David Mankellow

England manager, Fabio Capello

We’re all football experts right? Well i’m no different. So i’m going to discuss who, considered to be in the England “periphery” should and will make it into the final 23 man World Cup squad, chosen by Mr Capello.

Untouchables

No matter how much some people may hate it but we have some untouchables in the squad who will definitely be there (injuries pending). In my opinion these are as follows:

Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe.

I feel I need to explain one or two of those. Despite not being a regular starter, David Beckham will be there. He still has enough quality to be in the squad, just but he brings a lot more that others in the squad simply cannot. Beckham is our figurehead for the 2018 bid for starters so it’s very important for him to still be in the footballing public eye. Also he, along with Wayne Rooney is a media golden-boy at the moment possessing the right image and public profile. That is a stark contrast to the damned-right evil Ashley Cole, John Terry and to a lesser extent, Steven Gerrard. Finally, Beckham adds so much experience to the squad. He’s been there and done everything. I know we have a lot of experience in other departments but if you ask James Milner who he’d take advice from; Ferdinand or Beckham? I know which one i’d pick.

I also feel that Defoe and Crouch will definitely be there. They are very different but Defoe has earned his place, despite his current form not being amazing. Crouch will be there because he offers something very different and that is so important in a small squad. He can score goals, causes havoc with defenders not knowing how to defend against him and an additional bonus is that he can help out defensively with set-pieces.

Finally, i’ve not mentioned any goalkeepers in there. I genuinely don’t think we’ve got any stone-wall definites in there. I’ll explain further later shortly.

Periphery

The Goalkeepers

Potential England Goalkeepers

I’ll start from the goalkeepers upwards. Who’s in the mix? James, Hart, Green, Robinson, Foster and Carson as an outsider. That doesn’t fill me with a lot of confidence. I think that James and Green will be there. James for his experience and Green because he half holds the position right now. James can definitely still do it. Rob Green is a good, solid ‘keeper but not amazing. We’ve seen Foster a lot more this season and I’m not at all convinced. If he found the pressure at Man Utd hard then do not send him to a World Cup! Carson won’t be in there. He’s had his chance and he’s not in the Premier League. He’ll have another chance in the future but for me, not in South Africa. That leaves a straight shoot-out between Hart and Robinson. Robinson has the experience and I feel he’s been superb for Blackburn. I do see him as no different to Rob Green in age, experience and ability so for that reason I feel that they will take Joe Hart. He’ll gather invaluable experience and he’s good enough. I was a little disappointed not to see him be given a change against Egypt but I think he’ll be the perfect number 3 goalkeeper in the squad.

The Defence

Phil Jagielka

At the back there are a number of options available to us. The key in a World Cup squad is versatility whilst still maintaining quality. Additionally, we don’t really have a nailed on right back, so there is a lot to ponder. If Glen Johnson had stayed fit all season he would have been an untouchable but he’s not really played that much. I do think he’ll be in there however. Now we look at the real periphery. In my opinion Phil Jagielka is a superb player. He’s now come back from injury and if all goes well for him he’ll be at the peak of his fitness come World Cup time. He is a centre half but can play at right back comfortably and can play as a holding midfielder if called upon so he’d have to be considered. I’ve been reading about Gary Neville being brought back into the squad. That is absolute rubbish in my opinion. Gary isn’t the best Neville in the Premier League so if we were going to add one of them to the squad then it’d be Phil all day long. Neville isn’t quick enough at the top level any longer. I’d much rather see Micah Richards or Wes Brown (if fit) given the nod. At left back we have the old Wayne Bridge debate. I feel that he is good enough to be in the squad but he’s no better than Leighton Baines, Stephen Warnock or Joleon Lescott in that position. Lescott hasn’t been in sparkling form this season and I feel he should have stayed at Everton but he’s another versatile, solid player to potentially have in the squad. I feel that if the Egypt game is anything to go by Baines has the reserve left back slot in his possession right now. Finally I feel that Upson is the 3^rd choice centre half behind Ferdinand and Terry. I think that on his day Ledley king is as good as any of the above but we cannot afford to have a notorious sick-note in the squad.

The Midfield

Theo Walcott and Shaun Wright-Phillips

Similarly to the defence we need a lot of versatility and quality in the midfield areas. The centre of midfield is fairly straight-forward. I think Lampard, Barry and Gerrard are certs and judging by the way Carrick played against Egypt he should be in there too. The main areas of discussion have to be the players out wide. The wide players all vying for positions are Milner, Wright-Phillips, Lennon, Downing, Walcott and Joe Cole as an outside bet. Capello seems to like Gerrard coming in from the left hand side but we definitely need a plan b in that area. Gerrard is most effective from the middle and so we need someone that can come in and make the left hand side their own. Once upon a time that man was Joe Cole but he’s not playing great whilst not being given the chance to gather some form. I really feel that he has something to offer as he has something different from the other players in that list. The fact is he doesn’t deserve a place right now and it would be very unfair on the other guys that are playing regularly and well for their club sides. If Joe Cole manages to get some form he could sneak in there. James Milner has been a revelation this season. He was good last season too but he’s kicked on from there. He also has that invaluable versatile tag attached to him. He can play wide right or left, down the middle and also in either of the full back positions. I feel that with his current form and his versatility he’ll definitely be in the squad. In my opinion Wright-Phillips, Lennon and Walcott are the same player so there will be no need to bring all 3. Lennon was in sparkling form earlier on in the season for club and country but unfortunately has had injury problems and therefore I see him as being in the same bracket as Glen Johnson. If he gets fit and in some form then he’ll be there because he’s been sensational under Redknapp. Walcott hasn’t been good this season and I think that he’s the biggest headache for Capello. He CAN do it, we’ve seen it before but not regularly enough and it’s a worry. Wright-Phillips is the most experienced out of the 3 and is probably the safe bet but he’s not regularly playing at City. We all know that if this is the case then the player will get overlooked by Capello. The issues surrounding the 3 previously mentioned players could pave the way for Stuart Downing to worm his way back in. He’s been very good since returning from injury at Villa. I’ve never rated him before and was always aghast when he was selected under McLaren and Sven. This time he seems to be more of a player and could be given a chance. He does have a slight advantage in the fact that he is left footed. He adds something different to his right footed England colleagues.

The Strikers

Potential England Strikers

This leaves the slightly easier task of choosing the strikers. I think that capello will pick the 4 strikers because of Gerrard’s ability to play off the striker and also the possibility to have Rooney as a lone striker with 3 centre midfielders. I think that 3 of these 4 pick themselves, Rooney, Crouch and Defoe. That leaves the last place to be fought out between Heskey and Carlton Cole. My heart would always go with Cole as he’s younger with more fight and can score more goals but I think Heskey will get picked. He’s in terrible form for Villa but for whatever reason he works for England, gets the best out of Rooney and has the experience.

Verdict

So then, based on my ramblings all that’s left for me to do is name who I think will be is the squad:

James, Hart, Green

Ferdinand, Terry, A Cole, Johnson, Jagielka, Upson, Lescott, Baines

Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham, Milner, Walcott, Carrick, Wright-Phillips

Rooney, Defoe, Crouch, Heskey

What do you think?

**Update**

It would seem that I’d missed Michael Carrick out of my squad! I have rejigged the section to add him.