With the Euro 2012 just one week away, Roy & his team of scientists have sat down & decided to put together a relatively predictable England team for 2012. Being English myself, I know how we do hate a surprise. Sure, there was the Rio/Terry controversy - this ended with Terry being selected purely for "footballing reasons". Which is also why Downing was selected, purely for his excellent "footballing reasons" like goals & assists. Controversy aside, Roy has put together a nice & safe team, with lots of experience between them & some youthful talents ready for battle. If you missed it, here's the latest England team for the Euro's (age in brackets):
GK: Joe Hart (25), Rob Green (32), Jack Butland (19)
DF: Glen Johnson (27), Ashley Cole (31), John Terry (31), Gary Cahill (26), Leighton Baines (27), Phil Jones (20), Joleon Lescott (29), Phil Jagielka (29)
MF: Steven Gerrard (32), Frank Lampard (33), Ashley Young (26), James Milner (26), Scott Parker (31), Stewart Downing (27), Theo Walcott (23), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (18)
FW: Andy Carroll (23), Wayne Rooney (26), Danny Wellbeck (21), Jermaine Defoe (29)
The England team is, as expected, a decent one with well known names and lots of experience. Although it is this experience I've rated as one of the problems in the current squad:
"what did we do last time? Did it work? Nevermind, let's do it again."
England's Euro 2012 team has lots of experience. One problem is that the experience they have is not of winning. In fact World Cup 2010 was one of England's worst performances, yet 2 years later, England still has 11 of these players in their 23 man squad. The Euro's is the perfect opportunity to build experience in some of the other players. This experience would be key to a successful WC2014 campaign.
"if he's good enough, he's old enough"
Age is something which should be seen as a huge problem. The average age of this midfield is 29! 6 of the current squad are over 30 already, 5 of them being starting line-up candidates. Another 3 are 29 years old & also possible starters. In 2 years time for World Cup 2014, 9 members of this team will be well over 30 & likely retired from International football. Why are England taking 9 players who will likely retire as soon as the Euro's ends? Is this their last chance at glory?
"failing to plan is planning to fail"
This leads to the question of England's vision. Given the current strength of the squad, it would be hard to say they look better on paper than Spain, Holland or Germany. Is it impossible for England to win the Euro's? Maybe not, but is this the team you would pick to win the Euro's? The tournament after this is the World Cup which is the greatest trophy in the world, without a doubt. Why give 9 players their last chance at glory with little to no focus on 2014?
Having a vision to compete successfully in World Cup 2014 starts by forming a team right now in 2012. With the national teams already receiving very little time together, "gelling" the team together is tough to achieve. However, a youthful England team for the Euro's, young enough to stay together until 2014, would have 2 full years of playing, training, travelling & staying together. Surely this can only be good for the team. The amazing thing is, England actually have very strong youth options & the migration from their U21 team to the top team is very common. 21 of the current 23 man squad have played in the U21's. So it's safe to assume that the majority of England's current U21's will be in the top team within the next 2 years. Why would it be a better idea to play 9 players on the verge of retirement over the players England will take to the World Cup? It really brings in to question the vision of the England management. Hodgson has signed a 4 year contract, covering 2 Euro's & 1 World Cup. This team selection can realistically only be together in 1 out of 3 of these tournaments.
Here's an alternate selection:
GK: Joe Hart (25), Jack Butland (19), Ben Amos (22)
DF: Micah Richards (23), Kyle Walker (22), Chris Smalling (22), Phil Jones (20), Martin Kelly (22), Danny Rose (21), Kieran Gibbs (22), Ryan Bertrand (22)
MF: Ashley Young (26), Theo Walcott (23), Tom Cleverley (22), Jack Wilshire (20), Josh McEachran (19), Jack Rodwell (21), Scott Sinclair (23), Adam Johnson (24)
FW: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (18), Danny Wellbeck (21), Daniel Sturridge (22), Wayne Rooney (26)
Now I wouldn't say that this team would do better in the Euro's than the current squad, although I'm not sure they'd do any worse. The above team may not be your pick. i.e. the many Liverpool youths missing from the above. The players might currently be injured. "I would've taken Rio & Carrick". Who's Josh Mycockrun? Scholes isn't too old! Why's Scott Parker's hair so perfect? But if you noticed that then you've missed the point.
The current age of the above team is 21. The oldest player is 26. Using a calculator, you'll notice by the next World Cup the oldest player will be 28 & by Euro 2016, the core of that team will be 25. Keeping more than half the squad together for that amount of time can only produce a stronger squad. The above team has featured in a combined total of 616 games this season for their clubs. The youth above also have a better combined "goals per game" ratio. And all of this while including Jack Wilshire - injured for the entire season.
This was the time to make a choice: give the legends one last chance, or invest in the youth to achieve your future goals. It would have been great to see the legends step out, led by Gerrard, Beckham behind with Scholes joining in and maybe even ask Shearer to play with for a laugh. The choice to swing either way really wasn't made so a simple mix of what is safe & acceptable was chosen. I would have preferred if they took a risk....a show of faith....a dream to chase. The respect and future of a football mad nation rests with a manager, their FA and a vision. Do you share the vision of this manager?
