England

Finally Attacking players and Strikers

- Raheem Sterling 1 game, 3 subs, 6.65, 0 goals
- Nathan Redmond 5 games, 6.82, 0 goals
- Theo Walcott 0 games, 1 sub, no rating, 0 goals
- Daniel Sturridge 0 games, 3 subs, 6.80, 0 goals
- Wayne Rooney 3 games, 1 sub, 6.20, 0 goals
- Jamie Vardy 6 games, 6.88, 3 goals
- Marcus Rashford - 0 games, 5 subs, 6.80, 1 goal

Not many goals, nor EPL starts amongst the players in my last squad, so who else is there?

- Harry Kane 1 game, 7.80, 1 goal but currently injured and out for 1-3 weeks so he won't be back for Malta and Slovenia.
- Troy Deeney 6 games, 7.08, 5 goals
- Charlie Austin 2 starts, 3 subs, 6.78, 1 goal
- Callum Wilson 6 games, 6.72, 2 goals
- Saido Berahino 6 games, 6.65, 0 goals
- Benik Afobe 6 games, 6.82, 2 goals
- Andre Gray 6 games, 6.55, 1 goal
- Andy Carroll 0 games
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 6 games, 7.36, 2 goals
- Jordan Ibe 4 starts, 1 sub, 6.78, 1 goal
- Nathan Dyer 6 games, 6.58, 1 goal
 
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Where are all the English players?

You know, when you start to really delve into it, there aren't that many English players playing top flight football to choose from.

Particularly when you narrow it down to players playing regularly for their clubs.

This England manager job is looking harder and harder all the time.
 
England stars axed

England manager Stuart Hughes has named his squad for the matches against Malta and Slovenia.

The biggest surprise is the absence of England regulars Wayne Rooney, Theo Walcott and Phil Jones, who have been integral members of the England team in recent times.

Ryan Shawcross comes in for Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces his Arsenal teammate Theo Walcott.

Uncapped Watford striker Troy Deeney is included in the England party and could be given a debut cap by Hughes. The media campaign for manager Stuart Hughes to include Troy Deeney in his plans has been successful with fans and pundits keen to see what Deeney can add to the England squad.

England squad in full

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, Fraser Forster, Tom Heaton.

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

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

Attackers: Raheem Sterling, Nathan Redmond, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain-Chamberlain.

Forwards: Daniel Sturridge, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Troy Deeney.

Does Forster deserve England call?

The English media are raising a few questions about Stuart Hughes's selection of Fraser Forster for England, with the goalkeeper not currently enjoying the best of form for Southampton.

Several respected pundits are calling for Hughes to pick the England squad on merit rather than reputation or past successes.

Forster made his debut for England as long ago as November 2013 but the 28-year old has still only made six appearances for the national side.

Rooney out of England reckoning

Wayne Rooney is the highest profile player to have been excluded by England manager Stuart Hughes from his squad to face Malta and Slovenia.

The Manchester United forward clearly needs to do more to impress Hughes if he is to add to his 116 England caps in the near future.

Rooney has made 116 appearances for England, scoring 53 goals.
 
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My thoughts on the squad selection...

Leaving out Phil Jones was probably the easiest decision I had to make this time round. He was arguably 4th in the pecking order and his one start for Manchester United meant he would have to make way if anybody deserved it more. Ryan Shawcross had been an ever-present for Stoke City and had impressed - we thought it was time to take a closer look at him. We also talked about Burnley's Ben Mee as we don't have a left-footer amongst the current centre-backs and his ability to also play left-back almost swung it, but we opted to stick with Gary Cahill​ who had done reasonably well for Chelsea following his return from a short-term injury.

Theo Walcott is a player I like but his one substitute appearance for Arsenal didn't stack up against the sensational ever present form of his club teammate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Wayne Rooney was a much tougher call. Rooney had featured in four of Manchester United's six games, one as substitute, but his form had been pretty poor. I didn't really want to drop him from the squad because his experience is important with our young squad, but I also wanted to take a look at Troy Deeney, not because the media keep telling me to, but because Deeney has been the standout English striker in the opening six games of the season. In the end, the other forwards deserved to stay in the squad more than Rooney based on current form.

Fraser Forster's form for Southampton has been pretty poor this season and we did consider bringing in Ben Foster or Jordan Pickford but, in the end, we decided it was too soon to drop a player who, on his day, would be the #2 behind Joe Hart, however, we will be looking at Forster's performances for Southampton very closely over the next couple of months.
 
