No doubt most of us have by now heard cabbage man Capello's pick to lead England to glory in South Africa. And, no doubt, most of us probably think we could pick a better side than the 9-time league champion and Champions League winner.
With regards to the initial 30-man squad I was a little bit flabbergasted over the omission of Ashley Young. For an England team that always bemoans its shortage of naturally gifted left-sided players, Young would have been one of the first names on my team sheet. Instead, the cabbage man went with Shaun Wright-Phillips, Adam Johnson, Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott as out and out wingers. For me, Wright-Phillips has had a mediocre season at best, Johnson came out of nowhere and gets knackered after 30mins while Aaron and Theo are more or less identical types of player. Thus I was left scratching my head over why Young was left out. But anyway...
That initial 30 has now been whittled down to 23. Theo Walcott, Adam Johnson, Darren Bent, Scott Parker, Tom Huddlestone, Michael Dawson and Leighton Baines all having been dropped. There were a few surprises however with the inclusions of Villa's Stephen Warnock and Chelsea's Joe Cole. But the biggest has to be the dropping of Walcott. Capello is known to be a fan of the young Arsenal winger, and whilst I was somewhat surprised by the decision not to take him, I also saw why. Now Walcott is a good player, and in both friendlies against Mexico and Japan he showed a fearless ability to take on and beat players, something England crave. England always seem to look a bit starstruck when they come up against quality opposition and to have a player who is not intimidated in such a scenario is a worthy asset. It sort of reminds me of Wayne Rooney's performance against France back in 2004 when the likes of Zinedine Zidane failed to phase him. This is the breed of player England need. And Lennon is similar. Whilst Walcott is able to go past the man, his final ball and often hesitation in creating an end product has let him down. Lennon is marginally better in this regard and thus probably deserves the nod ahead of the Arsenal man.
As a result, the 23 men that carry the hopes of a nation on their shoulders to South Africa this June are:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham).
Defenders: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa).
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City).
Forwards: Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).
The only question mark that remains is over the starting eleven. I'm sure we all think we have the best idea over who should play, so with that in mind, let me join the legions of armchair football managers and impose on you my superior tactical genius. Now, cabbage man Capello has already stated he will play with two strikers at all times, but I choose to disregard that and controversially relegate Steven Gerrard to the bench. Instead, I go for a 4-5-1/4-3-3 type formation:
Joe Hart
Glenn Johnson / Rio Ferdinand / John Terry / Ashley Cole
Gareth Barry
Frank Lampard / James Milner
Aaron Lennon Joe Cole
Wayne Rooney
England have always struggled to find a place for Lamps and Gerrard in the same team. But more than anything, Gerrard has been in poor form this season. Milner's work ethic on the other hand is outstanding, second only to Rooney. I think with the two of them on the same field England could really get something going in South Africa. I also believe Hart has had an absolutely fantastic season on loan at Birmingham and was more or less the sole reason for their successful league campaign. Consequently he should be rewarded for this. Whilst he may be inexperienced, based on form alone he deserves a shot at being England's number one. James is too flaky, and whilst Green is a good shot-stopper, I think Hart is the better all-round keeper. I'm still unsure whether Lennon should start on the bench and be brought on as an impact player when the opposition's legs start to tire, but given Young having not made it, and my lack of confidence in Wright-Phillips, I give him the nod. Joe Cole, whilst having had a torrid time this season, actually looked pretty good for England in the friendlies and added a whole new dynamic to the Japan game when England were struggling for ideas.
Well, that's my take on today's proceedings. All that remains is to once more get swept up in the Sun's illusions of grandeur and amusing headlines about how we're going to repeat '66, only to ultimately be disappointed in a penalty shoot-out against the Germans. ENG-ER-LAND!
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