your england formations please, and why?

Question

robinson

g neville j terry j carragher a cole

o hargreaves

beckham stevie g a lennon

w rooney p crouch

my other squad players would be:
green
foster
young
king
rferdinand
lampard
downing
carrick
j cole
defoe
johnson
nugent

i feel with this squad there would be adequate cover in each position, there are no players out of position, its where they play for their clubs, what about lennon? well im a tottenham fan, and i think im qualified to comment.... he has done a job for spurs on left, where he is also allowed to drift across the opposing back 4, although it would be a tough decision with a fit joe cole, i think my formation gives england the mix it needs to become more creative, you wouldnt have gerrard and lampard getting in each others way

crouch has been the most prolific of late, and deserves a chance. in nugent, i think we genuinely have an unknown talent that would scare the life out of any defence in the world. im not saying we would be world beaters, but in the right hands, we wouldnt be such an embarassment

phillip scannel...... your right, gerrard and lampard cant play together, so it would be a choice of the form player, although sg would always be my 1st choice for england, fl never seems to carry club form to international level. as for rooney, i would have him as the one of a two who would drop into midfield if required , other than that, these players understand 442, and the short time spent on international duty would be innsufficient to ingrain a 3 5 2, or in your case, a 3 6 1?? if you include rooney in your midfield. i agree, foster is a great keeper, and def a future no1. but lets look back over recent years... being englands no1, your on a hiding to nothing, the comments made of robinson were also made of seaman shilton and chris woods (haha)and at the mo robbo is comfortable there. on to barry, id admit that was an oversight on my behalf, but thats maybe cos villa have hardly set the prem alight.
im not saying im right, its just opinion.
all the best..

and drink beer, beks, dont forget the beer!!!

very little football knowledge here i see. width isnt gained by flooding the midfield. width is gained by playing two wide players who can cross a ball, with two central midfielders that are able to feed them, this is where i would forsee problems, because of the lack of a shearer type centre forward, to partner rooney. if only crouch could head a ball.

Answer 1

McClaren gets fired on Friday. When can you start?

Answer 2

Paul Robinson

Jamie Carragher John Terry Rio Ferdinand

Owen Hargreaves

Aaron Lennon Steven Gerrard Frank Lampard Gareth Barry

Wayne Rooney Andy Johnson

I think if England play 3-5-2 it allows them to accomodate the three quality centre backs Terry, Ferdinand and Carragher and also allows them to accomodate Gerrard and Lampard together in midfield. It also means that the team will then have genuine width which has been lacking for a long time as Lennon will stay wide on the right and Gareth Barry will stick to the left. Playing Barry on the left would help the defence if it was needed as he could slip down to left back and carragher could then push over to right back leaving terry and ferdinand in the middle. Barry would also give England support going forward as he would be able to cross balls in with his left foot and Lennon would be able to cross balls in with his right foot. Lennon also gives England alot more pace and therefore he would be a huge threat against anybody. The extra player in midfield should allow England to apply more pressure on teams and hopefully score more goals which has been a massive problem recently. Also without Michael Owen Andy Johnson is Englands only real goal poacher and the only player that is willing to run in behind defenders. This creates more space for the rest of the team which will allow Wayne Rooney to shine as he will have lots of time on the ball in between the midfield and Johnson, and England will reap the beneifts of a Wayne Rooney with lots of time and space, which is an exciting prospect. If Crouch starts along side Rooney then Rooney lacks the space between the midlfield and Crouch because Crouch is too static and this allows opposing defenders to push forward as they no that Crouch does not pose a threat in behind them.

Subs

Ben Foster
Ashley Cole (when fit would start instead of Barry - left wing)
Gary Neville
Phil Neville
Micah Richards
Jonathan Woodgate
Ledley King
Michael Carrick
Stewart Downing
Joe Cole (When fit would start instead of Lennon - right wing)
Shaun Wright-Philips
David Bentley
Peter Crouch
Jermaine Defoe
Darren Bent

(26 man squad)

the squad provides more than enough cover for every position.

If anybody gets injured these players could come into the squad:

Scott Carson
David James
Chris Kirkland
Leighton Baines
Nicky Shorey
Luke Young
Michael Dawson
Joleon Lescott
Curtis Davis
Anton Ferdinand
Joey Barton
Nigel Reo-Coker
Scott Parker
Tom Huddlestone
David Nugent
Theo Walcott
Michael Owen (If he comes back on form he would start in place of Andy Johnson)

Answer 3

Robinson
A. Cole Terry Carragher G. Neville

J. Cole Gerrard Carrick Hargreaves

Rooney

Owen

Bench; Foster or James, Ferdinand, Lampard, Richards, Bridge, Beckham, Johnson, Crouch.

