No surprises. Woy has of course picked Lampard. Did we expect otherwise?

No surprises. Woy has of course picked Lampard. Did we expect otherwise?

Sadly, no. Can't see him being a starter. As mentioned, there is ample cover in that position. No surprises in the squad as you've said.

I have no particular problems with midfield or up top. But I have grave fears about that back four.

We are a Johnson injury away from having Smalling and a Cahill/Jagielka injury away from having Smalling or Jones.

No surprises. Woy has of course picked Lampard. Did we expect otherwise?

Sadly, no. Can't see him being a starter. As mentioned, there is ample cover in that position. No surprises in the squad as you've said.

I have no particular problems with midfield or up top. But I have grave fears about that back four.

We are a Johnson injury away from having Smalling and a Cahill/Jagielka injury away from having Smalling or Jones.

I'm going to go for a German win at the World Cup....but it's difficult as Spain are still strong as are Italy and to a certain extent Brazil...a dark horse may be Argentina with Aguero and Messi as a striking partnership, so my prediction may change. 

A young team for England and we stand a chance of winning a few games....

I'm going to go for a German win at the World Cup....but it's difficult as Spain are still strong as are Italy and to a certain extent Brazil...a dark horse may be Argentina with Aguero and Messi as a striking partnership, so my prediction may change. 

Don't think anyone would consider ARGENTINA as dark horses esp in a south American tournament. BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, GERMANY AND SPAIN are prob the top 4 to beat. Can't see past those teams tho perhaps Italy Uraguay and Netherlands could upset. Dark horses could be Belgium or dare I say England.  Hodgsons selection is not surprising and he seems to have a well balanced team... I am looking fwd to the WC esp as I be on hols in Gran Canaria with some German friends and hoping England get thru the group stage.

I'm going to go for a German win at the World Cup....but it's difficult as Spain are still strong as are Italy and to a certain extent Brazil...a dark horse may be Argentina with Aguero and Messi as a striking partnership, so my prediction may change. 

Don't think anyone would consider ARGENTINA as dark horses esp in a south American tournament. BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, GERMANY AND SPAIN are prob the top 4 to beat. Can't see past those teams tho perhaps Italy Uraguay and Netherlands could upset. Dark horses could be Belgium or dare I say England.  Hodgsons selection is not surprising and he seems to have a well balanced team... I am looking fwd to the WC esp as I be on hols in Gran Canaria with some German friends and hoping England get thru the group stage.

Apart from Pablo Zabaleta their defence is rubbish, one man can't defend a Brazilian or German attack - unless you park the bus and I wouldn't rank Demichelis as a good defender, he is inconsistent. Having a great defence as well as attack is what wins games.

I'm going to go for a German win at the World Cup....but it's difficult as Spain are still strong as are Italy and to a certain extent Brazil...a dark horse may be Argentina with Aguero and Messi as a striking partnership, so my prediction may change. 

Don't think anyone would consider ARGENTINA as dark horses esp in a south American tournament. BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, GERMANY AND SPAIN are prob the top 4 to beat. Can't see past those teams tho perhaps Italy Uraguay and Netherlands could upset. Dark horses could be Belgium or dare I say England.  Hodgsons selection is not surprising and he seems to have a well balanced team... I am looking fwd to the WC esp as I be on hols in Gran Canaria with some German friends and hoping England get thru the group stage.

Apart from Pablo Zabaleta their defence is rubbish, one man can't defend a Brazilian or German attack - unless you park the bus and I wouldn't rank Demichelis as a good defender, he is inconsistent. Having a great defence as well as attack is what wins games.

 

Betting odds show Brazil faves then Argentina, Germany then Spain. So Argentina 2nd favourites hardly dark horses !!!!!!!!

I'm going to go for a German win at the World Cup....but it's difficult as Spain are still strong as are Italy and to a certain extent Brazil...a dark horse may be Argentina with Aguero and Messi as a striking partnership, so my prediction may change. 

Don't think anyone would consider ARGENTINA as dark horses esp in a south American tournament. BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, GERMANY AND SPAIN are prob the top 4 to beat. Can't see past those teams tho perhaps Italy Uraguay and Netherlands could upset. Dark horses could be Belgium or dare I say England.  Hodgsons selection is not surprising and he seems to have a well balanced team... I am looking fwd to the WC esp as I be on hols in Gran Canaria with some German friends and hoping England get thru the group stage.

Apart from Pablo Zabaleta their defence is rubbish, one man can't defend a Brazilian or German attack - unless you park the bus and I wouldn't rank Demichelis as a good defender, he is inconsistent. Having a great defence as well as attack is what wins games.

