Wayne Rooney

[User Removed]

Barry is clearly not back to fitness. He played - but he was not fit.

Same for Rooney.

Lampard, Terry, Heskey, and James I'd agree with.

Actually I would make a choice between Lampard and Terry.

Well you're not very decisive are you?! Let us know when you've made your mind up.

I love the way people think they can automatically have the power to retire individuals!!

 

[Joey Deacon's Disco Suit]

Well you're not very decisive are you?! Let us know when you've made your mind up.

I love the way people think they can automatically have the power to retire individuals!!

I don't think DKM really thinks he has the power to retire Lampard or Gerrard. That's not to say he couldn't. DKM could wait until they arrive home and then lie in wait for one of them (I'd pick Lampard). Say, whilst he is at the supermarket picking up a mixed salad bag and some stir-fry noodles ready for a quiet evening meal with friends. He could creep up and ever so frenziedly batter Lampard until his bloodied body resembled a victim from a Hieronymus Bosch painting.

But I'm quietly confident that is not DKM's intentions.

 

[Lurker]

.... another problem I don't think ever crosses the media's mind (although it does occur to many fans) is the lack of depth of the premiership. By that I mean the top 4 or 5 teams are as good as any club teams in the world. However, you don't have to go much lower before you find some absolute rubbish. Teams like Everton and Villa comfortably finish in the top half each year but, to be honest, are poor and predictable. Go further down and the standard isn't really any better than championship football. So what you get is Wayne Rooney scoring 30 goals against the likes of Wolves and Steven Gerrard bending them in from 20 yards against Bolton, and because it's the "best league in the world" the media thinks this correlates to international success and the awful phrase "world class". It doesn't, our players are playing no more than 10 matches a season against decent opposition ....

Apply the same criteria to La Liga, how many games do the likes of Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Villa etc play against decent opposition?
They still manage to look pretty tasty when they play for their Country?

England's problems are deeper than just an overpopulated Premier League?

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

I would argue that the 10th best team in Spain is a lot better than the 10th best team in England, particularly from a technical point of view.

i agree, although the contrast is greater if you look at 9th place

Spain: Atletico Madrid
England: Birmingham City

the top 4/5 in england are very strong (perhaps because the same 4 teams were raking in the champions league money every year), but beyond that it's WELL average

i mean, stoke came 11th

STOKE