I'd like to see your suggestions or comments on England's Euro 2012 squad. Who would you have chosen?
GK: Joe Hart (25), Rob Green (32), Jack Butland (19)
DF: Glen Johnson (27), Ashley Cole (31), John Terry (31), Gary Cahill (26), Leighton Baines (27), Phil Jones (20), Joleon Lescott (29), Phil Jagielka (29)
MF: Steven Gerrard (32), Frank Lampard (33), Ashley Young (26), James Milner (26), Scott Parker (31), Stewart Downing (27), Theo Walcott (23), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (18)
FW: Andy Carroll (23), Wayne Rooney (26), Danny Wellbeck (21), Jermaine Defoe (29)
The England team is, as expected, a decent one with well known names and lots of experience. Although it is this experience I've rated as one of the problems in the current squad:
- Public opinion
- Experience
- Age
- Vision
"what did we do last time? Did it work? Nevermind, let's do it again."
England's Euro 2012 team has lots of experience. One problem is that the experience they have is not of winning. In fact World Cup 2010 was one of England's worst performances, yet 2 years later, England still has 11 of these players in their 23 man squad. The Euro's is the perfect opportunity to build experience in some of the other players. This experience would be key to a successful WC2014 campaign.
"if he's good enough, he's old enough"
Age is something which should be seen as a huge problem. The average age of this midfield is 29! 6 of the current squad are over 30 already, 5 of them being starting line-up candidates. Another 3 are 29 years old & also possible starters. In 2 years time for World Cup 2014, 9 members of this team will be well over 30 & likely retired from International football. Why are England taking 9 players who will likely retire as soon as the Euro's ends? Is this their last chance at glory?
"failing to plan is planning to fail"
This leads to the question of England's vision. Given the current strength of the squad, it would be hard to say they look better on paper than Spain, Holland or Germany. Is it impossible for England to win the Euro's? Maybe not, but is this the team you would pick to win the Euro's? The tournament after this is the World Cup which is the greatest trophy in the world, without a doubt. Why give 9 players their last chance at glory with little to no focus on 2014?
Having a vision to compete successfully in World Cup 2014 starts by forming a team right now in 2012. With the national teams already receiving very little time together, "gelling" the team together is tough to achieve. However, a youthful England team for the Euro's, young enough to stay together until 2014, would have 2 full years of playing, training, travelling & staying together. Surely this can only be good for the team. The amazing thing is, England actually have very strong youth options & the migration from their U21 team to the top team is very common. 21 of the current 23 man squad have played in the U21's. So it's safe to assume that the majority of England's current U21's will be in the top team within the next 2 years. Why would it be a better idea to play 9 players on the verge of retirement over the players England will take to the World Cup? It really brings in to question the vision of the England management. Hodgson has signed a 4 year contract, covering 2 Euro's & 1 World Cup. This team selection can realistically only be together in 1 out of 3 of these tournaments.
Here's an alternate selection:
GK: Joe Hart (25), Jack Butland (19), Ben Amos (22)
DF: Micah Richards (23), Kyle Walker (22), Chris Smalling (22), Phil Jones (20), Martin Kelly (22), Danny Rose (21), Kieran Gibbs (22), Ryan Bertrand (22)
MF: Ashley Young (26), Theo Walcott (23), Tom Cleverley (22), Jack Wilshire (20), Josh McEachran (19), Jack Rodwell (21), Scott Sinclair (23), Adam Johnson (24)
FW: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (18), Danny Wellbeck (21), Daniel Sturridge (22), Wayne Rooney (26)
Now I wouldn't say that this team would do better in the Euro's than the current squad, although I'm not sure they'd do any worse. The above team may not be your pick. i.e. the many Liverpool youths missing from the above. The players might currently be injured. "I would've taken Rio & Carrick". Who's Josh Mycockrun? Scholes isn't too old! Why's Scott Parker's hair so perfect? But if you noticed that then you've missed the point.
The current age of the above team is 21. The oldest player is 26. Using a calculator, you'll notice by the next World Cup the oldest player will be 28 & by Euro 2016, the core of that team will be 25. Keeping more than half the squad together for that amount of time can only produce a stronger squad. The above team has featured in a combined total of 616 games this season for their clubs. The youth above also have a better combined "goals per game" ratio. And all of this while including Jack Wilshire - injured for the entire season.
This was the time to make a choice: give the legends one last chance, or invest in the youth to achieve your future goals. It would have been great to see the legends step out, led by Gerrard, Beckham behind with Scholes joining in and maybe even ask Shearer to play with for a laugh. The choice to swing either way really wasn't made so a simple mix of what is safe & acceptable was chosen. I would have preferred if they took a risk....a show of faith....a dream to chase. The respect and future of a football mad nation rests with a manager, their FA and a vision. Do you share the vision of this manager?
I'd like to see your suggestions or comments on England's Euro 2012 squad. Who would you have chosen?
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