Posts Tagged ‘Joe Hart’
England team for the 2014 World Cup
At a time like this, speculation about a more positive future is probably a good way to go. So, with this in mind, I have decided to have a look at what the England team might look like by the time the 2014 World Cup comes around. The best betting site odds suggested England would do well in this year’s tournament, but they clearly need to make a dramatic improvement.
I am making these predictions without too much research as I don’t want to be influenced by other people’s opinions. This is just how I see it. This is the direction I think England should go in over the next four years.
Goalkeeper
Joe Hart – Not much doubt about this one. He is probably England’s best keeper right now, so will hopefully have improved even more by 2014.
Defenders
Ashley Cole - The left back should still be up to international football in four years time.
Micah Richards - This is a man that will hopefully reach his full potential soon.
Michael Dawson - The Tottenham man continues to grow in stature and should be first choice come 2014.
Glen Johnson - Ok, he wasn’t great this year, but with four more years experience, he should be part of a young and successful England team.
Midfielders
Theo Walcott - Make no mistake about it, this man will come back and be a major force.
Jack Rodwell - One of the best young talents around, a very good prospect that should force his way into the international set-up in the next couple of years.
Jack Wilshire - The Arsenal youngster should become a major part of Arsene Wenger’s plans next season when Cesc Fabregas moves on and this should lead to an international place.
Adam Johnson - For many, Johnson should have been involved this year. Hopefully though he can develop well as a Premier League player and be an automatic selection in four years time.
Forwards
Wayne Rooney - Say what you want about Rooney’s performances in this World Cup, but he will be back. The expectation levels and tiredness after a long season need to be sorted though.
Daniel Sturridge - This is one of the hardest ones to call, but Sturridge gets the nod for the flashes of goal scoring ability he showed last season. He and Rooney would be feared by defences for their sheer power.
So those are my football tips as to who can form a new look England side.
Thoughts?
Tags: Adam Johnson, Arsene Wenger, Ashley Cole, Automatic Selection, Betting Site, Dramatic Improvement, England Team, Fabregas, Four More Years, Glen Johnson, International Football, Joe Hart, Michael Dawson, Rodwell, Stature, Theo Walcott, Tiredness, Wayne Rooney, Wilshire, Youngster
Capello should stick with Green to avoid uncertainty
Fabio Capello had a number of issues to ponder after England’s 1-1 draw with the USA last weekend - none more so than who to pick in goal.
It can’t be denied that we currently have the weakest set of goalkeepers for a generation. With no obvious candidate for the number one jersey, fans and pundits alike are divided as to who should start for the Three Lions in South Africa.
However, that lack of faith should not be displayed by the man who matters - Fabio Capello. It seems obvious that he wasn’t sure who should start England’s first game, playing all three ‘keepers in the warm up matches. Even as the squad touched down in South Africa any of them could have started in Rustenberg.
When the Italian did decide to pick Rob Green as number one for the America game it may have been helpful to let his choice be known earlier than just two hours before kickoff. That way Green could have mentally prepared for the match and taken confidence from his manager’s faith. Anyone who has placed an England World Cup bet will want to see a confident performance, after all.
A similar show of decisiveness could prove advantageous in the run up to England’s second match against Algeria. Green will no doubt be dwelling on his horrendous error and will be anxiously waiting whether he has kept his place. All those worries, which have festered over the past week will not dissipate in the two hours prior to kickoff. Similarly those waiting in the wings - David James and Joe Hart - could do with longer to prepare to take the gloves.
Once the players take to the field I agree there is relatively little Capello can do to influence the game - he was certainly powerless to prevent Green’s blunder on Saturday. But he can do everything in his power to send the players out as mentally and physically ready as possible. The World Cup betting makes the Three Lions strong favourites for the match, and Capello must ensure they take their chances.
In short, the manager must back his man between the sticks, even if in private he, like the rest of the country, remains uncertain as to who that should be.
Tags: America Game, Blunder, Confident Performance, Decisiveness, Dwelling, England World Cup, Fabio Capello, First Game, Gloves, Goalkeepers, Joe Hart, Kickoff, Match, No Doubt, Pundits, Rustenberg, Three Lions, Waiting In The Wings, World Cup Bet, Worries
Zamora for England? Maybe, just maybe!
Just a few short months after he was barracked by his own fans, the chances of Fulham striker Bobby Zamora securing a place in England’s World Cup squad seem to be improving rapidly.
Zamora was seen as a bit of a joke figure at Craven Cottage in the run-up to Christmas, with his boss Roy Hodgson at something of a loss to explain why they would be turning on one of their own players.
