England vs Holland: February 29th, Wembley Stadium

Hart
Richards Jones Smalling Baines
Parker Clevs
Sturridge Rooney Johnson
Welbeck
Please Pearce, stop me raging and play that team.​


That is the team I want to see, Gerrard for Rooney second half, for fitness and for how we might line up first two games
 
Hart
Richards Jones Smalling Baines
Parker Clevs
Sturridge Rooney Johnson
Welbeck
Please Pearce, stop me raging and play that team.​

Really? Cleverley alongside Parkey? I think we'd be ripped apart..gess it's only a friendly though. :/

Replace him with Gerrard and that's the starting line-up I'd love to see in Euro's.
 
Really? Cleverley alongside Parkey? I think we'd be ripped apart..gess it's only a friendly though. :/

Replace him with Gerrard and that's the starting line-up I'd love to see in Euro's.

Cleverley as has actually been pretty solid in the games he has played in a tandem midfield for United, and thats with him still having a lot to learn.


Positionally, Gerrard isnt hugely better defensively either. AMC or bust. If you are worried about defensive stability then you pick Barry or Carrick along side Parker
 
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Hart
Richards Jones Smalling Baines
Parker Clevs
Sturridge Rooney Johnson
Welbeck
Please Pearce, stop me raging and play that team.​

Got a feeling he will play Barry instead of Cleverly.
 
lol, even after playing so well Carrick was not called up. Players who haven't even played many games because of injury are in the squad.

Downing? Ox would have been better choice for now and for future.
 
Cleverley as has actually been pretty solid in the games he has played in a tandem midfield for United, and thats with him still having a lot to learn.


Positionally, Gerrard isnt hugely better defensively either. AMC or bust. If you are worried about defensive stability then you pick Barry or Carrick along side Parker

I rate Cleverley I'm not sure that playing him against big teams is a good idea.. I wouldn't mind Carrick alongside Parker though, shame really. Carrick > Barry.

I know Gerrard isn't a lot better defensively, I would just feel a lot safer with him on the pitch. :p
 
I rate Cleverley I'm not sure that playing him against big teams is a good idea.. I wouldn't mind Carrick alongside Parker though, shame really. Carrick > Barry.

I know Gerrard isn't a lot better defensively, I would just feel a lot safer with him on the pitch. :p

Its a big game for Cleverley, but its the only way he can learn, win or lose.

For me, Gerrard is the only player who can cover/compete with Rooney at AMC, i think we lose too much if we play him at MC. Agree about Carrick. Carrick and Parker, shielding Gerrard, pearheaded by Rooney
 
Hart
Richards Jones Smalling Baines
Parker Clevs
Sturridge Rooney Johnson
Welbeck
Please Pearce, stop me raging and play that team.​

I go with this, but with Young on the left and Johnson on the right to be switched with Sturridge at HT. It's a fine line between wanting to give the younger/ in form players some time, and not wanting to get battered by the Netherlands. (Although I'm not sure how strong their side will be)

Anyway, I'm going to this and it will be the first- and last for a quite a while- time I've been to the new Wembley, so it better be a good game.
 
Still can't see why Campbell is picked. Barely back from injury, hasn't been exactly world-beating. I can think of so many players that should be in the squad that aren't
 
Campbell comes as a shock as he's been back for less than a month, surely there are other players who have been good for most of this season who'd warrant a call-up?

On the keepers, of course it's just a friendly and if all goes well for you guys you wouldn't have to worry about any keeper other than Hart, but IMO Forster should be in ahead of Carson. That said, it's a young-ish team and it looks good too.
 
that team against?:
Persie​

Elia Sneijder Robben

Van Bommel Strootman

Drenthe Mathijssen Heitinga V/D Wiel​
 
Really? Cleverley alongside Parkey? I think we'd be ripped apart..gess it's only a friendly though. :/

Replace him with Gerrard and that's the starting line-up I'd love to see in Euro's.

Cleverley is improving positionally, which is the most important thing for a double pivot. Moreover, although he's a slightly worse player defensively than Gerrard, he's much more suited to his position. Gerrard, wonderful player though he is, fails to impress me when he plays deep because he's always thinking like the trequartista he is, hence why I'd start the intelligent, short-passing Clevs.

Got a feeling he will play Barry instead of Cleverly.

Me too. Still, Barry's not been too bad recently. Perhaps Pearce will try Cleverley as he knows him well from the U21s.

I go with this, but with Young on the left and Johnson on the right to be switched with Sturridge at HT. It's a fine line between wanting to give the younger/ in form players some time, and not wanting to get battered by the Netherlands. (Although I'm not sure how strong their side will be)

Fair point. We have **** all choice on the wings, nobody apart from Sturridge (who isn't exactly a winger) is actually in form at the moment. Hence why I'm annoyed the Ox, Gabby and perhaps even Lennon weren't called up.

