Walcott Goes to World Cup!

[Che Mourinho]

Supposedly Walcott will be on Eriksson's standby of 4 players for the WC and possibly replace Rooney if he has to pull out. The squad below is predicted by BBC and it seems like it could be spot on. I'm not convinced by Wright-Philipps. Engerland will be absolutely f*ucked though if Owen & Rooney are out.

SQUAD ANNOUNCED AT 2pm

Probable squad: Robinson, James, Green; G Neville, King, Campbell, R Ferdinand, Terry, Carragher, A Cole, Bridge; Beckham, Wright-Phillips, Gerrard, Lampard, Carrick, J Cole, Downing; Rooney, Owen, Crouch, Defoe, Bent.
Stand-by: Carson, Hargreaves, Lennon, Walcott.

[Coin]

King, Campbell, Cole, Rooney and Owen are all either currently out or have at most a couple of games played after coming back from injury. Bridge hasn't been very reliable recently (or ever for that matter). 3 or 4 recurrences and the squad is in bits.

[pepe_le_pooh]

King, Campbell, Cole, Rooney and Owen are all either currently out or have at most a couple of games played after coming back from injury. Bridge hasn't been very reliable recently (or ever for that matter). 3 or 4 recurrences and the squad is in bits.
If all these injuries have the effect of lowering the English media's expectations of their team, then at least something positive has come of it.
I always thought the biggest impediment to the team's success is the pressure put on them by the media, and not the opposition.

[Che Mourinho]

Walcott, Lennon, Downing in WC squad!

King, Defoe, Wright-Phillips, Bent out!!

[Roman Abramovich]

sven is being bold...

[Che Mourinho]

I think Sven is right.....you gotta take a gamble, especially if you now you're out a job win, loss or draw!!

From the press conference (live at the moment) it seems like he's going to use Cole up front, maybe Downing on the left?

I'm glad he didn't choose Wright-Phillips or King. Good decision.

But Rooney and Owen aren't fit....

England's provisional squad:
Robinson (Tottenham), James (Manchester City), Green (Norwich), G Neville (Manchester United), R Ferdinand (Manchester United), Terry (Chelsea), A Cole (Arsenal), Campbell (Arsenal), Carragher (Liverpool), Bridge (Chelsea), Beckham (Real Madrid), Carrick (Tottenham), Lampard (Chelsea), Gerrard (Liverpool), Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Jenas (Totenham), Downing (Middlesbrough), J Cole (Chelsea), Lennon (Tottenham), Rooney (Manchester United), Owen (Newcastle), Crouch (Liverpool), Walcott (Arsenal).

[Che Mourinho]

Garth Crooks is a f*ucking moron at questioning!!

[Captain Planet]

im surprised he didnt throw in heskey either the tit. defoe or bent should be in it. what has walcott done.

[Che Mourinho]

Have a look at the stand-by.....Christ there's some gambles there....

Stand-by: Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Young (Charlton), Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Andy Johnson (Crystal Palace).

[Captain Planet]

Have a look at the stand-by.....Christ there's some gambles there....

Stand-by: Scott Carson (Liverpool), Luke Young (Charlton), Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Andy Johnson (Crystal Palace).
i find it hard to understand why the likes of darren bent dont even get into the standby spots and andy johnson does. Hes a good player but hes been in the championship all season...does that not count for anything

[BlueSkies]

That's a joke. Theo Walcott wouldn't get into the Ireland squad.

[Captain Planet]

That's a joke. Theo Walcott wouldn't get into the Ireland squad.
Jaysus i dunno, stans doing auditions on patrick st next week. Hes looking for the X-Factor

[Actin The Sham]

That's a joke. Theo Walcott wouldn't get into the Ireland squad.


Are there parallels with Norman Whiteside at Espana 82?

[Roman Abramovich]

That's a joke. Theo Walcott wouldn't get into the Ireland squad.
heh heh heh

[markyd007]

its a big gamble taking walcott alrite, sven admitted it himself. itl be interestin to see will it pay off tho.

[Actin The Sham]

its a big gamble taking walcott alrite, sven admitted it himself. itl be interestin to see will it pay off tho.

It certainly will for Southampton. They stand to get £2 Million from Arsenal when he plays his first competitive match for England.

[pepe_le_pooh]

It certainly will for Southampton. They stand to get £2 Million from Arsenal when he plays his first competitive match for England.
Surprising that this hasn't triggered a few conspiracy theories.
For example, does Clive Woodward have Sven's phone number?

[Actin The Sham]

Surprising that this hasn't trigger a few conspiracy theories?
For example, does Clive Woodward have Sven's phone number?


