Keepers
David James (Man City), Paul Robinson (Tottenham), Ian Walker (Leicester);

Defenders
Gary Neville (Man United), Sol Campbell (Arsenal), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), John Terry (Chelsea), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), Phil Neville (Man United);

Midfielders
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Nicky Butt (Man United), David Beckham (Real Madrid), Paul Scholes (Man United), Kieron Dyer (Newcastle), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich);

Strikers
Wayne Rooney (Everton), Michael Owen (Liverpool), Emile Heskey (Liverpool), Darius Vassell (Aston Villa).

alan thompson is out. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Punkt
alan thompson is out. :rolleyes:

well it is only preliminary :D hopefullly heskey will die or something to stop him being picked why cant sven see that hes crap!

You really need Shearer in that squad IMO.

No Defoe or Smith, Heskey and Vassell being prefered. :kader:

Originally posted by mark77
You really need Shearer in that squad IMO.
nah :p...

So Heskey and Vassell are in but not Smith nor Beattie...

And Ian Walker??
apart from that the squad picks itself really.

How the hell is Darius Vassel and Emile Heskey ahead of Jermain Defoe? :kader:

I already posted this in EURO 2004 thread(sticky).

Defoe not in the squad.:kader:

although it is preliminary,i doubt sven will change it.
bringing in carragher and king instead of brown and ehioug(whatever) really sucks.
why didn't he think of defoe?

Originally posted by Payaah
I already posted this in EURO 2004 thread(sticky).
i don't think you can expect everything to do with Euro2004 over the nex couple of months to be posted in the Euro2004 thread....

I know Sven's daughter so maybe I can ask her to ask him, why the hell Heskey is in the squad :p

Southgate?

:kader:

Defoe?

:kader:

Heskey?

:kader:

Joe Cole is a surprise if you ask me..

He has hardly played for Chelsea..

heskey? :rofl:

It was hardly surprising to see Emile Heskey in the squad.

the overall level of attackers in the squad is fairly adequate, which is no good for a tournament like this really.

Lampard is the no.1 player on the squad atm imo. he's been solid and he has played alot, which apparently has helped him to improve dramatically.

I was praying Shaun Wright Philips would be a surprise addition to the squad... What happens now when we want a right winger? What happens if Becks is injured?

Martyn declines Euro call
By Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Everton goalkeeper Nigel Martyn declined an invitation to be considered for England's Euro 2004 squad.
The 37-year former England veteran has been outstanding for Everton since joining from Leeds in September.

And BBC Sport understands a member of England's set-up sounded out Martyn about a surprise international return.

But he was reluctant to come back and stay on the bench, leaving his Everton understudy Richard Wright as a surprise standby choice for Portugal.

Martyn has been voted Everton's player of the year, and manager David Moyes recently admitted his performances had been a major factor in the club staying in the Premiership.

Moyes said: "He has saved us on many occasions this year and when you look at how close we've been to relegation at the end of the season, it is hard to put into words the value of his contribution and what it has meant to have him here.

"I would say he is one of my best signings as a manager because he came for nothing. He only had one year left on his Leeds contract but we took that over.

"It meant a big pay cut for him to leave Leeds and sign a two-year deal with us. It has been a great piece of business and although he is 37 he certainly doesn't look ready for the knackers yard yet."


It is hard to put into words the value of Nigel Martyn's contribution
Everton manager David Moyes
Martyn said recently when asked about his possible selection for Portugal: "I have said before, at my age, to go there and do all the training all summer and not play is detrimental.

"I came back from the 2002 World Cup absolutely shattered and we had a tough pre-season schedule at Leeds with trips to the Far East and Australia and I was not ready for that at that time.

"In a major championship, if you knew you had a chance of playing then that is something you would have to go for.

"But I think the FA have got right behind David James and made him number one and they are supporting him. That is how it should be as it gives him confidence."

Wright has not played first-team football since September after suffering a knee injury shortly after Martyn's arrival.


Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/internationals/england/3722263.stm

Published: 2004/05/17 15:06:37 GMT

© BBC MMIV
=============================================
=============================================

sigh. Martyn would have been the best cover. I would pick Nigel over calamity James...

