Gallagheresque wrote:
Well here is the "alleged" 23
Green, James, Hart, Johnson, Carragher, Terry, King, Upson, Ferdinand, Cole A, Baines, Walcott, Lennon, Cole, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Carrick, Milner, Rooney, Defoe, Crouch, Heskey
Keepers: Obviously going to be all three
Centre backs: Upson, Terry and Ferdinand have been the England squad all the way through qualifying, it was always likely they would all go. King has had a good season at spurs and realistically it was a straight-up choice between him and Dawson for the last centre-back place. King getting it would be understandable.
Full backs: Three of four, specifically Cole, Johnson and Carragher, were always in the teams, in a choice between Baines and Warnock - again, it is understandable to choose Baines; certainly no reason for mass uproar.
Central midfield: Barry, Lampard and Gerrard were always going (presuming fit) - it was a choice between Carrick, Huddlestone and Parker for the last place. As much as he hasn't been that great this season, Carrick has way more international experience and is probably the safest bet.
Wingers: Lennon was always going, as was Milner. On top of that, I reckon it was a choice between Walcott and SWP for the right-hand side and Johnson and Cole for the left. Walcott has shown glimpses of genius before, and SWP hasn't played so well to warrant being ahead of Walcott in the rankings. Cole has played well of late and injury-free can be a bit special. Johnson has played very well this season and warrants his place in the last 30, whether he makes the final 23 is a close one to call and it is understandable either way whether he or Cole were selected.
Strikers: Was always going to be those four.
That would be a rather uncontentious 23 in my opinion, with the Baines/Warnock, Cole/Johnson and Carrick/Huddlestone debates being the only potential issues though it certainly wouldn't be unreasonable to go for the squad as above. Obviously I'd be happy if it was wrong and Johnno was in the team, but I wouldn't necessarily think Capello a massive idiot for not picking him. Personally I would contend that Downing could quite easily have been in the squad ahead of him so hey ho. Some [S]City[/S] England fans need to calm the f*ck down, I tell thee.