Heh heh heh.....


(By the way, no sign of Kevin Nolan in either of the England or Ireland squads today, and now that Allardyce is out of the England reckoning, I would think the chances of him ever playing in a major tournament are rapidly diminishing)

[diamond_dog]

Why should Walcott not be in the England squad. He scored 5 goals for Southampton and never even got a game for Arsenal.

Why should Darren Bent go he is just the leading english scorer in the premiership.

This should be a funny world cup.

[markyd007]

stuart downing could become an england regular when steve mcclaren takes the reigns.

[dotty]

walcotts inclusion is a joke but suppose i didnt expect anything else from sven.

think campbell is a lucky lad to be going to germany as well,had king not got injured he would have taken his place imo.

and what has sven got against wes brown - has been excellent for united this season and not even a mention.

[BlueSkies]

Hargreaves, Campbell, Downing and Jenas are very fortunate to be going IMO.

[Up For The Ba]

Hargreaves, Campbell, Downing and Jenas are very fortunate to be going IMO.


I`d agree but the one thing i`ll say is that Downings inclusion is more out of necessity than merit. To be fair the guy has been injured for most of the season but its an option that they had to take really I think.

[Forsberg]

walcotts inclusion is a joke but suppose i didnt expect anything else from sven.

think campbell is a lucky lad to be going to germany as well,had king not got injured he would have taken his place imo.

and what has sven got against wes brown - has been excellent for united this season and not even a mention.

Agreed on most of those points, but I don't think that the inclusion of Walcott is that bad an idea. I mean, does anybody think that players like Defoe, Darren Bent and the others that were left out are really good enough to play in the world cup. Sure, Darren Bent had a good season, but he's not a top class player. Same for defoe, and Fowler didn't do it for England even when he was at his best.

The thing about Walcott is that he has the potential to be a world class player.. And bringing youngsters to major tournaments has worked out well for England in recent years.

Ya , it's a risk , but when the other options are so poor, then I think it's a decent call

[BlueSkies]

Hmmm, Bent or Defoe might be good for a goal or two though just in case Owen gets injured again or isn't fit. Can't see Crouch or Walcott scoring a lot of goals.

[xvis]

it's an astonishing pick

...he's never even appeared in the premiership ever and he's going to the world cup.

[Che Mourinho]

Just to set the record straight Southampton will get £2m when Walcott makes 20 appearances for England, not 1.

Walcott certainly seems like he will give something new and different to England, an unpredictable option, which Defoe or Bent wouldn't really do. If you want to go for the safe option, but maybe get knocked out in the quarters go for one of them, but if you want to really gamble on a potential star who might just do a Paolo Rossi (Italy, 1982, anyone remember????) then Walcott is worth the risk. Anyway, he's only 1 of 23 players.

[Jim Comic]

but if you want to really gamble on a potential star who might just do a Paolo Rossi (Italy, 1982, anyone remember????) then Walcott is worth the risk. Anyway, he's only 1 of 23 players.



rossi was a big name in italy before '82

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Rossi

[Forsberg]

rossi was a big name in italy before '82

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Rossi

Ya .
Scillachi is probably a better example of a relatively unproven player being a success.

What Walcott will bring is the unknown quantity factor. I think opponents will fear a highly rated (if unknown) 17 year old compared to good solid premiership strikers (ie Bent and Defoe)

[xvis]

Rossi and Schillaci had all played in Seria A with big clubs

...you can pull no comparison from previous world cups to a similar situation as this

[Che Mourinho]

I wonder will he play in the Champs League final.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teFw3XUk7wU&search=walcott

[Brad]

Ya .
Scillachi is probably a better example of a relatively unproven player being a success.

What Walcott will bring is the unknown quantity factor. I think opponents will fear a highly rated (if unknown) 17 year old compared to good solid premiership strikers (ie Bent and Defoe)

Think including Walcott is a big gamble but your logic there has a lot of validity.