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Players seek assurances on England future

Wayne Rooney was the first player I spoke to. Wayne was disappointed, understandably, that I'd dropped him from the England squad. I could understand that. Before the four old guys in suits gave me the England manager's job, Wayne was England captain. As of this moment he's not even in the squad.

I told Wayne that he wasn't in my thoughts currently due to his poor club firm for Manchester United. I advised him to play well for Manchester United and I'd consider him for future squads.

To be fair to Wayne he took it well, far better than I'd expected, and told me he'd get his head down a do everything he could to get back in my plans.

Not long after speaking to Wayne, I spoke to Theo Walcott next. Like Wayne he was disappointed at being left out of the squad. Theo's situation was different to Wayne's as he'd only made one substitute appearance for Arsenal all season.

I told Theo that I needed him to be playing regular first team football for Arsenal before I could consider picking him for another England squad.

Like Wayne he took it well and promised to work hard at Arsenal and get himself back in my plans.
 
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England starting lineup v Malta

My main concern going into this game was that Eric Dier and Dele Alli were both on a yellow card and if they picked up a second against Malta then they'd be suspended for the Slovenia match. But I hadn't thought it through because I didn't have enough central midfielders to go round so I decided to rest Deli Alli bringing in Ross Barkley.

I also chose to replace Adam Lallana with Marcus Rashford who had impressed when coming on for Lallana in the Finland and Lithuania games.

Team: Joe Hart - Nathaniel Clyne, Chris Smalling, John Stones, Leighton Baines - Eric Dier - Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley - Marcus Rashford, Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling.
 
England (0) 1-1 (0) Malta
Raheem Sterling (49) Dione Sant (53)

Shots: Malta 3, England 17
On target: Malta 1, England 6
Possession: Malta 46%, England 54%
Fouls: Malta 18, England 12

Malta withstand England barrage

England were left deeply frustrated by a plucky Malta outfit who withstood a ninety minute barrage to come away from Ta' Qali with a 1-1 draw.

England finally took the lead when winger Raheem Sterling scored a good finish into the top corner from close range on 49 minutes.

Forward Dione Sant equalised for Malta after 53 minutes with a tidy finish into the bottom left corner from 12 metres.

Joe Hart [6.9], Nathaniel Clyne [6.9], Chris Smalling [7.0], John Stônes [6.8], Leighton Baines [6.8], Eric Dier [6.9] (Troy Deeney [6.6], 49), Jordan Henderson [6.9], Ross Barkley [6.9], Raheem Sterling [7.3], Daniel Sturridge [6.7] (Jamie Vardy [6.7], 74), Marcus Rashford [6.7] inj, (Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain [6.8], 45).
 
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My thoughts v Malta...

Well the result was very disappointing. Scotland put seven past Malta at Hampden Park and we could only score one goal and could only draw against the Maltese minnows.

Once again we dominated possession, created chances, but struggled to seriously threaten the opposition goalkeeper. In three matches now under my reign we have yet to score a goal in the first half.

We lost Marcus Rashford to a bruised rib just before halftime and sent Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on. Marcus will be out for about a week which means he'll miss the Slovenia game.

At halftime I told the players I was disappointed and expected to see more from them in the second half.

It worked as well. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hit a brilliant cross to the far post and Raheem Sterling smashed a volley into the top corner on 49 minutes.

I'd been planning on switching to our 4-2-4 system but, after we took the lead, probably should've stuck with the 4-1-2-3, however, Eric Dier had just received a final warning from the referee. I didn't want to risk him getting booked and missing the Slovenia game so I went ahead and substituted Dier. I was torn between sending on Jamie Vardy or Troy Deeney for his England debut. Maybe sentimentality got the better of me because I sent on Deeney for his first cap.

Four minutes later we were caught out at the back, Dione Sant went clean through, and deftly shot past Hart to equalise. It was the only shot on target our hosts managed all game.

We had chances to regain the lead. Deeney brought a good save out of the Maltese goalkeeper and put another two chances wide of the target.

We weren't at our best, but at least we didn't lose.

We're all very disappointed not to have won the game. The fans were brilliant and we let them down.
 
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World Cup European Qualifying Section Group 6

Lithuania 2-2 Slovakia

Malta 1-1 England

Slovenia 3-1 Scotland

Group Table

1st England 4 pts, GD +2
2nd Slovakia 4 pts, GD +1
3rd Scotland 3 pts, GD +5
4th Slovenia 3 pts, GD +1
5th Lithuania 1 pt, GD -2
6th Malta 1 pt, GD -7

We're top of the group which only increases our disappointment at throwing away two points.