 

Betting odds show Brazil faves then Argentina, Germany then Spain. So Argentina 2nd favourites hardly dark horses !!!!!!!!

Odds are nothing, does a horse that is favourite always win the Grand National? nope. Argentina were one of the favourites 4 years ago but they didn't make the semis and their team isn't hugely different this time around.

Pretty decent squad from Hodgson, not quite as bad as I feared.  I'm very pleased he selected Barkley, Lallana, and Shaw, and with the exception of selecting Lampard, it is about as good as could have been hoped. I'm very happy to see Cleverly not make the provisional 23, which suggests even if someone drops out, he is far from certain to win an appearance anyway.

Agree with others that it looks light in defence, and I feel that the defensive midfield position is going to be an area of weakness other teams will aim to exploit.  Will Roy opt to play Liverpool style (outscore the oppostion) as a result or his tried and tested safety-first way? Not sure he has the cajones to play Barkley and Lallana at the same time but who knows? Both of these in the same starting XI might give the necessary creativity to break down what will likely be a trademark stubborn Italian defence-counter attack shape.

My misplaced sense of optimism sees me thinking that Roy could really surprise the opposition if he chooses an attack focused team. The pace and fearlessness of the young players, and opposition teams expecting a standard Roy sensible strategy could see us doing better than the last couple of outings at the WC.

And then, back on planet Earth...

A young team for England and we stand a chance of winning a few games....

win nothing with kids

No surprises. Woy has of course picked Lampard. Did we expect otherwise?

Sadly, no. Can't see him being a starter. As mentioned, there is ample cover in that position. No surprises in the squad as you've said.

I have no particular problems with midfield or up top. But I have grave fears about that back four.

We are a Johnson injury away from having Smalling and a Cahill/Jagielka injury away from having Smalling or Jones.

I'm not at all confident in Johnson, either. I'd love to see Liverpool upgrade the RB position this transfer window.

The issue I'm intrigued with is whether Shrek will bother turning up. After looking like he could challenge to be 'best player in the world' when he burst onto the international scene at Portugal 08, his performances at subsequent tournaments have been akin to me playing. His form for Man U over his whole career with them hasn't exactly been a picture of consistency, either. Yes, he's too often had to play in a position not really suited to his talents, and there've been times he's carried that team. But he's also struggled for any kind of domestic form for long periods. Sturridge has been fantastic for Liverpool this season, not just for a great scoring return, but for his off-the-ball running. If Hodgson gets Rooney playing the right role, Sturridge could be a great foil & they could complement each other really well. The problem with this is that I can't see Hodgson knowing how best to play Rooney.

I'm going to go for a German win at the World Cup....but it's difficult as Spain are still strong as are Italy and to a certain extent Brazil...a dark horse may be Argentina with Aguero and Messi as a striking partnership, so my prediction may change. 

Don't think anyone would consider ARGENTINA as dark horses esp in a south American tournament. BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, GERMANY AND SPAIN are prob the top 4 to beat. Can't see past those teams tho perhaps Italy Uraguay and Netherlands could upset. Dark horses could be Belgium or dare I say England.  Hodgsons selection is not surprising and he seems to have a well balanced team... I am looking fwd to the WC esp as I be on hols in Gran Canaria with some German friends and hoping England get thru the group stage.

Apart from Pablo Zabaleta their defence is rubbish, one man can't defend a Brazilian or German attack - unless you park the bus and I wouldn't rank Demichelis as a good defender, he is inconsistent. Having a great defence as well as attack is what wins games.

 

Betting odds show Brazil faves then Argentina, Germany then Spain. So Argentina 2nd favourites hardly dark horses !!!!!!!!

Odds are nothing, does a horse that is favourite always win the Grand National? nope. Argentina were one of the favourites 4 years ago but they didn't make the semis and their team isn't hugely different this time around.

Odds are nothing ...??? Are you for real...??? Comparing the world cup to the Grand National ( a lottery) is foolish. Do you actually know anything about football ...???

I'm going to go for a German win at the World Cup....but it's difficult as Spain are still strong as are Italy and to a certain extent Brazil...a dark horse may be Argentina with Aguero and Messi as a striking partnership, so my prediction may change. 

Don't think anyone would consider ARGENTINA as dark horses esp in a south American tournament. BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, GERMANY AND SPAIN are prob the top 4 to beat. Can't see past those teams tho perhaps Italy Uraguay and Netherlands could upset. Dark horses could be Belgium or dare I say England.  Hodgsons selection is not surprising and he seems to have a well balanced team... I am looking fwd to the WC esp as I be on hols in Gran Canaria with some German friends and hoping England get thru the group stage.

