Poland Ukraine 2012

[leics_saddler]

Well qualifying starts soon. This list is taken from the list of recent squads and qualifying call ups.

In my capacity as arch exponent of hair colour and cat glasses, I've already disposed of the following (ages as in two years time):

Green - oh yes, we'll need a 32yo fumbler.
Robinson - ditto
James - 41!

Terry - 31 and can't defend or follow any sort of system, keep his gob or his flies shut. Thanks John, bye!
Warnock - 30 and 1 cap - enough said
Upson - 33, there are better and younger options
Carragher - 34, thanks for providing cover
King - 31 and still won't have played a full season
Woodgate - ditto
Brown - 32 and still doesn't get any better
Lescott - 29 and ditto.

Lampard - 34, bad luck about the goal, thanks bye!
J Cole - 30 and still won't have played a full season
Barry - 31 and past it
Wright-Phillips - 30 still thinks he's 15.
Carrick - 30, I don't care if thinks he can fill in at centre back, he isn't up to it
Beckham - 97 and it really is time to say farewell to Thick and Thin.
Jenas - 29 and still rubbish.
Parker - 31 and still not fit ever.

Heskey - we'll really need a 34yo who can't score - he's been great but it's over.
Owen - (forever young) 1998 is really a long time ago now.

So curiously we're left with the following:

Hart - the great white hope - there could be about 150 caps for him if he plays well from now on.
Foster - in the absence any better back up of the right age
Kirkland - will he ever be fit?
???????? - there's a vacancy for someone here, Loach??

G Johnson - only plays in the absence of anything better
Hargreaves - would play instead of Johnson if he was ever fit.
A Cole - has no competition and will play until he dies of syphillis at 45.
Dawson - only centre back of the correct age at 2010 WC
Ferdinand - will now become the senior centre back if he can stay fit.
Baines / Shorey / ?????? - I'd go for the question mark to be honest, might end up being Bertrand yet or Rose
Shawcross / Cahill / Smalling
Richards - the forgotten man of english football it appears, about to return fit from the wilderness I feel.
Gibbs - Will probably end up being Cole's successor.

Gerrard - will be the senior midfielder but only if he's fit and Liverpool is rebuilt around him / he leaves for the continent.
Lennon
Milner
Downing / Young - I'd like to see Young to be honest.
Huddlestone
A Johnson
Walcott
Rodwell
Cattermole / Moses / Gosling / M Johnson

Rooney - a gobshite, but did he get booked in the 2010 WC?
Crouch - only by virtue of his uniqueness and outstanding scoring record
Defoe
C Cole - at last a younger Heskey
Bent - as long as he promises not to be Andrew Cole
Agbonlahor
Carroll / Sturrdige / Delfuonso / Welbeck / Ranger

We've got an excess of old tat who are past it and a dearth of young players who promise a little bit. Capello now has a hell of a job, if he's really going to overhaul the squad that much. There's 43 players that I've mentioned and he'll want to hang on to more beloved old tat yet, I'm sure.

Thoughts?

[chestersaddler]

And the same will happen

Englan will qualify from a group containing pub teams (e.g. Wales :D ), will be installed as the bookies favourite and will lose to the first decent team we encounter in the final stages.

Having read that list, I will probably be happy with that outcome.

[derbysaddler]

Time to clear the decks in all honesty. I'd rather we play young newer lads for qualification and see how they develop rather than stick to the same old tired names. Plenty of them have had numerous chances to succeed and it hasn't worked.

[latviancheese]

If we had a manager with the bollocks to to do just that i might be more confident.

I still think all the same old past it names will be in the squad.

God knows who is going to be in goal if Joe Hart turns out to be a one season wonder.

[Duke]

We'll qualify with ease ,then flop yet again

[tinned]

If the bulk of the squad for these qualifiers contains mainly the same old failures (Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, Upson etc etc) then I think I may just give up on England forever. It's time a manager grew some balls and stopped letting the gutter press (and Talkshite) pick his squad for him.

[leics_saddler]

Do you think France or Italy are going to resist the opportunity to clear the decks?
In the late 80s / early 90s France didn't even get to the World Cup, having been turned over at home by Bulgaria amongst others.
By 1998, they'd won the whole thing.

We'd better hope that Hart plays well in goal as George Willis is still only 14.

[King Monkey]

The big problem with Joe Hart is he is going to sit on the bench for City.

[leics_saddler]

Great news, his biggest injury concerns will be bench sores and splinters.