But the 29-year-old has proved to be something of a revelation in the three months since that low point, taking his tally to nine goals in his last 15 games when he scored the match-winning free-kick in the 2-1 victory over Birmingham City on Sunday.
Zamora has goals in each of the last four games and suddenly it is not just Hodgson clamouring for him to get a chance in Fabio Capello’s squad – and it is interesting that the Italian was at Craven Cottage to see Sunday’s match with only Zamora and Birmingham keeper Joe Hart as serious possibles for his squad on show.
Sadly for Zamora, Capello had already left his seat by the time Zamora scored, but Hodgson felt his overall performance would have done enough to impress and could be enough to earn him a call-up for the first pre-World Cup friendly against Egypt on March 3.
What of the competition? Well, if we split the striking options up, it seems almost certain that Wayne Rooney (100% certain if fit) and Jermain Defoe will go to South Africa, while Peter Crouch has often been favoured by Capello as the main target man.
Much will, then, depend on the make-up of the squad. If Capello takes only four strikers, as has been mooted, then Zamora will be contending with the likes of Emile Heskey (probably still the favourite), Carlton Cole, Darren Bent (disappointing recently) and Gabriel Agbonlahor for just one spot on the plane.
On this season’s evidence, Zamora and Agbonlahor would be the favourites with World Cup Betting, with Cole unable to find the net regularly or stay fit, Heskey having scored only five times and Bent having hit the wall since a fast start to the campaign.
Far-fetched it might still be, but you certainly can’t fault Zamora for his effort as he tries to score his way into the squad. Something World Cup Picks are far from ruling out.
Tags: Birmingham City, Bobby Zamora, Cambria, Craven Cottage, Emile Heskey, Fabio Capello, Fareast, Favoured, Font Definitions, Font Format, Four Games, Free Kick, Fulham, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Jermain Defoe, Joe Hart, Mso, Orphan, Panose, Paper Source, Peter Crouch, Roy Hodgson, Sans Serif, Striker, Strikers, Style Definitions, Style Name, Style Type, Tally, Target Man, Theme Font, Times New Roman, Wayne Rooney, World Cup Squad
Defensive woes biggest concern for Capello
The countdown to World Cup 2010 is officially on with less than 100 days left until the big kickoff.
The round of international fixtures this week gives managers the chance to assess the squad ahead of the tournament, knowing the clock is against them.
For Fabio Capello it has mainly been off-field distractions that have occupied his thoughts in recent weeks, with the John Terry, Wayne Bridge and Ashley Cole scandals threatening to fracture the squad. Though I suppose it’s a change from working out how to play Gerrard and Lampard in the same team.
But with the friendly against Egypt shifting the focus away from the tabloid tales and back onto the pitch, there is no let up in problems for the Italian. Anyone thinking about a football bet would have noticed England are strong favourites for the game, but Capello faces a bigger challenge than this might suggest.
None of the ‘keepers selected, David James, Joe Hart and Rob Green, have impressed enough to make the number one spot their own. James is perhaps the front runner, but he has endured an injury plagued season at crisis club Portsmouth. West Ham stopper Green hasn’t always convinced at International level while Joe Hart, the most in-form player of the trio, is very inexperienced at this level.
In front of goal things get worse. Full backs Glenn Johnson and Ashley Cole are out with long-term injuries - Capello has already said he doesn’t want to take unfit players to South Africa so even a late recovery is no guarantee they will make the squad - while we all know why Wayne Bridge is unavailable.
In the middle things aren’t much better. Rio Ferdinand has missed large chunks of the season through injury, while Terry’s fragile mental state following his much publicised personal troubles has led to an alarming drop in form.
The three Lions have solid deputies with the likes of Matthew Upson and Joleon Lescott, but it remains to be seen whether they are World Cup quality.
While Capello tries to plug the leaky defence he also needs to keep his fingers crossed that nothing happens striker Wayne Rooney. The United forward has been in the form of his life this season and his talismanic role for both his club and national side means his fitness is key to England’s World Cup ambitions. Any 2006 style metatarsal injuries and the nation will fall into a state of despair.
After all the tabloid tittle tattle in recent weeks Capello was probably glad to return to on-field matters. But given the headaches he finds there, it’s not going to offer him any more relief. The World Cup football odds make England third favourites to win the competition, but they will have their work cut out to live up to expectations.
Tags: Ashley Cole, Defensive Woes, Deputies, Fabio Capello, Football Bet, Gerrard, Joe Hart, John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Lampard, Matthew Upson, Personal Troubles, Portsmouth West, Rio Ferdinand, Tabloid Tales, Term Injuries, Three Lions, Wayne Bridge, West Ham, World Cup 2010