Zamora Not in England Squad

[Mendoza]

I thought Ashley Young would get in

 

[sam86]

bent will probably be one of the unlucky 7 anyway

Hmm, not sure. Surely we've got to take 5 strikers if 2 are Heskey and Crouch.

 

[Yoda]

Yes....I was just going off on one about Dawson, when I saw his name!!!

I had quoted to say he was in there but by the time I'd clicked on quote, all it had was your ...........

 

[BUTTERBALL]

I don't have any doubt that Zamora would have been in the squad if he hadn't been crocked. You just can't take any chances with a player carrying that sort of injury going into the World's premier football tournament.

 

[Mendoza]

Hmm, not sure. Surely we've got to take 5 strikers if 2 are Heskey and Crouch.

There is Gerrard who can play behind Rooney, and Walcott who should be a striker because he cannot cross

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

4-5-1 is possible against the better teams.....

 

[SirDouglasLoft]

4-5-1 is possible against the better teams.....

That's what I think we should play. Seem's to suit Rooney well for United,

 

[Marshy]

Hart
James
Green

Johnson
Carragher

Cole
Baines

Ferdinand
Terry
King
Dawson

Lampard
Gerrard
Carrick
Lennon
Milner
J Cole
Walcott
Barry

Rooney
Crouch
Defoe
Bent

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

barring an injury, heskey WILL be in the final 23

almost without doubt

 

[Marshy]

barring an injury, heskey WILL be in the final 23

almost without doubt

lets hope he gets a little knock for a few weeks then at training...

 

[Gritt23]

Ridiculous decision. I see absolutely no way you can select Bent over Zamora. Even if that 5th striker spot is only there to have a look at them in the upcoming friendlies to see if they can force their way in, then Zamora should be head and shoulders above Bent.

Not happy with that Fabio, not happy at all.

 

[Mendoza]

barring an injury, heskey WILL be in the final 23

almost without doubt

no one complained when we were top of group 6 with 9 wins out of 9 and scoring over 30 goals

 

[SirDouglasLoft]

Ridiculous decision. I see absolutely no way you can select Bent over Zamora. Even if that 5th striker spot is only there to have a look at them in the upcoming friendlies to see if they can force their way in, then Zamora should be head and shoulders above Bent.

Not happy with that Fabio, not happy at all.

How'd you come to that conclusion?

Bent deserves to be in the squad over Zamora.

 

[Pavilionaire]

he has scored 23 premiership goals this season...he's not as bad as the press sometimes make him out!?

It seems to me that if a striker scores X amount of goals - in Bent's case 24 - then some people think he HAS to be in the 30 and is a better player than, say, Zamora.

Here are 2 men who scored a lot of goals in the top flight who weren't international class:

Mark Falco (Spurs) 29 goals in 1984/85
Kerry Dixon (Chelsea) 24 goals in 1984/85

 

[Marshy]

no one complained when we were top of group 6 with 9 wins out of 9 and scoring over 30 goals

I did...

 

[Silent Bob]

How have you come to that conclusion?

Heskey and Rooney work. Their partnership (for England) is IN FORM. Their partnership got us to the world cup. Where is the logic in playing an injured, untried, less physical centre forward after his first good season in 7 years in his place?

Defoe and Bent are BOTH in the squad and deserve to be.

Zamora isn't because he isn't fit and isn't good enough.

Heskey is there to lead the line, hold the ball, be a target and bring others into play. In other words exactly what Zamora does for Fulham, and has been doing it better at club level than Heskey has for two years. If you think Zamora isn't as physical as Heskey than I put it to you that you haven't been watching, he is also more mobile, technically better, and a more intelliegent user of the ball. The fact that this season he's finally rediscovered his shooting boots is just an added bonus because that role isn't about goals, it's about the team.

I'm not saying he should just bin Heskey and bring in Zamora without a thought, because even though Zamora has been so much better than Heskey the fact Heskey has done it for England still counts for something, but Zamora should have been looked at at least in the Egypt game, if not earlier, and even without that deserves to be looked at it in this provisional squad.

Defoe, Bent, and Crouch are all competing for the spot of 3rd striker behind Rooney and a target man, obviously now Heskey, so they've nothing to do with Zamora really.

 

[Gritt23]

How'd you come to that conclusion?

Bent deserves to be in the squad over Zamora.

Bobby has looked a far better all round player than Bent this season. He can hold the ball up, finish, score free kicks, beat his man ... and he's done it at a higher level, having made even defences who won the German title last season have been turned inside out by the great BZ.

How do you come to your conclusion?

 

[Gritt23]

It seems to me that if a striker scores X amount of goals - in Bent's case 24 - then some people think he HAS to be in the 30 and is a better player than, say, Zamora.

Here are 2 men who scored a lot of goals in the top flight who weren't international class:

Mark Falco (Spurs) 29 goals in 1984/85
Kerry Dixon (Chelsea) 24 goals in 1984/85

And Clive Allen.

 

[backson]

I've always wonder why we take so many midfielders, and only 4 strikers.

Get two/three injuries to midfielders, you've got cover to spare.

Get two injuries to strikers, you're pretty stuffed.

 

[SirDouglasLoft]

Bobby has looked a far better all round player than Bent this season. He can hold the ball up, finish, score free kicks, beat his man ... and he's done it at a higher level, having made even defences who won the German title last season have been turned inside out by the great BZ.

How do you come to your conclusion?

Goals win games. Bent is a natural top flight goalscorer, Zamora's not.

Seeing as he's got Heskey who isn't a natural goalscorer, but a great player who can hold the ball up, and bring others in, we need another goalscorer. With Bent you know he can come of the bench and grab a goal.

I guess that's where we differ.