England

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My thoughts v Finland...

I'm delighted to have won my first match as England manager but it wasn't as comfortable as the report you've just read above made it sound.

Yes, I think we were the better team throughout the game, and we created far more chances than Finland, but we struggled to break them down and create any clear cut chances.

Midway through the first half I was a mightily relieved manager when a Finnish header hit our crossbar and bounced over for a goal kick.

The players struggled to get forward with the 4-1-2-3, although defensively (that one header aside) we looked very solid.

Dele Alli hit the post from about 10 yards out late in the first half and that was that. 0-0 at halftime.

During the break I reminded the players that they were the better team but that I and the English fans expected more from them in the second half.

There was a reaction from the players, which pleased me, but despite taking the game to them more, the Finnish goalkeeper was in inspired form.

Adam Lallana was having a poor game by his standards, so I replaced him with Marcus Rashford on 57 minutes, switching Raheem Sterling to the right so that Rashford could play on the left. Rashford certainly added something and we forced the Finnish goalkeeper to produce more fine saves.

On 71 minutes I made three more substitutions - Kyle Walker for Nathaniel Clyne, Luke Shaw for Leighton Baines, and Jamie Vardy for Eric Dier - sacrificing the DM as we changed to a 4-2-4.

As time started running out I was hollering at the players from the technical error.

After 80 minutes we went from Attacking to Overload and got our reward a minute later when Daniel Sturridge placed a shot from the 'D' of the penalty area into the bottom corner of the net.

Immediately we reverted back to attacking (no need to overload now) and continued to take the game to Finland.

On 89 minutes, Dele Alli burst through midfield, coasted past three players on his way into the box, and blasted a powerful shot hard and high into the roof of the net.

2-0. My England team had won their first match.

Friendly over, next up we open our World Cup Qualifying campaign at home to Lithuania in four days time.
 
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Really enjoying this read, I've never used to job advert but as a LLM I don't think I'd get the same pedigree declaring their interests.
 
Love the fact you're getting England legends as your back room staff as well!
 
looking good so far, I'm also liking the coaching staff you have in place!
 
NathanITFC said:
Really enjoying this read, I've never used to job advert but as a LLM I don't think I'd get the same pedigree declaring their interests.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Nathan. Glad you're enjoying, wasn't sure how the story was being received.

Depending on how I feel, or the type of save I'm doing, I'll use different methods - job advert, staff search, head hunting. I do tend to have a staff shortlist which builds during a save. The advantage of the job advert is you get people apply who will agree contract terms. With the staff search you can usually find better options but you can't always tie them down to an affordable contract and / or the actual role you want. I often have trouble getting someone off the staff search to accept a scout role they often want to be chief scout. I find the job advert most useful for youth staff roles.
 
Press conference

Max Anderson (TEAMtalk): Your team are the big favourites against Lithuania - how do see the game going?

Me: We must not get complacent, but if we do our job properly, I'm confident we can get the desired result.

Simon Morrow (FourFourTwo): Do you think your players will be put under pressure by being labelled the favourites for this match?

Me: We expect to be favourites and I am confident we'll live up to expectations with our performance.

Oliver Schweizer (ESPN): How important is it to start your group fixtures with a victory?

Me: It's very important. We want to do well in this competition and starting with a win gives us the opportunity to do that.

Tony Finch (Sunday People): You stripped Wayne Rooney of the captaincy, how is your relationship with Wayne?

Me: I wouldn't say I stripped him of the armband. I discussed it with Wayne and we agreed it was best for the team. He's disappointed, obviously, but our relationship is fine. Wayne's been great with the other lads and his experience is vital for us.
 
Stuartsays said:
England announce starting lineup

Stuart Hughes has picked his starting lineup for the friendly match at home to Finland.

Joe Hart - Nathaniel Clyne, Chris Smalling, John Stones, Leighton Baines - Eric Dier - Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli - Adam Lallana, Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling.
Click to expand...

