England World Cup Squad Announced
Sven-Goran Eriksson announced his team for the World Cup today. There were some head scratchers. Theo Walcott of Arsenal and Aaron Lennon of Tottenham were the two biggest surprises. Never heard of them? Neither have I. I've got no excuse for Lennon, who apparently has had a nice run in Tottenham's midfield this year. But Walcott hasn't played a game in the Premiership since he moved to Arsenal in January. What the devil?
Here's Sven on how he made pick:
"Probably not too logically, sometimes you do it on feelings as well and I am excited about Theo Walcott."
What in the world? Sounds like he decided, since he's stepping down from England after the Cup, to throw caution to the wind and make some zany selections. Even more shocking is the news that Sven has never seen Walcott play in person, only on videotape, and has never talked to the 17-year old.
But he'll just be along for the ride, you're thinking, right? England have plenty of strikers, right? Welllll...let's break down the England forwards, as they are right now:
Rooney - Injured and probably out until the second round.
Owen - Great striker, but lacks the pace, dribbling, and strength of Rooney. Coming off an injury that saw him play only one match in 2006.
Peter Crouch - Freakishly tall and gangly heading expert with no foot skills. Get the ball to him in the air, and he can do things with it. Otherwise, he's terrible.
Walcott - Probably not as good as Wayne Rooney was at his age.
Scary stuff. As Fyall pointed out to me today, why take Walcott when you know Jermaine Defoe can give you the speed and dribbling that you think Walcott might be able to bring. Andy Johnson (with Defoe, the two strikers on Sven's standby list) is another safer more experienced pick that I would have preferred. Or Darren Bent. Walcott??
Of course, I'm still in love with the England midfield. Check it out, with the rest of my England starters (with Rooney switching with Crouch when he's healthy)...
Goalie: Paul Robinson
Defenders: Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Gary Neville
Midfielders: Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, Joe Cole (with Beckham probably the worst of the 3 at this point!!!!!!)
Forwards: Owen and Crouch
Actually, screw it. Take out Crouch and play Owen Hargreaves as a fifth midfielder. I hate Crouch.
While we're at it, take Lennon off the team for good ol' Ledley King (not selected because of injury concerns) and play him as a holding midfielder.
This is going to be a disaster for England, isn't it? They're going to get shocked out in their round robin group. You can feel it coming. Ugh.
Here's Sven on how he made pick:
"Probably not too logically, sometimes you do it on feelings as well and I am excited about Theo Walcott."
What in the world? Sounds like he decided, since he's stepping down from England after the Cup, to throw caution to the wind and make some zany selections. Even more shocking is the news that Sven has never seen Walcott play in person, only on videotape, and has never talked to the 17-year old.
But he'll just be along for the ride, you're thinking, right? England have plenty of strikers, right? Welllll...let's break down the England forwards, as they are right now:
Rooney - Injured and probably out until the second round.
Owen - Great striker, but lacks the pace, dribbling, and strength of Rooney. Coming off an injury that saw him play only one match in 2006.
Peter Crouch - Freakishly tall and gangly heading expert with no foot skills. Get the ball to him in the air, and he can do things with it. Otherwise, he's terrible.
Walcott - Probably not as good as Wayne Rooney was at his age.
Scary stuff. As Fyall pointed out to me today, why take Walcott when you know Jermaine Defoe can give you the speed and dribbling that you think Walcott might be able to bring. Andy Johnson (with Defoe, the two strikers on Sven's standby list) is another safer more experienced pick that I would have preferred. Or Darren Bent. Walcott??
Of course, I'm still in love with the England midfield. Check it out, with the rest of my England starters (with Rooney switching with Crouch when he's healthy)...
Goalie: Paul Robinson
Defenders: Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Gary Neville
Midfielders: Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, Joe Cole (with Beckham probably the worst of the 3 at this point!!!!!!)
Forwards: Owen and Crouch
Actually, screw it. Take out Crouch and play Owen Hargreaves as a fifth midfielder. I hate Crouch.
While we're at it, take Lennon off the team for good ol' Ledley King (not selected because of injury concerns) and play him as a holding midfielder.
This is going to be a disaster for England, isn't it? They're going to get shocked out in their round robin group. You can feel it coming. Ugh.
posted by Prof. A at 9:00 PM
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