Apart from Pablo Zabaleta their defence is rubbish, one man can't defend a Brazilian or German attack - unless you park the bus and I wouldn't rank Demichelis as a good defender, he is inconsistent. Having a great defence as well as attack is what wins games.

 

Betting odds show Brazil faves then Argentina, Germany then Spain. So Argentina 2nd favourites hardly dark horses !!!!!!!!

Odds are nothing, does a horse that is favourite always win the Grand National? nope. Argentina were one of the favourites 4 years ago but they didn't make the semis and their team isn't hugely different this time around.

Odds are nothing ...??? Are you for real...??? Comparing the world cup to the Grand National ( a lottery) is foolish. Do you actually know anything about football ...???

France was one of the favourites 4 years ago too yet they fell out with their coach at the world cup and more or less refused to play like we normally see them play, so, yeah odds are nothing, many factors like the French fiasco contribute to a team winning or losing and not odds. Whoever put Argentina as 2nd favourites musn't of looked at their defence as a crap defence won't win you the World Cup or probably don't know anything about football, you'll only get to the quarters with a good attack and average poor defence and that's it - I'm afraid it doesn't take an Einstein to work that out, that's why their the dark horse.

Also what if Aguero or Messi or even both get an injury? it is certainly possible. So odds don't come into play with that either.

Brazil were red hot favourites in 1998 yet they got battered in the final. Who would of predicted France to lift the trophy? Same with Denmark at the 1992 Euros, odds were they were going to lose in the group stages but they won the whole thing.

 

The issue I'm intrigued with is whether Shrek will bother turning up. After looking like he could challenge to be 'best player in the world' when he burst onto the international scene at Portugal 08, his performances at subsequent tournaments have been akin to me playing. His form for Man U over his whole career with them hasn't exactly been a picture of consistency, either. Yes, he's too often had to play in a position not really suited to his talents, and there've been times he's carried that team. But he's also struggled for any kind of domestic form for long periods. Sturridge has been fantastic for Liverpool this season, not just for a great scoring return, but for his off-the-ball running. If Hodgson gets Rooney playing the right role, Sturridge could be a great foil & they could complement each other really well. The problem with this is that I can't see Hodgson knowing how best to play Rooney.

I'd agree with that, and the problem with a player of Rooney's reputation (despite rarely playing well for England) is that he becomes too "important" to drop or sub.

I'm going to go for a German win at the World Cup....but it's difficult as Spain are still strong as are Italy and to a certain extent Brazil...a dark horse may be Argentina with Aguero and Messi as a striking partnership, so my prediction may change. 

Don't think anyone would consider ARGENTINA as dark horses esp in a south American tournament. BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, GERMANY AND SPAIN are prob the top 4 to beat. Can't see past those teams tho perhaps Italy Uraguay and Netherlands could upset. Dark horses could be Belgium or dare I say England.  Hodgsons selection is not surprising and he seems to have a well balanced team... I am looking fwd to the WC esp as I be on hols in Gran Canaria with some German friends and hoping England get thru the group stage.

Apart from Pablo Zabaleta their defence is rubbish, one man can't defend a Brazilian or German attack - unless you park the bus and I wouldn't rank Demichelis as a good defender, he is inconsistent. Having a great defence as well as attack is what wins games.

 

Betting odds show Brazil faves then Argentina, Germany then Spain. So Argentina 2nd favourites hardly dark horses !!!!!!!!

Odds are nothing, does a horse that is favourite always win the Grand National? nope. Argentina were one of the favourites 4 years ago but they didn't make the semis and their team isn't hugely different this time around.

Odds are nothing ...??? Are you for real...??? Comparing the world cup to the Grand National ( a lottery) is foolish. Do you actually know anything about football ...???

France was one of the favourites 4 years ago too yet they fell out with their coach at the world cup and more or less refused to play like we normally see them play, so, yeah odds are nothing, many factors like the French fiasco contribute to a team winning or losing and not odds. Whoever put Argentina as 2nd favourites musn't of looked at their defence as a crap defence won't win you the World Cup or probably don't know anything about football, you'll only get to the quarters with a good attack and average poor defence and that's it - I'm afraid it doesn't take an Einstein to work that out, that's why their the dark horse.

Also what if Aguero or Messi or even both get an injury? it is certainly possible. So odds don't come into play with that either.