I've opted to go with an unchanged team for our opening World Cup Qualifier against Lithuania, playing 4-1-2-3 again. I did consider making the odd change but still think that right now this is my strongest starting 11. The players weren't great against Finland, prior to the change to 4-2-4 but I think they will take what they learnt against Finland and step it up against Lithuania.

The one change I seriously considered was bringing Marcus Rashford in for Adam Lallana, however, Marcus is still quite young so I opted for Adam's greater experience.
 
England (0) 2-0 (0) Lithuania
Butkus own goal (56)
Baines pen (88)

Shots: England 24, Lithuania 2
On target: England 8, Lithuania 2
Possession: England 55%, Lithuania 45%
Fouls: England 22, Lithuania 18

Comfortable 2-0 win for England

England produced a good display this evening to see off the challenge of Lithuania at Wembley.

Centre-back Lukas Butkus suffered the ignominy of scoring an own goal in the 56th minute.

Leighton Baines scored from the spot after Bartkus gave away a penalty for pushing his opponent in the area.

Hart [7,2], Clyne [7.9], Smalling [6.8], Stones [7.3], Baines [8.1], Disr [7.1], Henderson [6.8], Alli [6.8] (Rooney [6.7], 72), Lallana [6.6] (Rashford [6.7], 60), Sterling [6.8] inj (Redmond [6.6], 69), Sturridge [6.8].
 
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My thoughts v Lithuania...

I was a lot happier with this performance than I was against Finland. We kept the ball better, passed it more effectively, dominated possession, and created lots of chances.

The first half was all us, it was just a shame we hadn't got our shooting boots on as we struggled to get our efforts on target and didn't really trouble the goalkeeper.

At halftime I told the players to keep doing what they were doing, show more composure, and the result would come.

We restarted brightly but, pushing forward, we left ourselves wide open at the back on 48 minutes for our only scare of the game. A long punt down the middle saw Lukas Spalvis break clear and he was one-on-one with our goalkeeper. Joe Hart dashed out, made himself big, and blocked the shot.

On Rio Ferdinand's advice we made some defensive adjustments after that and were defensively solid for the rest of the game.

Going forward I'd told our fullbacks to attack more, rather than support, and we looked much better. Suddenly our attempts were on target as we worked their goalkeeper.

Our goal on 56 minutes wasn't as fortuitous as some have said. Leighton Baines's cross was precision, Daniel Sturridge's volley was a thunderbolt which ricocheted off first Markus Palonias and then Lukas Butkus, before crossing the line, but if the Lithuania defenders hadn't tried to block it Sturridge's shot would've gone in anyway.

We got a late goal again and I'm beginning to see what Arsenal's Arsene Wenger means when he says he didn't see things. I didn't see the infringement for the penalty. I was busy berating Marcus Rashford for an over hit cross when Peter Beardsley pointed out to me that the referee had awarded a penalty for a shove on Daniel Sturridge.

What I did see was the composure with which Leighton Baines cooly dispatched the penalty into the bottom corner of the net.

A very satisfying victory in our first World Cup Qualifier.

It was very satisfying to be able to give Nathan Redmond his first cap. The look on his face when we told him to get ready to go on was priceless.

The only downside was a knock to Dele Alli which forced our hand in substituting him. Fortunately, it looks like only a dead leg and he should only be out a few days.
 
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World Cup European Qualifying Section - Group 6

England 2-0 Lithuania

Sotland 7-0 Malta

Slovakia 2-1 Slovenia

So Scotland, Slovakia and us kick-off with wins. We are second behind Scotland on goal difference.

Next fixtures

England will travel to Malta on Thursday 6th October - other games Lithuania v Slovakia, Slovenia v Scotland.

Then we welcome Slovenia to Wembley on Sunday 9th October - Lithuania v Malta, Slovakia v Scotland.
 
Post-match press conference

Carl Fletcher (Guardian): You must be pleased at getting off to a good start with victory in your opening match?

Me: There will be much tougher tests to come and we'll have to up our game considerably if we're to make good on our positive start here.