[raZor]

Walcott really has nothing to prove either he's there as a gamble and if it doesnt pay off then he can go back to arsenal's reserves for a season or two more. wouldnt write him off totally though

[AmadeusDC]

While it sure is a massive gamble it might just work out to be a stroke of genius......... For starters i have my doubts about quite a few of England's strikers. Defoe is probably the best of the bunch to miss out but he's on stand by and realistically will almost certainly be called in with the other two crocked. The thing is, he'll be coming in with a chip on his shoulder now and with something to prove. A great way to have a striker.
As for Marcus Bent, i still have my doubts. While he has had one good season that doesn't make him a natural pick for England. No one was howling for the inclusion of James Beatie and he was great about a year ago. Marcus Stewart was amazing in the P/L a few years back yet never would have been considered World Cup squad calibre> I can't even remember that name of the other black guy who was lighting up the P/L, i think scored on his England debut and within a year was a reserve at his mid-table club!!
AJ at Crystal Palace has been scoring regularly for a few years now but he has still only been playing Championship opponents for a year now. I'd still put him ahead of Bent but behind Defoe. Anyway, Walcott on the other hand is a complete unknown quantity but has been training day in and day out with an entire squad of World Class internationals at Arsenal. While he hasn't played yet, he is behind 3 guys who are World Cup bound in Henry, Reyes and Van Persie and a player who offers a completly different option when tactics require in Bergkamp. Wenger still considers the guy good enough to have on the bench in the Champions League and i am positive he would have been introduced had Arsenal needed a goal badly!! From all i've heard Walcott has great control and more importantly blinding pace. While that is no guarentee that he is good enough for the squad we always here the analysts say that "the one thing you can't defend against is pace." If Walcott has it in abundence as is suggested by his sprinting credentials (under age British 100m champion) then who knows what he might offer as an unknown quantity. Finally England have twice used extremely young players in major tournaments in the recent past and had them exceed expectations (Owen, Rooney). I'll admit that they had a bit more experience but as i said right at the beginning it is a gamble that may backfire but then again it might be spectacular. Hey, at least Seven is doing something unpredictable for once!!!!
-AmadeusDC-

[dotty]

While it sure is a massive gamble it might just work out to be a stroke of genius......... For starters i have my doubts about quite a few of England's strikers. Defoe is probably the best of the bunch to miss out but he's on stand by and realistically will almost certainly be called in with the other two crocked. The thing is, he'll be coming in with a chip on his shoulder now and with something to prove. A great way to have a striker.
As for Marcus Bent, i still have my doubts. While he has had one good season that doesn't make him a natural pick for England. No one was howling for the inclusion of James Beatie and he was great about a year ago. Marcus Stewart was amazing in the P/L a few years back yet never would have been considered World Cup squad calibre> I can't even remember that name of the other black guy who was lighting up the P/L, i think scored on his England debut and within a year was a reserve at his mid-table club!!
AJ at Crystal Palace has been scoring regularly for a few years now but he has still only been playing Championship opponents for a year now. I'd still put him ahead of Bent but behind Defoe. Anyway, Walcott on the other hand is a complete unknown quantity but has been training day in and day out with an entire squad of World Class internationals at Arsenal. While he hasn't played yet, he is behind 3 guys who are World Cup bound in Henry, Reyes and Van Persie and a player who offers a completly different option when tactics require in Bergkamp. Wenger still considers the guy good enough to have on the bench in the Champions League and i am positive he would have been introduced had Arsenal needed a goal badly!! From all i've heard Walcott has great control and more importantly blinding pace. While that is no guarentee that he is good enough for the squad we always here the analysts say that "the one thing you can't defend against is pace." If Walcott has it in abundence as is suggested by his sprinting credentials (under age British 100m champion) then who knows what he might offer as an unknown quantity. Finally England have twice used extremely young players in major tournaments in the recent past and had them exceed expectations (Owen, Rooney). I'll admit that they had a bit more experience but as i said right at the beginning it is a gamble that may backfire but then again it might be spectacular. Hey, at least Seven is doing something unpredictable for once!!!!
-AmadeusDC-

fair points amadeus.
only thing its darren bent not marcus.
and im not sure but the black guy you are on about might be michael ricketts??

[pepe_le_pooh]

Hey, at least Seven is doing something unpredictable for once!!!!
Absolutely. From a fairly neutral spectator's point of view, that's very refreshing. Maybe the knowledge that he will be leaving in a few months whatever happens has made him feel more at liberty to pick who he wants, even if it means taking a risk.

[west cork rebel]

fair points amadeus.
only thing its darren bent not marcus.
and im not sure but the black guy you are on about might be michael ricketts??

Darius Vassell, of Aston Villa at the time of his debut for england, scroed an overhead kick in some friendly. Now i think he plays for Man City, well if he gets a game, but is it me or is it maddness to pick a 17 year old lad who have never played in the pl, a player who Sven has never seen, people like Bent must be thnking what on earth they have to do to get in the England team, by doing this Sven is not being a radical, he only picked him becasue he plays for Arsenal and they think hes a good player.

