Tragic Football Stories - Let us Kick Around the misshapen Jabulani that is English football right here

Welbeck is good but is never going to be prolific and is better suited to a deeper role I think.

I've just realised how long it's been since I watched an England game.

the reason i bumped the liverpool thread yesterday is that i consider them to be playing the best football in england right now, sturridge is a big part of that

There are lot of players who could do a serviceable job on one side of a main striker but hardly anyone who can play that role in the middle.

Sturridge is excellent, you're lucky to have him. The worry might be that when Carroll hits a run of form/fitness, it's going to be very hard for any England manager to resist him.

anyway the important thing is that even if its nowhere near as good as the best countries, this gen is way better than the mid80s lot

go look at a prospects list in 2005, bentley, reocoker, jenas, curtis davies, carlton cole, scott carson etc etc

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/7999/cfnq.jpg

poor Roy's really been thrown a hospital ball here

That generation has mostly just disappeared from the squad altogether, it's either really young and inexperienced players or old stalwarts like Gerrard and Lampard. The exceptions are relative late bloomers like Cahill and Baines although the continued presence of wooden horse James Milner is depressing.

james milner is the prince of this rotten borough, twp the king in exile vomitting up another round of roast dolphin and krug somewhere in monte carlo

go look at a prospects list in 2005, bentley, reocoker, jenas, curtis davies, carlton cole, scott carson etc etc

i wonder will there be a group of jaded late 20's/eary 30's wasters on a forum somewhere in 2021 looking at names such as those listed itt and listing them in the same tone of disgust tho?

i hate international weekends btw

^^

pretty sure there'll be a group of jaded late 30's/eary 40's wasters on a forum somewhere in 2021 looking at names such as those listed itt and listing them in the same tone of disgust anyway

nah we'll be in our 40s and 50s by then

deems that is mad insight but im describing the players as they are now, wilshere sturridge walcott etc are already better than they ever were

Not sure any of em have replicated bentleys saison d'etre at blackburn tbrr

im wilshere sceptic and on record as such probly ad nauseum by now.

Combined irish welsh scottish team vs england must be getting close to parity at this stage

throw in the Icelandic lads and yeah, maybe

more relevant to throw in the norwegians tbh

dvblinia and all that

does twp make the side though?

im not pickin that side for them

he wouldnt make my side were he eligible tho

Matt:

and people like Tom Cleverly are not going to get any better than they already are

So Cleverley's, what, 22? 23? What is it about him which makes you think he won't get any better? I'm guessing you're not saying that no player gets betterafter his age.

I'm not saying he will get better, you understand, it's just I see this phrase sometimes and I wonder what it means.

There seems to be a real backlash against Cleverley atm, which I don't get. He's no Wilshere, but is a good player imo.

I might possibly rephrase that as "not going to get radically better". Cleverley strikes me as a good but limited footballer operating near the top of his capabilities. He's a tidy passing player but he doesn't really seem to have a playmaker's awareness and insight and I think that's something that manifests itself quite early in a player's development. I don't like Wilshere at all but he's already considerably more advanced in that regard.

Cleverly also doesn't have the physical attributes that would enable him to step up a level.

Admittedly, England's main problem has been one of composure for as long as I can remember so any player who can complete passes and doesn't crap themselves under pressure is welcome.

a lot of hype about cleverley but ppl in this country can't tell the difference between a neat, tidy, possession player and a really first rate technical player......like the gap between joe allen and modric is HUGE

― A.R.R.Y. Kane (nakhchivan), Tuesday, 21 August 2012 14:51 (1 year ago)

that was 2k12 tho, the gap right now is probably something like connor wickham to luiz ronaldo

Cleverley is a better player than Allen btw. I'm not sure if Hodgson has ever fielded a Carrick-Wilshere-Cleverley midfield and it would be distinctly un-English and not exactly world-beating but would at least be able to retain possession for longer than most England teams.

when cleverley broke into the utd team at the start of last season he was overhyped, but the one thing i did notice about him was that he was a pretty first-rate crosser of the ball from deep, but i never saw anything exceptional from him wrt touch or killer passes.

do agree with matt that carrick-wilshere-cleverley would be worth a shot internationally, just (and srsly now, character hat off) that rooney can't rly be trusted not to get irked with all that kept possession before even the bovine fans and charge back looking for it, wrecking all in his path.

townsend has more about him, in flashes, than a lot of england talent i've seen of that age. whether it's momentary or not remains to be seen. carroll i had thought a little overrated, but he seems to have come on a good bit if his performances at the start of this season are a gauge.

Cleverley broke into the United team two years ago now, during that insane and brief period when Fergie was fielding him, Anderson AND Ashley Young and they were somehow destroying everyone. I would imagine it would have been pretty easy to get carried away with those performances.

welbeck went on a 70 yard run down our left flank, beat three players before falling over. incredible.

gerraaaaard

kyle walker is a stain - a very stain - upon my happiness

BORN TO THE SHIRT

moldova are almost amazingly bad

Lololol walker starts for ye?

:(

Jesus lads if yeda asked we ave mcshane here doing nothing

gorgeous pass lambert

I fukin love Lambert

Good talk about Cleverley upthread. I agree with the "he's not going to get any better" school tbh. One thing about him is that he's just doesn't look like a natural footballer. His method of striking a football is so inelegant. There's something cramped about it, like he can usually get the ball where he wants it to go but he's shouting at it rather than suggesting. He's got an awful shot too

Welbeck is a beautiful enigma

looks like Pardew has hit Gold, a 6 ft 2 striker that is a goal machine at league 1 level, approaching his peak years at 27 and half, strikers aged 27-30 are often at their peak performance, they have both experience of positioning / tactics and athletic ability.

― djmartian, Monday, 10 August 2009 13:03 (4 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

martian called lambert

Latest Poll
Who is England's most talented player?

Wayne Rooney
31%
Steven Gerrard
34%
Jack Wilshere
22%
Theo Walcott
3%

what's the margin of error?

question doesn't specify wherein the talent lies

what is the answer to this question?

don't for a second believe that thudd isn't in the top 5, flawed to he is in areas other than yr 'talent'

rio ferdinand

would quibble about fourth - the state of Theo on Saturday! - but otherwise poll answers otm imo

this guy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritchie_Humphreys

shelvey is trash, utterly mindless player

― гір кривбас кривий ріг (Nilmar Honorato da Silva), Friday, 6 September 2013 12:24 (1 week ago)