Simon Morrow (FourFourTwo): Leighton Baines was in fine form today, wasn't he?

Me: Leighton was simply faultless today.

Debutant determined to stay in England team

Nathan Redmond has thanked Stuart Hughes for handing him his England debut and told of his delight at earning his first cap.

The Southampton right midfielder added that he hoped he could now go back to his club and keep doing well so that Hughes will pick him in his next England squad.
 
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World Rankings Announced

1 Argentina
2 Brazil
3 Belguim
4 Germany
5 Chile
6 Portugal
7 Colombia
8 France
9 Wales
10 Uruguay
11 Italy
12 Spain
13 England

33 Republic of Ireland
34 Northern Ireland

57 Scotland

The most improved nation was Latvia who moved from 110th to 79th.
 
Deeney form deserves England call-up

Troy Deeney's impressive form for Watford should earn him a call-up to the England squad and a potential first cap, according to Sky Sports News.

England manager Stuart Hughes will surely not have failed to be impressed by the performances the 28 year-old striker has been turning in for the Hornets.

Deeney has been an ever present for Watford this season, scoring five goals in six matches at an average rating of 7.08.

Hmmmmn, not sure what to make of Sky Sports News telling me who to pick in my next squad. Oh well, best ring Peter Beardsley and ask him to take a look at Troy Deeney. Must admit though, based on what I've seen on Match of the Day, Deeney has scored some great goals this season.
 
England boss faces selection headache

Stuart Hughes will be faced with a selection headache on 29th September when he comes to select his England squad to face Malta (away) and Slovenia (home).

Harry Kane, Jack Butland, Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young and Danny Ings will definitely miss out through injury while doubts remain over the fitness of Gary Cahill and Carl Jenkinson.

Where do they get these names from? Some of these players aren't in my plans at all.


Injury update
* Harry Kane - hip, 1-3 weeks
* Danny Ings - hamstring, 7-8 weeks
* Danny Welbeck - knee, 3-4 months
* Ashley Young - knee, 3-4 months
* Jack Butland - ankle, 5-6 months
 
Well there's seven days until our next World Cup Qualifier away at Malta and 10 days until the home Qualifier with Slovenia. Time to select my second England squad.

Over the last few weeks I've had my backroom staff scouting the top dozen English players, in my opinion, for each position, plus a few Derby County players like Scott Carson, Will Hughes, Thomas Ince and Darren Bent - not going to rule them out just because they're playing in the Championship.

The problem is though that even though I have all their reports in, it's difficult to make direct comparisons as the overall abilities they have Judging Player Anility (Ab) and Judging Player Potential (Pt) are quite varied.

Let me show you:

Steve Holland - assistant manager, Ab=14, Pt=14

Martyn Margetson - GK coach, Ab=9, Pt=10

Chris Neville - fitness coach, Ab=11, Pt=9

Peter Beardsley - coach, Ab=15, Pt=17

Rio Ferdinand - coach, Ab=8, Pt=8

Mark Robson - coach, Ab=10, Pt=11

So clearly, the opinions I'm going to trust the most are Peter Beardsley and Steve Holland - I guess I'll be keeping them both busy over the next few weeks.
 
So let's look at the squad I selected last time out:

Stuartsays said:
Hughes announces England squad

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, Fraser Forster, Tom Heaton.

Defenders: Nathaniel Clyne, Kyle Walker, Leighton Baines, Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling, John Stones, Phil Jones, Gary Cahill.

Midfielders: Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Ross Barkley.

Attackers: Raheem Sterling, Nathan Redmond, Daniel Sturridge, Wayne Rooney, Jamie Vardy, Theo Walcott, Marcus Rashford.
Click to expand...

We are six games into the EPL season. Arsenal are top on 18 points, Spurs 2nd on 15, Man Utd on 13, Man City 11, West Ham, Chelsea and WBA all have 10. Hull are bottom with 1 point, above them Everton, Southampton and Sunderland all have 4.

