have to say dependant on the result in israel the starting side oculd go either way, first let me say if it means we are out then i think McClaren should do the right thing and stand down himself as england coach and save him the embarrasment of the sack and the media aggresion, but if we go into the game needing to win then this would be my side. I would just go for the win, especially if Russia draw, because then all they have to do is get a point away at Israel they will need one point to qualify against Andora. It is not worth us going out onto the pitch adn playing for a draw, or stealing a goal and holidng on, it is too risky, knowing that a point will see Russia through. I would go for this : Carson Richards Campbell Brown Hargreaves Beckham Gerrard Lampard J.Cole Owen Crouch I would go with three centre backs at the back, keep us realtively safe, we are going to dominate pocession so it should not be a major problem. In front of them is Hargreaves, just screen the back four and break up any small counter attacks that croatia may form. Beckham has experince and in a game like this we may just need a quality set piece to get us a goal whether that be a cross or shot. Gerrard and Lampard should both start both in relatively good form and can get goals, J.Cole again a goal threat and can win free kicks with his trickery, that beckham can exploit. Owen and Crouch upfront, crouch will feed owen, and with Beck's whipping in crosses you would like to think that Owen and Crouch would like to be on the end of those balls coming in. I dont want to hear about people saying defensivle ywe would be weak, three centre backs, plus a holder against a side that will only counter attack. Also now is not the time to be building for next summers tournament - Beckham might not play in it i agree but right now we need him, as we doo lampard and gerrard in the middle together. I dare say in the summer we may drop one or even two of them and bring back Barry but for a game - THAT WE MIGHT HAVE TO WIN, then we need our very best attacking options, and if it is not working after 60 mins, bring on SWP instead of Joe Cole, push Richards upfront and cause problems, bring off hargreaves with ten minutes to go if a draw wont be good enough and throw on bentley or defoe. but that is what i would go for right this minute. I fully expect us to be out anyway, because the russian players are too proud to let their country down, it would not suprise me in the slightest if come the night of the match they have beat Israel 2 or 3 o. Hopefully we will go to wembley needing that win and playing an attacking lineup we should get it.
Picking a back 3 against Croatia is suicide ,as was proved in Zagreb. especially a back 3 containing wes brown and an out of position Richards. Keep taking the pills. if everyone was fit i would go with ...owen.....heskey ......rooney barry....hargreaves.....cole cole...rio....terry.....richards... ......robbo
Firstly everyone is not fit, so i am looking at the side he can play ann secondly even if they were fit and you played that, we would most certainly lose. Croatia wont pose a obviuos offensice threat at Wembley - like that we say in Zagreb. Second - Hargreaves would almost make a back four, and the midfeild and strikers would score. Looking at your lineup, good defensively, not many goals from there which is ok, but midfield, where in the CM looking to get up and help the the front three, all three BARRY< HARGREAVES AND COLE are hardly known for their goal scoring prowress, and rooney owen and heskey would be starved of service upfront, which would mean rooney dropping back to get invovled, getting frustrated and being sent off and causing us more problems . YOUR SIDE IS BELOW : owen.....heskey ......rooney barry....hargreaves.....cole cole...rio....terry.....richards... ......robbo Not attacking enough for a possibe MUST WIN match, BUT WHY LENNON IS NOT IN THE SQUAD I DONT KNOW, and also with the loss of Rooney why is Walcott not in the squad either. it would have been nice to have him instead of Defoe or Smith, this is a game we do not want to give Croataio any chance and he would give free kicks away and not provide a scoring threat of Walcott.
Did you not see the disaster that was the last time McSven tried to change up the formation to a 3-5-2 in Croatia? It was a total disaster. We can get the job done with a 4-4-2, the key is the personnel that McSven puts out on the pitch. If Israel end up helping us out against Russia, then we can get the job done. I think the fire and aggression will instantly be shown in the side, because of the implications from winning against Croatia. It will be an extremely focused group of players on the field for England if Israel gift us a chance.
The team picks itself with whats at stake.. ---------------Robinson------------------ Richards------Campbell-----Lescott------Ash SWP------Gerrard-------Barry-----J.C. -------------Crouch---Owen--------- My defensive lineup could be changed to one that would have Brown inserted at right back, Richards and Campbell in the middle, and Ash remaining on the left. I don't know which would be the safer play, Lescott in the lineup I have shown, or Brown in the variant lineup I illustrated below it..Also, I could see either Hargreaves or Barry getting the nod in midfield, even though Barry has been impressive.
I still really think in a match where we need to win, a game that gets nervous and edgy say by 60 minutes, may just need a bit of experince and a bit of dead ball speciality, i think beckham has too start, lets say he doesn't we get a free kick 25 yards out just off the "d" , gerrard blasts it over, we get a few more beofre 60 minutes, and we waste them all, then Becks comes on we dont get one, if he was on we could get that vital goal froma brilliant delivery, we need him to start. and as for ashley cole has he played alot of football since his injury, i havent been paying that much attention to the money grabbing idiot.
What's concerning about Becks is that he is coming off an injury, and has not been playing much, so I am not sure about his form. I never underestimate his passion and desire that he brings to the team..