True. Heaven help us if hart gets injured before euros:(

Don't even go there.
 
that team against?:
Persie​

Elia Sneijder Robben

Van Bommel Strootman

Drenthe Mathijssen Heitinga V/D Wiel​

Good shout. That's definitely a team we can get at. Drenthe is out of place at left-back, and Elia, for all his pace and trickery, often looks short of ideas when he comes up against a powerful, quick right-back like the ones we have. Robben is up against the left-back position in which we are strong, and isn't exactly a hard worker, so we'll have space for Baines or Cole to break forward. Parker and Barry will have fewer problems against Sneijder, someone who relies on positioning and vision rather than pace or trickery, than against an atypical 10. We can't really legislate against a forward of Van Persie's immense talent, so we'll have to hope that our inexperienced back line can cope with him, but he's easily their biggest threat. Finally, though I rate Heitinga extremely highly, neither him nor Mathijsen (the latter in particular) are pace merchants, and both are relatively classical defenders. As such, Welbeck can threaten them with pace in behind, and Van Bommel and Strootman will have to be very wary with both Rooney and Welbeck dropping into their pace. If Pearce is brave and plays Cleverley ahead of Barry, we can outnumber them in midfield, as Sneijder won't track back too much to mark Clevs' breaks forward from deep.
 
that team against?:
Persie​

Elia Sneijder Robben

Van Bommel Strootman

Drenthe Mathijssen Heitinga V/D Wiel​

Very attack-minded line up. Drenthe will go forward as much as he can, as will VDWiel. Strootman I haven't seen much of TBH, but there are certainly open areas England can exploit, at the same time the pace Elia and Robben provide out wide, the fullbacks will need to be on their game. In counter to that, I would go with

Welbeck
Sturridge Rooney A. Johnson
Gerrard Parker
Walker Jones Smalling Richards

I think you need two defensively adept players in the centre to counter the clear threat from Sneijder and co.​
 
This made me laugh a little on SkySports site...

Well four right backs and one CB thats a very balanced squad NOT, and why the **** has Campbell got a call up over Danny Graham never mind Carroll, Graham scores goals, holds the ball up well and is technically a very good player, i hope Harry gets the job then we wont have to put up with Bent, all he does is score goals, he can barely trap a bag of cement or pass water nevermind the ball and the goals have dried up recently, For GK ruddy at Norwich is surely a better pick than Green, and form clearly goes out of the window because walcott has been poor since christmas and the OX has been on fire.

The bolded is probably the worst defence of your argument to why a striker shouldn't be picked.
 
Good shout. That's definitely a team we can get at. Drenthe is out of place at left-back, and Elia, for all his pace and trickery, often looks short of ideas when he comes up against a powerful, quick right-back like the ones we have. Robben is up against the left-back position in which we are strong, and isn't exactly a hard worker, so we'll have space for Baines or Cole to break forward. Parker and Barry will have fewer problems against Sneijder, someone who relies on positioning and vision rather than pace or trickery, than against an atypical 10. We can't really legislate against a forward of Van Persie's immense talent, so we'll have to hope that our inexperienced back line can cope with him, but he's easily their biggest threat. Finally, though I rate Heitinga extremely highly, neither him nor Mathijsen (the latter in particular) are pace merchants, and both are relatively classical defenders. As such, Welbeck can threaten them with pace in behind, and Van Bommel and Strootman will have to be very wary with both Rooney and Welbeck dropping into their pace. If Pearce is brave and plays Cleverley ahead of Barry, we can outnumber them in midfield, as Sneijder won't track back too much to mark Clevs' breaks forward from deep.


If holland manages to control the game i think Englands WBs have to be real aware of robben and elia they can break the whole defence with one single dribble/move.
Holland is known by there defensive pressure so i think Englands midfield are getting it hard tho.
And there are rumours Van der Vaart will replace Strootman, if that happens he adds a lot more combination onto Hollands Midfield.

To be honest, i am a Dutchman and the only one who is feared in Englands team are Gerrard, Rooney and Hart ofcourse :D
 
Ow and ofcourse, you guys dont have to fear V Persie, when he plays for holland, he sucks :p
You can fear Huntelaar more when he comes on the pitch
 
If holland manages to control the game i think Englands WBs have to be real aware of robben and elia they can break the whole defence with one single dribble/move.
Holland is known by there defensive pressure so i think Englands midfield are getting it hard tho.
And there are rumours Van der Vaart will replace Strootman, if that happens he adds a lot more combination onto Hollands Midfield.

To be honest, i am a Dutchman and the only one who is feared in Englands team are Gerrard, Rooney and Hart ofcourse :D

I really like Elia, and Robben's class is well known, but they're definitely up against players we can trust, assuming Richards and Cole/Baines start. All of our full-backs are lightning (apart from Baines, he's merely pretty quick, but he makes up for it through other means) which will help. If VdV replaces Strootman, it'll give you another dimension in attack, but like Gerrard he thinks like a trequartista and often drifts into Sneijder's space.

Ow and ofcourse, you guys dont have to fear V Persie, when he plays for holland, he sucks :p
You can fear Huntelaar more when he comes on the pitch

We fear Van Persie because we watch the Prem, and we see him for the best striker in the world that he is. Huntelaar rips apart lesser opposition and is the best finisher in the world, but he'd be much more suited to the inexperienced Smalling and Jones than the guile of Van Persie. It's relatively easy to defend against an on-the-shoulder poacher, especially when you have the pace those two do, but against Van Persie, who's lethal from anywhere and can create as well as score?
 
Damned be the Dutch! They named Ola John in their squad. I won't be able to call him up for Liberia on FM now. I had my wings covered with John and Oliseh, bastards.

Also, Drenthe hasn't been caled up as far as I'm aware.
 
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