[dotty]

Darius Vassell, of Aston Villa at the time of his debut for england, scroed an overhead kick in some friendly. Now i think he plays for Man City, well if he gets a game, but is it me or is it maddness to pick a 17 year old lad who have never played in the pl, a player who Sven has never seen, people like Bent must be thnking what on earth they have to do to get in the England team, by doing this Sven is not being a radical, he only picked him becasue he plays for Arsenal and they think hes a good player.

apparently either himself or tord grip have been to arsenal reserve games and watched walcott,but how you can bring a 17 year old who is untried at premiership level nevermind international level is beyond me,might turn out to be a masterstroke but i very much doubt it.

[west cork rebel]

apparently either himself or tord grip have been to arsenal reserve games and watched walcott,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/england/4752671.stm

or not, maddness.

[xvis]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/england/4752671.stm

or not, maddness.

..and svens seen every match, ever.

[MonTheHoops]

Nicked from elsewhere:

Nancy swished into the breakfast bar in her sheer black silk dressing gown, neatly cut to the thigh and dropped a brochure in front of Sven. “The Old Walled Cottage”, it said.

“Vat is this?” asked Sven, peering at it.

“It is the perfect geddaway for after the World Cup. Verra, verra high walls so no sneakin paparazzi canna see us makin' wild passionate love”, she said, “Hey, Sven, whaddaya doin' wiv the breakfast tings?”

“I am finalising ze squad fer the Werld Cup”, said Sven, neatly tricked out in his paisley dressing gown, sipping fresh orange juice.

“Wassat, then?” asked Nancy, pointing to a row of neatly lined up boiled eggs.

“That is a defensive wall, Nancy”, replied Sven, primly, before shouting, “Hey Tord, more boiled eggs”.

Tord Grip bustled into the room, in waiter's outfit, carrying more boiled eggs and toast. “Here you go boss”. He stopped, startled. “Hey she's just bashed in Ledley King's head! And now she's a eatin' his brains.”

Sven looked sadly at the hole in his wall and then at Nancy poking at the broken egg with a toast soldier. “It's a sign, Tord”, he said. “We'll take Campbell”. He moved a large pepperpot into the wall.

“Now whatsa this?” asked Nancy, pointing at an array of knives and forks, spread over much of the table top.

“Those, Nancy, are my offensive tactics,” he pointed to a knife, “This is Shaun Wright-Phillips and this is Darren Bent. I intend to use them in combination to spread fear and alarm …”

“Faria Alam!” screeched Nancy, lurching forward to grab the unfortunate offensive duo and hurling them at Sven's head. Sven coolly ducked just in time, and the knives embedded themselves in a picture of the FA management team, circa 2002. “Don't a you mention the name of that woman to me!”

Sven peered at the quivering knives and nodded his head slightly. “Tord, we will not take Bent or Wright-Phillips, the omens are not good. And can you get me some more strikers.”

“OK”, said Tord. “Steve!”.

Steve Maclaren stuck his head out of the serving hatch, looking flushed with his chef's hat awry. “Yes?”

“More strikers for the boss.”

“Ah, Nancy at it again?”

“Yep”.

“Who do you want?”

“Who you got left”.

“I'll go check”, Steve, ducked back into the kitchen.

Meanwhile Sven had calmed the quivering Nancy. “OK”, she said, “Whaddabout the toast?”

“The toast lays out my formation for the first round,” he looked at Nancy sadly. “Nancy, you hav eaten Jermaine Defoe's left leg. 'Ow can I take a striker wiv no left leg?”

Nancy shrugged, and munched on the unfortunate striker's other lower limb. “P'raps you need to change your formation.” She indicated a marmite covered soldier. “Why not push Cole forward, ee's a goal scorer no?”

Sven threw his hands in the air in excitement.

“Eureka!” he exclaimed.

Nancy shreaked. “Don't a you mention the name of that Swedish trollop to me,” and grabbing hold of Andy Johnson by the handle started chasing Sven around the table, pausing only to hurl a bottle of HP sauce across the room.

Eventually Sven managed to calm the irate Italian: “So you see Nancy, I was calling you a genius”.

Nancy's eye's narrowed – “You asure you not going after some Greek floozy now?”

“No, Nancy, but now I need another striker”.

Tord re-entered the room and set down a tray of bacon and eggs. Looking down he gasped.

“Boss, look”.

Sven walked over to look down at the table to where his assistant was staring. It was Nancy's advertisement for their post-Cup hidaway. But where before it had said:

THE OLD WALLED COTTAGE

It was now stained with HP sauce from Nancy's attack and what was left revealed:

THE O** WAL*** COTT***

Sven looked at Tord. Tord looked at Sven. In unison they chimed:

“It's a sign!”

