So here it is Mr Capello take note.

[Schrödinger's Toad]

Bent may not be rubbish, but he's a small-time player; he thrives at clubs with low expectations where he's the number one. He couldn't do it on the (hardly) big stage at Tottenham, so international football's way beyond him. There's just no point if you're taking Defoe, another proven goalscorer who flatters to deceive for England.

 

[The Wizard]

The fact he has 5 caps spanning over 5 seasons suggests he is not up to it.

Not really, he has never been given a solid few games. As I said anyway, he plays for Sunderland and scores that many goals. Sorry but you cannot ignore a record like that in one of the world top leagues. He has that knack for being in the right place. The lad deserves a run in the team.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Not really, he has never been given a solid few games. As I said anyway, he plays for Sunderland and scores that many goals. Sorry but you cannot ignore a record like that in one of the world top leagues. He has that knack for being in the right place. The lad deserves a run in the team.

No he does not deserve games. Rooney, Crouch and Heskey are all better options he offer something at international level, Bent offers nothing.

He has been in the squad on and off for 5 years, so Sven, the Wally and Capello has all seen him in training and yet not picked him, which suggests he is short of what is needed.

 

[Marshy]

The fact he has 5 caps spanning over 5 seasons suggests he is not up to it.

I would say Heskeys performance for the last 2 years suggest he is not up to it.

What is it...8 goals in 57 games !....seriously...if its just knocking around defenders you are after we should have looked at Davies of Bolton.

Capello has always said that if your not pplaying and not in form you wont get picked. Heskey is neither in form or been playing or scoring goals..it really is a no brainer for me.

 

[Pantani]

Not only is Heskey rubbish, he has has hardly kicked a ball for 6 months, however Bent has smashed in 25 prem goals in a poor side.

I really hope Bent does the business today, if he scores and has a good hour today i really think Fabio will leave Heskey out.

You need to get over your Heskey hatred. There is absolutely no way he won't be in the squad. We have one world class player, Rooney. He likes playing with Heskey therefore he has to be in the squad and probably in the team.

Aside from that foreign centre backs are scared of Heskey. He is big and strong and they cannot get the ball off him. As others have said he occupies both centre backs creating space for others. This is why Heskey must go.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I would say Heskeys performance for the last 2 years suggest he is not up to it.

What is it...8 goals in 57 games !....seriously...if its just knocking around defenders you are after we should have looked at Davies of Bolton.

Capello has always said that if your not pplaying and not in form you wont get picked. Heskey is neither in form or been playing or scoring goals..it really is a no brainer for me.

The issue with Heskey is that if he could score goals he would be world class, he has pace, power and strength, but is a bit of jigsaw.

However he will go and may well start in the first game.

 

[Marshy]

He may well be fit but you need cover for every position. In your squad there is no cover for Barry, who has just had an injury and needs the cover most. As for wingers, I would say that Lennon, Walcott, Milner, Gerrard (who has played wide for England) and either Cole or Johnson is plenty of options.

Yes there is. Milner or Gerrard will play central if Barry isnt fit. Not ideal i know but there is no better alternative, i would rather them than Parker or Huddlestone.

 

[Acker79]

From Martin Samuel:

Huddled around the wireless for news of Gareth Barry’s ankle. Really? A nation with designs on the World Cup plunged into crisis because the sort-of holding midfield player might not make the first two games?

Look, it’s not ideal, but there is drama and there is crisis and Barry’s race to get fit for June 1 when Fabio Capello finalises his squad fits firmly in the non-critical category.

We fret over Wayne Rooney because he is irreplaceable. So, too, Ashley Cole, or the fragile collection of central defenders. But Barry is a cog in a wheel. A very efficient cog, a slick and well-oiled cog without doubt, a cog that the manager has come to rely upon, but a machine part nonetheless. And parts can be replaced.

The rising panic over Barry’s fitness has been intensified by a dismal performance in the holding role against Mexico from Michael Carrick. No surprise there.

One day an England coach is going to tot up all the opportunities Carrick has been given to win his place in deep midfield, and it will bring an end to his international career. He is a good club player but struggles to make the step up.

In his defence, Carrick is not a conventional holding midfield player. Then again, neither is Barry. And that is why the hole left by his absence can be mended.

Capello’s 4-2-3-1 system is designed to solve several specific problems: a defined forward role for Steven Gerrard, allowing interchange with Rooney; accommodating Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the same team; playing Rooney in an area in which he is difficult to mark. Capello has succeeded in each of these aims.

Rooney was the top scorer in UEFA’s World Cup qualifying groups; Gerrard enjoyed some of his best games for England. The system, however, has a profound weakness. Strictly, it requires two guarding midfielders, and England do not possess one.

Lampard and Barry do a shift there, but neither is a holding player. Barry is more frequently described as such, but often ends up farther forward than Lampard who displays the greater discipline of the two.

This is why if Barry does not recover in time for South Africa, Capello’s best option would be to turn to Scott Parker, the least heralded of his midfield squad men.

Parker has been in outstanding form for West Ham United this season, but that is not the reason to pick him. It is not his West Ham self that England need because for his club Parker is the equivalent of Gerrard for Liverpool, and Capello already has a player like that; the original, in fact.

No, Parker scores because he is the best midfield tackler in Capello’s extended England squad and if Barry is injured what is required is a destroyer who can break up play and use the ball simply. Parker would be more suited to this role than Carrick, James Milner or Tom Huddlestone, the trio Capello deployed against Mexico. All three are better passers but, as long as Parker is not tempted into over-ambition, this need not matter.