Goalkeepers
- Joe Hart's loan was a good decision as he's played 6 matches for Torino, rating 6.93
- Fraser Forster 6 games for Southampton, rating 6.10
- Tom Heaton 6 games for Burnley, rating 7.17

It's difficult with the goalkeepers because Joe Hart is my #1 so unless there's a friendly, or Joe gets injured, the others aren't going to play. This time we have two qualifiers and no friendlies. But it might be worth bringing in a young goalkeeper to gain experience of an International camp.

To be fair though, the EPL managers aren't really helping me with goalkeepers. Guess how many of the 20 English Premier League teams don't have an English goalkeeper as their #1 or #2?

Fifteen, that's right, 15 of the EPL teams don't have an English goalkeeper starting or on the bench. The only teams that do are Burnley, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland and WBA.

In addition to those goalkeepers named in my last squad, there's:
- Nick Pope (Burnley) 0 EPL games, understudy to Tom Heaton
- Alex McCarthy (Southampton) 0 EPL games, understudy to Fraser Forster
- Lee Grant (Stoke City) 5 games, rating 6.58
- Jordan Pickford (Sunderland), 6 games, rating 6.72
- Ben Foster (WBA), 6 games, rating 6.70

So there you go, 20 EPL teams, 40 #1 or #2 goalkeepers, and only seven of them are English. So add in Joe Hart (currently on loan at Torino) and I only have eight English goalkeepers playing top flight football.
 
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Now let's look st the Defenders in my last squad:

Right-back
- Nathaniel Clyne 6 games, rating 7.55
- Kyle Walker 6 games, 6.83

Left-back
- Leighton Baines 5 games, 7.28
- Luke Shaw 6 games, 7.35

Centre-backs
- Chris Smalling 4 games, 6.80
- John Stones 6 games, 7.32
- Phil Jones 1 game, 1 sub, 6.00
- Gary Cahill 0 starts, 3 subs, 6.70 but he has been out injured

The full-backs are doing well, although we'll need to keep an eye on Kyle Walker, but only John Stones has been an ever-present in the EPL at centre-back.

Are there any other defenders doing well in the EPL worth considering?

RBs
- Joel Ward 6 games, 6.77
- Craig Dawson 6 games, 7.33
- Andre Wisdom 9 games, 7.33 for Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Premier Division

LBs
- Ryan Bertrand 6 games, 7.30
- Danny Rose 3 games, 3 subs, 6.90
- George Friend 6 games, 6.90

CBs
- Ben Mee 6 games, 6.92
- Brendan Galloway 5 games, 7.18
- Ryan Shawcross 6 games, 7.03
- Scott Dann 6 games, 7.37
- Michael Keane 4 games, 6.70 currently injured with a twisted knee
- James Tomkins 4 games, 1 sub currently injured with a twisted ankle
- Calum Chambers 5 games, 7.95
 
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Now the Midfielders

- Eric Dier 6 games, 6.78
- Jordan Henderson 6 games, 7.38
- Dele Alli 2 games, 3 subs, 6.53
- Adam Lallana 0 games, 5 subs, 6.47
- Ross Barkley, 6 games, 6.80

I'm surprised by Dele Alli and Adam Lallana's lack of starts for Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool respectively. They both started for me against Finland and Lithuania and I had them down as key players. At least they both should be fresh for Malta and Slovenia.

So who else plays midfield and is doing well in the EPL?

James Milner is playing CM in a 4-1-2-3 Liverpool formation with an average rating of 7.17 but he's retired from international football now and I couldn't talk him out of it.

- Gareth Barry 6 games, 7.30 but Gareth's 35 years old now, 36 in February
- Jack Cork 6 games, 6.78
- Mark Noble 6 games, 7.62
- Tom Huddlestone 3 games, 6.67 - a Derby County youth academy graduate
- Jack Wilshere 5 games, 6.66
- Danny Drinkwater 0 games but has been injured as I was going to consider him for my last squad
- Ryan Mason 6 games, 6.98

I'm starting to wonder if midfield might be England's weakest area???
 
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