Answer 4

I actually, rather unsuprisingly, being a smart-arze, invented a completely new soccer formation. I call it the 3-4-1-2-1 formation. Three central defenders, two wing-backs, two anchor men (Revolutionary, hehe!), a fulcrum central-midfielder (Beckham, still the best passer), two attacking midfielders and one centre-forward. The "weakness" in this formation would be a lack of width, and would require quality wing-backs - G.Neville, A.Cole (No problem), anyone else, not so sure. The beauty of the system is that you could comfortably incorporate Gerrard, Lampard, Hargreaves, Beckham and Carrick in the same team. Players like Lennon amd Wright-Phillips would cease to be "marginalised" and potentially be attacking substitutes. The formation would provide a rock-solid centre, through and through, and there would be no gaps like in the world cup. Rooney could be a CF or an attacking midfielder running into space (more useful). We would still have to deal with our biggest vulnerability though, corners and free-kicks. Bring back Terry Butcher, Donkey Adams and Dave Watson, even Sol Campbell. We need players who can HEAD THE BALL AWAY! Nuff said.
I don't actually mean bring them back, let's just find someone who can get their head on it with consistancy. Ferdi isn't bad, Terry and King are pretty good but after that?

Answer 5

Owen Johnson

Rooney

Lampard Gerrard

Hargeaves

Cole Woodgate Terry Carragher

Robinson

A diamond 4-4-2 basically. In a way it suits the team. Rooney playing just behind the strikers and lampard and gerrard around the midfield. Hargreaves playing at defensive midfield.
Subs would include: Carson, Ferdinand, Barry, Downing, Lennon, Crouch, Johnson

Answer 6

4-4-1-1 defencive.
Goalkeeper:
Paul Robinson

Defence:
Gary Neville
Rio Ferdinand
John Terry
Ashley Cole

Defencive Midfield:
Aaron Lennon
Michael Carrick
Steven Gerrard
Stuart Downing

Attacking Midfield:
Frank Lampard

Forward:
Wayne Rooney

Answer 7

I'd play 3-5-2 id have Richards terry and carragher in defence
in midfield id have carrick and Hargreaves in a DM role then id have Lennon and Cole on the wings id have Gerrard in an AM role just behind Rooney and Owen

i would have beckham in the squad

Answer 8

owen
rooney

J.Cole Lampard Carrick Lennon

Hargreeves

Carragher Terry Ferdinand
Foster

Answer 9

ROBINSON
CARRAGHER TERRY FERDINAND A. COLE
HARGREAVES GERRARD LAMPARD BECKHAM
ROONEY OWEN

TERRY and FERDINAND make good central defence which is very impt if the team doesn't score goals.

CARRAGER is a good choice for left back other than Gary and Phil Nev. Bridge is a good alternative for COLE if he happens to be injured. Barry too, but he's abit slow. Bridge is naturally left-legged and and thus crosses balls into his opponent's box.

Beckham's shooting and passing is very accurate. He's very unique. So put him back into the team. Results'll show that he's impeccable.

Hargreaves is talented, can assist and score goals. Moreover, he's one of the more experienced ones around,

Lampard and Gerrard pairing will work in time to come. I can't see how any one of them can be dropped.

Answer 10

Yet another manager ignoring Gareth Barry - THE answer to the left side.

Robinson

Richards
Terry
Ferdinand
Cole

Lennon
Gerrard
Hargreaves
Barry

Rooney
Defoe

Foster, Carragher, Carrick, Johnson, Crouch, Bridge and Lampard

although Barry would be dropped for a fit joe cole. We need to get rid of some of the older dross (neville mainly) and keep faith with the younger players. Downing is NOT an international player. He's a barely adequate sunday league player, not to be representing our country.

Answer 11

foster - robinson's being unpredictable with his inconsistent form
g neville
terry - best defender in the world currently, NOT cannavaro
ferdinand
a cole
hargreaves/carrick - hargreaves for his defensive work rate or carrick for his creativity
gerrard - midfield general
lennon/beckham - former for his speed, latter for his dead ball skills and he still has much to offer despite his age
j cole - might not be naturally left footed but plays well on the left nonetheless.
owen - when at top form w/o injuries, one of the best strikers in the world imo.
crouch/rooney - great ball control skills and technique for someone his height, good predator and creator of goals, and height can be used to his advantage. inconsistent though. so maybe rooney can take his place as the support for owen...