Next fixtures
England v Slovenia
Lithuania v Malta
Slovakia v Scotland
 
This is good Stuartsays ​definitely a bit different to see people managing national teams and using fringe players rather than those big names constantly
 
dani3w said:
This is good Stuartsays ​definitely a bit different to see people managing national teams and using fringe players rather than those big names constantly
Click to expand...

Thanks dani3w. I don't normally play national teams but I'm rather enjoying it...the result against Malta aside.
 
Injury worry for England

Our preparations for the next World Cup Qualifying match against Slovenia have been hit by the news that Marcus Rashford has suffered a bruised rib. My physio, Any Rolls, has informed me Rashford will be out for at least six days which means he'll miss the Slovenia game.

Oh well, that means we'll be one short in our squad...

...but then my PA Ellis came in and, bless his cotton socks, asked me who I wanted to call up as a replacement into the squad.

"Is that allowed?" I asked.

"Of course, gaffer," Ellis replied.

"OK. Good. I knew that you know..."

Ellis nodded.

Then I asked him to gather the backroom team together and send them in.
 
Rooney undecided on England call up

I held a meeting with my backroom team and we discussed who we should call up to the squad to replace the unfortunate Marcus Rashford. We talked about Theo Walcott, Jay Rodriguez, Saido Berahino and Charlie Austin, we also considered Jack Wilshere, Danny Drinkwater and Jack Cork. Jesse Lingard, Michail Antonio and Jordon Ibe also got mentioned.

There was no common consensus or agreement. Personally I felt we'd lacked experience against Malta and there was only one player I could think of right then. Maybe I'd made a mistake dropping him from the squad in the first place.

I told Ellis to draft Wayne Rooney into the squad.

Ellis came back about 10 minutes later and told me that Wayne wanted to speak to me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Apparently he's very unhappy at being left out of the initial squad and is unwilling to accept your call up unless you can persuade him to change his mind."

So I rang Wayne myself.

"After you decided against picking me in the initial squad I'm planning on rejecting your call up."

"Wayne, I understand that but we missed you and your experience against Malta. Your experience would be vital for the team. It would improve our squad greatly if you accept the call up."

"OK, boss, you've convinced me to change my mind. I'll see you soon."

So all's well that end's well but Wayne had me worried for a while then. I'm sure there's a lesson in there to be learnt somewhere.
 
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England starting line up v Slovenia

This was the team I'd previously selected against Malta.

Stuartsays said:
Team: Joe Hart - Nathaniel Clyne, Chris Smalling, John Stones, Leighton Baines - Eric Dier - Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley - Marcus Rashford, Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling.
Click to expand...

The one decision I definitely had to make was who would replace the injured Marcus Rashford. We also had Chris Smalling, Eric Dier and Dele Alli on a yellow card and another one would see them banned for one match. Of more significance was the fact that our performance against Malta had been extremely disappointing.

In the end I decided on two changes. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came in for the injured Marcus Rashford and I recalled Deli Alli in place of Ross Barkley.
 
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England (0) 3-0 (0) Slovenia
Jordan Henderson (61)
Leighton Baines (64 pen, 71)

Shots: England 19, Sovenia 8
On target: England 10, Slovenia 3
Possession: England 54%, Slovenia 46%
Fouls: England 8, Slovenia 14.

Confident performance from England

An efficient performance by England's players saw them confidently overcome a lacklustre Slovenia 3-0 at Wembley. A brace from Leighton Baines helped England to victory.

England finally took the lead when England and Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson scored a tidy finish into the bottom left corner from 11 metres on 61 minutes.

Baines converted from the spot after Cesar gave away a penalty for tripping his opponent inside the box.

Baines completed the rout on 71 minutes with a free-kick from just outside the penalty area which deflected past the goalkeeper.

Joe Hart [7.0], Nathaniel Clyne [6.9] (Kyle Walker [6.8], 70), Chris Smalling [7.6], John Sones [7.7], Leighton Baines [9.3], Eric Dier [6.8] (Wayne Rooney [6.7], 56), Jordan Henderson [8.5], Dele Alli [7.1], Raheem Sterling [7.6], Daniel Sturridge [6.7] (Jamie Vardy [6.7], 68), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain-Chamberlain [6.9].
 
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World Cup European Qualifying Section Group 6

England 3-0 Slovenia

Lithuania 1-2 Malta

Slovakia 4-1 Scotland

Group Table

1st England 7 pts, GD +5
2nd Slovakia 7 pts, GD +4
3rd Malta 4 pts, GD -6
4th Scotland 3 pts, GD +2
5th Slovenia 3 pts, GD -2
6th Lithuania 1 pt, GD -3

Next Fixtures
England v Slovakia
Lithuania v Scotland
Malta v Slovenia
 
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