England do not need Glenn Hoddle when what is missing is David Batty. A ball-winner who then serves the ball quickly is key to any number of great teams. With direction from a world-class coach, Parker could become more important to the team than Barry.

In the mind of many, Parker suffers from grim recall of his sole start for England, against Croatia in Zagreb under Steve McClaren. He had a poor game that night, but was hardly alone. Carrick and Lampard were equally ineffective but have not seen their international careers damaged irreparably.

Parker’s job was to resist, and he did. It was not his fault that England created little, that Ashley Cole was out-jumped by Eduardo or that Paul Robinson, the England goalkeeper, had wandered off his line. His duties hardly included pitch maintenance, either.

Even so, certain of Barry’s strengths are plainly beyond him. Parker is right-footed, for instance, and there is little doubt Capello enjoys the benefit of having the left-footed Barry adding balance to the midfield. His range of passing is superior, too, and he has an excellent understanding with Gerrard.

Their partnership is a key factor in England’s attacking strength, particularly with Ashley Cole overlapping on the left flank. It was clear how much Gerrard missed Cole’s influence when Leighton Baines filled in against Mexico. Barry’s absence will not have helped, either.

Yet playing Parker brings other advantages. His uncompromising tackling has been described as the best in the Premier League by Jamie Redknapp. Capello should make it clear that this is what will secure his place in the team.

There are other midfield players to shuttle box to box, there are greater talents to make the killer pass, or score the winning goal. Parker brings what England lack, a ball-winning battler.

We may yet be able to roll those prayer mats away. Unfit, Barry can be replaced; even fit he may still not be Capello’s most calculating option.

Read more: MARTIN SAMUEL: Scott the brave - why tough-tackling Parker must be given his chance | Mail Online

 

[Pantani]

Not really, he has never been given a solid few games. As I said anyway, he plays for Sunderland and scores that many goals. Sorry but you cannot ignore a record like that in one of the world top leagues. He has that knack for being in the right place. The lad deserves a run in the team.

Bent plays up top with a big striker, Jones, at Sunderland. So if Bent is to play for England it would be best if he played with Heskey or Crouch. The only way Bent can go to the world cup is instead of Rooney or Defoe. Which of those three would you rather have?

 

[The Modfather]

The problem is Carrick is not really a holding midfielder.

Barry, Hargreaves and Parker are, but Hargreaves has played 1 minute of football in about 18 months and Parker has hardly played for England is the last 3 years, so Carrick ends only going by default.

Parker is the better ball winner, and even man Utd fans admit Carrick has been awful this year.

Admit he has not figured in the England set up for a while, but he is the man in form.

In previous tournaments we have include inexperienced players, who have come in and performed well. Gazza & Platt in 1990?

 

[The Hon Sec]

Bent may not be rubbish, but he's a small-time player; he thrives at clubs with low expectations where he's the number one. He couldn't do it on the (hardly) big stage at Tottenham, so international football's way beyond him. There's just no point if you're taking Defoe, another proven goalscorer who flatters to deceive for England.

This.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Bent has had his chances, he offers no movement and does not look like scoring.

Heskey at least occupies defenders and gives Rooney some space.

For someone who was famed for playing as a loan striker for Charlton he has become very Lazy.

Plus he has shown he cant cope at bigger stage.

However he is gash at pens so should fit in

I would take Huddlestone ahead of Carrick

 

[Marshy]

The issue with Heskey is that if he could score goals he would be world class, he has pace, power and strength, but is a bit of jigsaw.

However he will go and may well start in the first game.

He used to have pace..

I think you are all set for a bit of a shock when Mr Capello names his squad, i think he has finally seen Heskey for what he is....SHIT

Why hasnt he started these last 2 friendlies... ? he really needs a game before you say because he is a nailed on pick...

the starting back 5 are playing today.
Its almost the starting 11 for the opening game i would suggest other than Gerrard who has a niggle and Bent up front...

If i was Heskey i would be very concerned.

 

[dingobruce]

The fact he has 5 caps spanning over 5 seasons suggests he is not up to it.

A lot of those caps were 10 minute run outs at the end of a friendly match when the game had become completely disjointed. He definitely deserves a few more STARTS before he's judged. Hope he does the business today and proves the doubters wrong!

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Why is Lennon starting on the left?

 

[The Wizard]

Why is Lennon starting on the left?

I think Walcott is. Hope so anyway because Lennon is wank on the left compared to the right.

 

[Foolg]

Why is Lennon starting on the left?

Is Adam Johnson naturally a left winger?
If so, it should be him and Lennon played on the right, and if Lennon's not performing, bring on Walcott. Would rather Joe Cole or Johnson playing out left than a player who is all right foot.

 

[veade]

i thought ledley king always did a good job as a holding midfielder

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I think Walcott is. Hope so anyway because Lennon is wank on the left compared to the right.

According the the BBC Lennon is on the left.

I assume this is a good thing for Lennon as I would think it means he is going but Walcott isnt 100% going.

 

[The Modfather]

Is Adam Johnson naturally a left winger?
If so, it should be him and Lennon played on the right, and if Lennon's not performing, bring on Walcott. Would rather Joe Cole or Johnson playing out left than a player who is all right foot.

Totally agree.

Cole & Johnson should have been given a half each on the left.