though and they were caught out just two minutes later, when substitute Andros Townsend crossed from the left to pick out his Tottenham team-mate Dean Parrett at the far side of the area. He made no mistake and drilled a shot past Ihor Levchenko to put England firmly back in the driving seat with his second goal of the Elite Round following his stunning free-kick winner against Ireland last Wednesday.

England were further helped with five minutes remaining when Ukraine were reduced to ten men following a second booking for Yevgeny Zadoya and after four minutes of added time, the final whistle sounded to seal a good result and progression for England.

It also represented a triumphant return to Ukraine for several members of the team, who were part of last year’s squad which reached the Final of the same competition only to lose to Ukraine and miss out on the trophy.

 

[Ramseth]

Ambassadors square up for England-US tie


05:55 AM Jun 10, 2010
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LONDON - English and American diplomats have launched a good-natured war of words ahead of the sides' World Cup clash tomorrow, after betting on the outcome of the fixture.

The American Ambassador to London and his British counterpart in Washington have wagered a meal on their respective sides winning the hotly anticipated tie.

US Ambassador Louis Susman and Sir Nigel Sheinwald, the UK Ambassador, have now become embroiled in a sledging match, in a series of cables sent between aides on both sides of the Atlantic.

The bet was proposed by a member of the American Ambassador's staff, who wrote: "We will understand if you decline, given the outcome of the last such encounter", in reference to America's victory over England in the 1950 World Cup.

Martin Longden, press secretary to Sir Nigel, responded that the win was exactly how the Ambassador prefers his steak - "somewhat rare".

He continued: "Even for such an exceptionally optimistic nation as the United States, I am struck by the confidence with which your ambassador proposes this wager. It is testament, I assume, to the generosity of your great nation, since the British ambassador does not anticipate paying out."

In a jocular riposte Philip Breeden, of the American embassy, wrote: "It is true that our soccer (a fine English word we have kindly preserved for you) history is not as long and illustrious as yours. However, as your generals noted during World War II, we have a unique capability for quickly identifying and advancing talent."

Staff at the British embassy - a quarter of whom are American - will watch the match on a large screen at the headquarters in Washington, BBC News reported.

An official said: "We're not doing anything more grand. We'll leave that to the final." Agencies

 

[Glaringly]

England Fans.

Have you watch Josh McEachran since coming in as a sub in the 56th minutes in the Carling Cup?

What a cool guy, superb close ball control, will be a very good asset for England playing in tight areas in and around the box or an attacking midfielder.

Stand aside Lampard, Gerrard. Jack Wilshere and Josh McEachran will run the show for England in many years to come. Both are simply outstanding.

15 year old Chabolah is also on the bench for Chelsea, another of Chelsea and England bright prospect, very very cool and matured.

Quite sure one of them will feture in some of Chelsea first team action this season!

Josh McEachran

Josh McEachran is 17th this year and had improve in leaps and bound recently, is left footed, play for Chelsea reserve and youth team at the tip of the diamond. You can watch him in action at http://www.thefa.com, playing in the FA youth cup final between chelsea and Aston Villa.

 

[jw5]

Haven't seen Josh or Chabolah in action this season, but here is the list of young players I have seen for their clubs or under 21 and my comments:

Albrighton of Villa - Speedy skilful winger, but his crossing needs improvement.

Wilshere of Arsenal - Very skilful and suited to Arsenal style, but a little lightweight and poor defensively.

Phil Jones of Blackburn - Solid composed defender or defensive midfielder. I already rate him higher than guys like Upson.

Jordan Henderson - Already a regular for Sunderland and England under 21. Composed and calm central midfielder. Can tackle and run with the ball, but needs to improve long passing. He's more reliable than Cattermole who keeps getting sent off and Riverias from Paraguay who hasn't yet adapted to the English game.