Drop the Liverpool duo for the next friendly?

[n00bie deluxe]

Neither Heskey nor Owen have been finding goals, period.

Let's put Beattie and Rooney up front and see what happens. Australia shouldn't be too tough and it looks like England can experiment with this game. If they do like crap, we can just go back to the way things were for the match that really counts, the one with Turkey.

[lanman]

It's a friendly, so the result is really of no importance - more a chance to see new players. What would be nice is to see Sven experiment with 6 or 7 new and fringe players (such as Beattie, Rooney, Joe Cole, Robinson, Kirkland etc) and not make 11 substitutions. Limit them to 3 or 4 to keep the game sensible.

[Motterman]

Heskey dip in form? How could you tell?

[n00bie deluxe]

Originally posted by Motterman
Heskey dip in form? How could you tell?

That's harsh... yet funny.

[sinner78]

Originally posted by lanman
It's a friendly, so the result is really of no importance - more a chance to see new players. What would be nice is to see Sven experiment with 6 or 7 new and fringe players (such as Beattie, Rooney, Joe Cole, Robinson, Kirkland etc) and not make 11 substitutions. Limit them to 3 or 4 to keep the game sensible.

mass substitutions would turn the game into a farce. Eriksson made the same mistakes in the World cup build up game's...
Lets hope he tries out the youngsters and ditches the likes of seaman .

[Prenn]

Out:

Seaman
Martyn
Heskey
Vassell


In:

Wright
Robinson
Rooney
Beattie

[Matt Clark]

Please do not select Kirkland, Owen, Muphy or Gerrard either.

England Schmengland.

[Prenn]

Originally posted by Matt Clark
Please do not select Kirkland, Owen, Muphy or Gerrard either.

England Schmengland.

Spoil sport :p

Are these your toys next to your pram Mr Clark? ;)

[roarksown1]

Rooney will not be playing. Moyes insisted on it and the FA gave in...

[Bizzo]

Originally posted by roarksown1
Rooney will not be playing. Moyes insisted on it and the FA gave in...

This was in regard to U-20 World Championships in May that would have forced him to miss games. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=254925&cc=5739

I think Rooney should play at least once for U-21s or establish himself in Everton's starting 11 before he gets capped.

All the Liverpool boys will pull their hamstrings before the England game.

Drop Seaman. Give Dyer, Cole, Alan Smith and maybe Beattie at least 45 minutes.

[Matt Clark]

Originally posted by Prenn
Spoil sport :p

Are these your toys next to your pram Mr Clark? ;)

No, seriously. England can ******** off. Friendlies are shit in any case and they always borrow our lads and then give them back broken.

England is not important.

[sinner78]

Only important if you're an actual England fan...

[Matt Clark]

Well exactly. Me, I don't suffer from that unfortunate affliction and, as such, don't give a shit. Not until some meaningful game comes along, in any case. Friendlies against Australia? ******** off.

[Prenn]

I know you views on the England team mate, I tend to dance around them and avoid bring the subject up, but this time I just had to :p I like to be an aggravating ************ ;)

[Matt Clark]

Fair enough. I just think we should retain some perspective - major championship? Cool - break out the St George flags. Pissy little "let's have an international for the sake of it, or FIFA will cry"?

Not interested. I think they should be restricted to youth internationals only. Anyone playing regularly for their club should not have to go near the international game until the qualifiers for a tournament and/or the tournament itself. All that "getting to know the players" hokum is a complete red herring. The three days an England squad spends together before some pointless friendly does nothing in that respect. The only thing it does do is further tire the players out, to the detriment of the clubs that pay their wages and the game that is the actual, indisputable fulcrum of football.

[sinner78]

********...what happened to all those claims of travelling abroad to follow england??
Must have been a load of porkies.

[Matt Clark]

"All those claims" relate to two incidences - once when I travelled abroad from here in the Uk and once when I was already abroad and they came to play in Germany.

Hardly means I am a beer-bellied, tattooed, subnormally intelligent, ********wi ... erm, "England fan".

[sinner78]

If you dont support the team than there is no point travelling is there??

as for the last point...
I've never been someone to tar everyone with the same brush.
I hear that evertonians call liverpool fans "murdering scum"... summat to do with heysel.
Some even suggest that liverpool fans are connected with thieving and bad fashion sense..
now thats unfair aint it???

[Matt Clark]

Not really, no. I write to you from a PC I stole from Dixon's on the way to work this morning. Could barely get it into me motor - almost had to scan about for a bigger one, know what I mean?

And that security guard didn't look too clever once I'd knifed him in the gut on the way out of the store. Reckon I might need to be ordering some flowers soon.

[kenodoki]

Unless you didn't notice, teams that do well in major competitions play near full strength squads in 'useless friendlies' and spend some time together. Brazil forced Wenger to release Gilberto to fly half way around the world. South Korea suspeneded their league in order to have a proper get together before the World Cup. The problem with the England team is that they don't gel. Oportunities like this are perfect even if it means some stay on the bench and others only play 45mins.

It gives us room to make mistakes. Mistakes we can't afford to make in qualifiers. Anyway, Gerrard and Owen are the only Liverpool boys good enough to be chosen. Murphy and Heskey can stay at home. There is too much talent elsewhere for Sven to waste his time on them (Kirkland's good but he is out for the season anyway).

And Owen and Gerrard should play cos I feel they need the confidence. Especially Owen.