England's squad: the Bratwurst 23
At 2pm this afternoon, England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson will announce his 23-man squad for Germany '06. I'm wet-the-bed excited. Pundits seem to think he'll be fairly conservative. In the interests of heated pub debate, here are the 23 players that Bratwurst would take to Deutschland…
England's squad: the Bratwurst 23
cont…
GOALKEEPERS
Who: Paul Robinson, Scott
Carson, Robert Green
Why: Robinson is England's No.1 by a
mile - pray he doesn't get injured early in the World Cup or we really are
shafted. I don't see any benefit in taking David James – as we
saw again at the weekend, he makes far too many mistakes to play at
international level. Rob Green is a talented keeper but I rate Liverpool's young
Carson much higher.
DEFENDERS
Who: Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, John Terry,
Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King, Sol Campbell, Kieron
Richardson
Why: An area of undisputed strength. Our back
four is written in stone: Cole (great to see him fit again), Ferdinand,
Terry, Neville. After that there's lots of cover, although Sol
Campbell's shaky form worries me and Sven must consider Carragher above him in
the pecking order. I don't rate Wayne Bridge as international class and so would
take the immensely talented/fearless Kieron Richardson as a
utility defender/midfielder.
MIDFIELDERS
Who: David Beckham (capt), Steven Gerrard,
Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Sean Wright-Phillips, Stewart
Downing
Why: It gave me great heart to type the names of
England's midfield squad members and reassured me that we'll be OK in Germany.
Becks, Stevie G, Lamps, Joe Cole – these are four world-class midfielders in
their prime (well, Becks may be a couple of years past his best, but he'll want
to make up for his injury-troubled World Cup in 2002). Boro's
Downing has to travel – although he won't get much playing
time, injuries permitting – and so he gets the nod ahead of Jermaine Jenas.
FORWARDS
Who: Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch,
Jermain Defoe, Theo Walcott
Why: Oh dear. If Owen
and Rooney were 100 percent fit, then we have a first XI to rival
anyone in the world (including Brazil) – but they're not, so we have to accept
that against Paraguay Sven will probably start with an 85 percent-fit Owen and
Peter Crouch. I like Crouch and he confused the hell out of Uruguay when he came
on in that friendly earlier in the year, but he's no Roo. I really hope Sven
gambles on Theo Walcott, rather than Darren Bent, who I doubt
at the highest level - imagine if Brazil hadn't gambled on a 17-year-old Pele.
I'd also put Robbie Fowler on standby (not Bent) because he's in good form and
is still the best English finisher in the game. Am also praying daily that
oxygen tents actually work miracles.
What say you? Agree/Disagree?