On Standby:

Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)
Richard Wright (Everton)
Matthew Upson (Birmingham)
Gareth Southgate (Middlesbrough)
Scott Parker (Chelsea)
Alan Smith (Leeds)

Southgate would've been chosen but he's injured. I would've dropped Phil Neville and Nicky Butt.

I'm happy Vassell is in there, Heskey should've been dropped for Defoe.

God help us if Upson has to be called in.

Shame Woodgate misses out.

shokz Phil and Butt are experienced internationals. Phil's verstaility and Butt's WC 2002 performance got that back in the squad. They better perform soon. If they don't improve they could very well be dropped out of the squad for the next big tournment.

consider a midfield..........

gerrard ----lampard----scholes----beckham

:rockman: :rockman:
it can destroy any team

Originally posted by VanTheMan
consider a midfield..........

gerrard ----lampard----scholes----beckham

:rockman: :rockman:
it can destroy any team

Having Hargreaves in so there is one slightly defensive player in there would be better.

-------------Hargreaves-----------
Beckham----Gerrard----Lampard

yet no scholes in there :rolleyes: Hargreaves wont be starting, it'll be those other four. Anyway sven likes.......


ZE DIAMOND!!!!!!(H)

This is BS, Emile Heskey instead of Alan Smith and Wright-Phillips? And Hargreaves instead of Parker? :rolleyes:

But am glad that England has a fairly solid midfield. Campbell and Terry centre back good enough...

Alan Smith isn't called up and neither is Shaun WP?? Parker is good but him moving to star-studded Chelsea probably hurt his chance of being an all out favorite to get on the team...

Though I'm surprised that Joe Cole is there? Maybe because he can sorta play on the left?

SB9Dragon your right, that's the only reason Joe Cole was picked

Originally posted by ruswilks
Having Hargreaves in so there is one slightly defensive player in there would be better.


I hear ya, the "becks, lamps, scholes, gerrard" midfield isn't that strong in defence.

Since Sven loves the diamond, this should be the most balanced.

------------Gerrard-----------

-Becks-----------------Joe Cole--


------------Lampard---------


If Sven plays Gerrard on the left he will have to play like Pires, floating in and out. He's capable of doing that, but it would be a waste of Gerrard's ability.

there are so many other combinations. wonder what would he choose. He should choose one where the players are most comfortable playing with each other. and that might mean dropping scholes or lampard in the starting 11. I'm wondering whether if scholes will get a place, since he is pretty weak defensively.


---------------Butt/ Hargreaves/Neville/Gerrard/Becks-------------


--Becks/Hargreaves/Nev---Gerrard/Cole/Lamps/Bridge/Cole/Neville
---------------------------------------------Donkey Heskey.


---------------------------Cole/Lampard/Scholes--------------------------


Just think of the possibilties. Endless.

With that much talent England better play well. Sven should choose the team that gels the best.

I think this would be class:

--------Gerrard------
Becks------------J.Cole
---------Lamps------

Scholes---------Owen

I always thought of Gerrard as a defensive midfielder. He'd be able to put in some mean passes anyway.

what do you guys think of Rooney being a starter? I think it's stupid. Any opinions

it's great to have rooney as a starter. remember owen in WC 98?

Rooney is one of the only few who can play second striker, or link-man in England. He can drop backwards to help the midfield and has the creativity to start things. He also has the physique to go for headers in front, possibly scoring himself or setting it up for owen. He's a mixture of Sheringham and Shearer.

Scholes is the only other person who can kind of play second striker, but he's much smaller. Scholes is actually only 5 ft 7.

Well to me it looks as if England will have a good Euro 2004, but only if Sven uses this team correctly. There is a lot of talent and with the correct combination, England can very easily be crowned "Champions of Europe."
















I hope it doesn't happen ;)

(Y)(Y)(Y)(Y)

No Defoe, stick that up your arse, Mini Judas.

alan thompson:( :( :( :kader:
ah well im not really suprised but still disapointed

update: Heskey (Birmingham)

:p

I cant believe Butt is in the squad he had a really poor season , I think Parker would be a much better choice.