[afeencalleddan]

He's right to bring Walcott in my opinion (not that I expected him to or anything) because he's obviously fresh, very talented, very quick and unheard of by the opposition. The glaring mistake that Sven made though is in only bringing 4 strikers when 2 have serious doubts hanging over them. Jenas or Hargreaves could definitely be sacrificed for Defoe.

[AmadeusDC]

fair points amadeus.
only thing its darren bent not marcus.
and im not sure but the black guy you are on about might be michael ricketts??

Yep, it was Darren i meant obviously........... .and you are right on it being Ricketts as well. Isn't he a reserve at Middlesborough or some place like that these days?

-AmadeusDC-

[Superdave]

Rossi and Schillaci had all played in Seria A with big clubs

...you can pull no comparison from previous world cups to a similar situation as this

Pele?

Feel very free to shoot me down!

On a serious note to go back to something another poster referred to earlier - what's the point in bringing bent, Fowler, Defoe - we all know they are DEFINITELY not good enough to win the world cup. Walcott just might be. Probably not but still, worth a gamble i reckon.

[jungle]

FFS It turns out that Walcott was a Chelsea trainee when he was a 12 year old and we let him go to Southampton...

And for any Liverpool supporters feeling smug, he was a Liverpool fan when he was growing up, so you've missed out too.

[homer jay]

And for any Liverpool supporters feeling smug, he was a Liverpool fan when he was growing up, so you've missed out too.

yeah, he's a big pool fan, and was hoping they'd come in with a bid when arsenal were putting in their lot. oh well.

[Roman Abramovich]

FFS It turns out that Walcott was a Chelsea trainee when he was a 12 year old and we let him go to Southampton...
.
no ye didnt....
walcott signed from afc newbry to swindon to southampton

[jungle]

no ye didnt....
walcott signed from afc newbry to swindon to southampton
Well, I have a newspaper in front of me that states that he was a Chelsea trainee as a 12 year old. Possibly, he went to other clubs between Chelsea and Southampton.

In an interview he talks of meeting Michael Owen (his hero) on April 29th, 2000 when Liverpool were playing Chelsea and he was a trainee at the club. Can't imagine why he would make the story up.

[Roman Abramovich]

Well, I have a newspaper in front of me that states that he was a Chelsea trainee as a 12 year old. Possibly, he went to other clubs between Chelsea and Southampton.

In an interview he talks of meeting Michael Owen (his hero) on April 29th, 2000 when Liverpool were playing Chelsea and he was a trainee at the club. Can't imagine why he would make the story up.

i have a card here that says santa called but i wasnt in...
doesnt mean its true.

you go find where walcott was a chelsea trainee and ill find you 10 euro

[jungle]

i have a card here that says santa called but i wasnt in...
doesnt mean its true.

you go find where walcott was a chelsea trainee and ill find you 10 euro
Page 71 of today's Independent (British one)

[Roman Abramovich]

Page 71 of today's Independent (British one)
ive looked at four papers today with the same article and they all say he was a ball boy at a chelsea game when he was 10.


as i said.....
if you go saying chelsea had walcott at 12 then show me....


because they didnt.

[Killyoursons]

Rossi and Schillaci had all played in Seria A with big clubs

...you can pull no comparison from previous world cups to a similar situation as this

True.
Spain once capped a Danish-born striker called Thomas Christiansen. At the time he was with Barcelona but was playing with their feeder club in the Second Division, and as far as I know, had never played a first-team game with them. He played twice for Spain, scored once. But he wasn't taken to a World Cup.

[xvis]

Pele?

Feel very free to shoot me down!

Pele had finished a whole season as top scorer in the league, ..for Corinthians before playing aged 17 in the World Cup, ..hardly similar to Walcott, having made no premier league appearances.

This could actually be a risk to his development, however, Wenger did recommend his inclusion. Why if he is so great has Wenger not thrown him on for the last 10 minutes of a league game?


I'd have chosen either Bent or Defoe, ..looking at the quality of the goal that Defoe scored on Sunday, there is some evidence of his quality.
With Owen in (Spring 98) and Rooney (v Arsenal etc) they had already shown their quality so there was little risk in playing them despite their age.

[Roman Abramovich]

Why if he is so great has Wenger not thrown him on for the last 10 minutes of a league game?
.
maybe wenger was allready calculating on him going to the world cup.
arsene knows.

[xvis]

maybe wenger was allready calculating on him going to the world cup.
arsene knows.

maybe because he's french