Brazil were red hot favourites in 1998 yet they got battered in the final. Who would of predicted France to lift the trophy? Same with Denmark at the 1992 Euros, odds were they were going to lose in the group stages but they won the whole thing.

Was the same with Italy in the '82 World Cup. Who really thought that they would put Brazil out that year, and that Brazil team was rated by many as the best Brazilian side of any since Pele & co in 1970. Worth remembering also that Italy in 1982 failed to win any of their first round group matches (3 draws) whereas Brazil won all their games in style before the Italians got the better of them.

No surprises. Woy has of course picked Lampard. Did we expect otherwise?

Sadly, no. Can't see him being a starter. As mentioned, there is ample cover in that position. No surprises in the squad as you've said.

I have no particular problems with midfield or up top. But I have grave fears about that back four.

We are a Johnson injury away from having Smalling and a Cahill/Jagielka injury away from having Smalling or Jones.

 

I'm not at all confident in Johnson, either. I'd love to see Liverpool upgrade the RB position this transfer window.

 

The issue I'm intrigued with is whether Shrek will bother turning up. After looking like he could challenge to be 'best player in the world' when he burst onto the international scene at Portugal 08, his performances at subsequent tournaments have been akin to me playing. His form for Man U over his whole career with them hasn't exactly been a picture of consistency, either. Yes, he's too often had to play in a position not really suited to his talents, and there've been times he's carried that team. But he's also struggled for any kind of domestic form for long periods. Sturridge has been fantastic for Liverpool this season, not just for a great scoring return, but for his off-the-ball running. If Hodgson gets Rooney playing the right role, Sturridge could be a great foil & they could complement each other really well. The problem with this is that I can't see Hodgson knowing how best to play Rooney.

Johnson is the best in that position unfortunately. I quake with fear at the thought of Smalling playing there should Johnson get injured. It would surely end in tears.

Personally, I'd play Rooney in the classic number 10 role with Sturridge as the lone striker. That's the only way I see Shrek and Sturridge together.

Just to add - Woy has made some good choices i.e Barclay, Lallana, yet you can be rest assured he'll press the default button. So I expect Milner to see a lot of match time.

Personally, I'd play Rooney in the classic number 10 role with Sturridge as the lone striker. That's the only way I see Shrek and Sturridge together.

Just to add - Woy has made some good choices i.e Barclay, Lallana, yet you can be rest assured he'll press the default button. So I expect Milner to see a lot of match time.

Agree with you on all counts, there.

I'm going to go for a German win at the World Cup....but it's difficult as Spain are still strong as are Italy and to a certain extent Brazil...a dark horse may be Argentina with Aguero and Messi as a striking partnership, so my prediction may change.

Don't think anyone would consider ARGENTINA as dark horses esp in a south American tournament. BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, GERMANY AND SPAIN are prob the top 4 to beat. Can't see past those teams tho perhaps Italy Uraguay and Netherlands could upset. Dark horses could be Belgium or dare I say England. Hodgsons selection is not surprising and he seems to have a well balanced team... I am looking fwd to the WC esp as I be on hols in Gran Canaria with some German friends and hoping England get thru the group stage.

Apart from Pablo Zabaleta their defence is rubbish, one man can't defend a Brazilian or German attack - unless you park the bus and I wouldn't rank Demichelis as a good defender, he is inconsistent. Having a great defence as well as attack is what wins games.

Betting odds show Brazil faves then Argentina, Germany then Spain. So Argentina 2nd favourites hardly dark horses !!!!!!!!

Odds are nothing, does a horse that is favourite always win the Grand National? nope. Argentina were one of the favourites 4 years ago but they didn't make the semis and their team isn't hugely different this time around.

Odds are nothing ...??? Are you for real...??? Comparing the world cup to the Grand National ( a lottery) is foolish. Do you actually know anything about football ...???

France was one of the favourites 4 years ago too yet they fell out with their coach at the world cup and more or less refused to play like we normally see them play, so, yeah odds are nothing, many factors like the French fiasco contribute to a team winning or losing and not odds.Whoever put Argentina as 2nd favourites musn't of looked at their defence as a crap defence won't win you the World Cup or probably don't know anything about football, you'll only get to the quarters with a good attack and average poor defence and that's it - I'm afraid it doesn't take an Einstein to work that out, that's why their the dark horse.
Also what if Aguero or Messi or even both get an injury? it is certainly possible. So odds don't come into play with that either.
Brazil were red hot favourites in 1998 yet they got battered in the final. Who would of predicted France to lift the trophy? Same with Denmark at the 1992 Euros, odds were they were going to lose in the group stages but they won the whole thing.