Of course you need to win (there should be no "if" in the thread title) against Croatia or else you'll find yourselves in the second pot for the 2010 WC qualifying draw.
as i have said numerous times ,i will take missing 2008 if it means getting rid of McSven and getting a decent coach. But I sure as hell wont like to miss 2008 AND still keep the hapless ginger clown.
seems all too likely Well someone has to kick off the ridiculous central midfielder debate The one who is on best form in the League is also the one who hit the key and winning goals in getting to Euro 2004 and to the World Cup, as well as being the most likely player to deflect goals in off his foot, should start, hence Lampard. I'd put him with Barry.
So, the one who missed 100 sitters in the World Cup when it mattered the most, you want to start, and ruin the strides Barry and Gerrard have made together, something which hasn't happened often with lampard together with Gerrard? How could you possibly have that gel with lampard and barry at the moment?
Barry has to stay. he has played well as a link man in midfield.. i would play a midfield diamond against croatia with rooney in the hole. both lampard and gerrard on the bench
McSven would still have a job if Gerrard could have hit a six yarder agaginst Russia. It was not like Gerrard or anyone else covered themselves in glory at the World Cup and at least Lamp had the balls to take shots and put them on target. Lampard is on far better League form, with his injury rest he has come back fresher and on his best form in a good while where as Gerrard has been off his best form this season Barry looked good the last few but Gerrard certainly has not, especially against Russia. And it was not Gerrard but Lampard that hit most of the key goals to get England into the last 2 tournaments. Gerrard Barry got some good results at home against mostly not all that impressive sides but Gerrard was not very impressive personally though Barry was and that combo fell flat in the last key match that mattered and Gerrard had one of his worst matches ever. The team will need to keep some possession and score goals against Croatia, Lampard is better at both those aspects than the marauding Gerrard. Barry stays on recent England form so Gerrard sits unless you go with a diamond and then it is Hargreaves I think over Gerrard with J Cole at the front of it
Rooney is out injured, my diamond would be Hargreaves at the back with Barry and Lampard and J. Cole up front.
The team will also need to be strong defensively to handle an attack minded Croatia team. The central defence is already weakened with the question of who will partner Campbell. Lampard lacks the hustle on defence for my taste to get the job done defensively in helping out. It has to be Gerrard.
i said about the diamond before barry isnt good enough defensively to hold in a 4 4 2 internationally we have the players to play a diamond and rooney would benefit being deeper
Here's the lineup I'd use: --------------------------James---------------------- Richards----Campbell------Lescott-----A. Cole ----------------Gerrard--------Barry--------------- SWP------------------Lampard-------------J.Cole --------------------------Owen---------------------- A few points: Even though I would pick James in goal, to be honest I highly doubt McClaren's not going to stick with Robinson. I think the best choice of formation, considering the wealth of central midfielders and lack of strikers available, is some sort of 4-5-1/4-3-3 with Owen up top. However, if I had to play two up top and pick another striker to partner with Owen it would be Crouch, seeing as how Smith just isn't very good and Defoe, while I rate him pretty highly, hasn't shown enough this season to warrant a start. With all the talk about picking players because of their current form and not their reputations its ridiculous that people want to bench one of Gerrard or Barry to make room for Hargreaves. IMO Hargreaves really hasn't performed all that well in the handful of games he's played thus far this season, and while that's perfectly understandable considering he's coming off an injury, based on current form I see no reason to play him in place of Gerrard, who's played very well the last few games since struggling with his broken toe and is undoubtedly a better overall footballer than Hargreaves, or Barry, though I think dropping Barry for Hargreaves would be much less of a travesty than dropping Gerrard. Also, if we're picking players based on current form and picking one of Lampard or Hargreaves to play with both Gerrard and Barry, I really don't think you can justify picking Hargreaves over Lampard. Yes Hargreaves and Lampard play very different positions/roles, but if Gerrard and Barry can defend well enough to be a viable central midfield duo then surely you can afford to play Lampard along with them instead of Hargreaves and not be too exposed defensively, especially considering England must win to qualify and will therefore be basically chasing the game from the first minute on. The most difficult decision for me is whether to play Lescott or Brown in the center of defense alongside Campbell. On the one hand, Brown's played mostly at fullback this year while Lescott's played mostly at center back so Lescott seems like the right pick. On the other hand I think Brown's a better defender overall and has more experience, so Brown seems like the right pick. However, the tiebreaker for me is the goal scoring ability Lescott has shown this season, so Lescott is the choice.
i weould like to see a 4-3-3 or diamond if you like with any personel as it is attacking and will give us the best chance. It allows us to be solid at the back and fit in danger men, Gerrard, Lampard, Owen, ----------Carson Richards Lescott Campbell Cole --------Hargreaves-------- ---Gerrard-----Lampard ----------Cole ----Crouch---Owen That it attacking and solid fits in the players that count and will dominate, Idealy i would like to see an attackin trio of Ashton Rooney D.Bent full of power and would intimidate (ofcourse thats fantasy and is one for the euros should we get there) If i was manager i would go mental and pick the youth and form players Carson Richards Lescott Brown Bridge Bentley Barry Lampard Lennon A.Young D.Bent
If we don't qualify, do you think we should change the badge from 'three lions' to 'three kitties'? Hear them mewl
I've got a better idea. If come the Croatia match we have no chance of qualification, I say we forfeit the game, and instead turn Wembley into a gladitorial arena. We then push McClaren into the middle of the park stripped down to his underpants and armed with his notebook and pen. At which time we release 3 real lions onto the field and enjoy the action.