Fifa Germany 2006 - world cup thread

Originally posted by Deano
darren bent isnt the type of player england need. we have owen. if you think darren bentshould be in the side,then it has to be for walcott.

Gladly. Walcott, as great as I feel he will become, shouldn't really be there, but then again I don't believe Crouch or Beckham should be.

Bent isn't needed because of Owen? Bent is the highest scoring English player and that's for Charlton. If your argument is "We need a goal scorer" then Bent is your answer.

Originally posted by Deano
crouch brings other players in brilliantly, he is good in the air and has the ability to score goals. he will be very useful for england. he will have a good tournament. i havent saw him put a foot wrong.

Good in the air? ANYTHING remotely decent I've seen from him hasn't been with his head, ironically. Gets out-jumped often, misses the ball often.

Originally posted by Deano
beckham needs to be playing, he still has the quality. lennon will get his chance and will be a regular soon enough. im more worried about lampard putting in a great performane rather than beckham

Why?

-AC

lampard rarely ever puts in a great performance for england. he will need to come the world cup. neither does gerrard if i was honest...its not just beckham who should be blamed

bent probably should be there ahead of walcott..but not crouch.

owen bent/defoe crouch rooney. there u have a good mix.

I think Beckham is still an important part of the team. He has a good work-rate, great passing, exceptional set-pieces and still looks kinda pretty.

Even without Rooney, England have a great chance at the World Cup. Sure, Sven has the extraordinary ability to f*ck things up with wacky decisions, but the core of the team is exceptionally strong: Robinson, Ferdinand, Terry, Neville, Cole, Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham, Cole, Owen - that just leaves one place, if we are sans Rooney...I'd give it to Lennon for some fantasy in the midfield, or Carrick in a holding position to release the other midfielders like Gerrard, Lampard and Cole. Sadly, it's pretty obvious the spot is going to be given to Crouch. Yawn.

Originally posted by Deano
lampard rarely ever puts in a great performance for england. he will need to come the world cup. neither does gerrard if i was honest...its not just beckham who should be blamed

bent probably should be there ahead of walcott..but not crouch.

owen bent/defoe crouch rooney. there u have a good mix.

Wait, you're not answering my question. If goal scoring is your aim, then you should have Bent. Why? Highest English goal scorer by a fair bit, and with a shit team. So he should, realistically, be ahead of any English striker. He's scored more than Rooney, and that's without great support.

As for Crouch, give me many good reasons why Bent, a great player and a top premiership scorer, shouldn't be there ahead of Crouch.

Please. Bearing in mind Bent scores more, is better technically, is more sturdy and faster.

-AC

*Inserts data into a Deano Computer*...

*Some gurgling sounds*...

= Crouch is tall. He puts himself about. He's tall.

Originally posted by Alpha Centauri
Wait, you're not answering my question. If goal scoring is your aim, then you should have Bent. Why? Highest English goal scorer by a fair bit, and with a shit team. So he should, realistically, be ahead of any English striker. He's scored more than Rooney, and that's without great support.

As for Crouch, give me many good reasons why Bent, a great player and a top premiership scorer, shouldn't be there ahead of Crouch.

Please. Bearing in mind Bent scores more, is better technically, is more sturdy and faster.

-AC

heskey is more sturdy and faster, shall we put him bk in the squad? crouch is technically excellent btw. but then i ask why are you coomparing bent to crouch?
comparing bent and crouch isnt fair. they are both different. im not saying you shoudnt have bent. he deserves to go ahead of walcott. but i understand why crouch is picked also. one day you will understand.

you woudnt play bent and owen together. they are too similar. but you would play bent/owen and crouch/rooney together because it is a good mix. something you fail to understand.

you could play the two higest scoring players in the premier league together, eg bent and owen and it probably wouldnt work cos they are similar. play either of them with rooney and things would work well. as much as you hate crouch, him and owen would be a far better partnership then bent and owen.

lampard and gerrard = quality. is it the dream partnership everyone hopes? no it isnt and probably never will . point is..playing two similar players together doesnt mean success.

yes bent should be in the squad. and so should crouch.

bent/owen rooney/crouch

perfect.

people booed crouch before. now they cheer him. idiots spring to mind.

you and krunk can keep attacking crouch all you like. but i cant see why as he is doing nothing wrong at all. when he was having a bad patch, you attacked him, now he is playing very well, you still attack him. you cant admit he is a good player. but i woudnt expect you to go back on your word. that would be too painful.

Originally posted by Deano
heskey is more sturdy and faster, shall we put him bk in the squad?

No, because he's shit isn't he? One of the Merlin football stickers that you'd find stuck on the walls of school corridors because everyone had a double and nobody wanted him.

Originally posted by Deano
crouch is technically excellent btw.

I've not seen any proof. What I have seen is people hyping his height, which has thus far been useless or not AS useful as, I dunno, a player good with his feet.

Originally posted by Deano
but then i ask why are you coomparing bent to crouch?
comparing bent and crouch isnt fair. they are both different. im not saying you shoudnt have bent. he deserves to go ahead of walcott.

Because it's about who is better for the team. The top English goal scorer with much better overall talent than Crouch, who managed it with a shit team, or Crouch himself. I'd pick Bent. You, for some reason, would pick Crouch.

Originally posted by Deano
but i understand why crouch is picked also. one day you will understand.

T-that's what Sun-zi read criminals say.

Seriously though, that's like a religious comment. "I believe in God, I see why he exists, you just don't, you're blind." No, you just have faith. He hasn't proven his worth yet, nor do I believe he will.

Originally posted by Deano
you woudnt play bent and owen together. they are too similar. but you would play bent/owen and crouch/rooney together because it is a good mix. something you fail to understand.

I wouldn't play Owen and Crouch at all. I'd play Bent and Rooney, or Bent just infront of Rooney. Bent can supply and be supplied to, as can Rooney. They can also both make their own goals.

Owen can't do anything without having the ball put to his feet, Crouch can't do anything without zero hassle or lots of time.

Originally posted by Deano
you could play the two higest scoring players in the premier league together, eg bent and owen and it probably wouldnt work cos they are similar. play either of them with rooney and things would work well. as much as you hate crouch, him and owen would be a far better partnership then bent and owen.

You're missing the point, I'm not saying Bent and Owen would be my choice, I'm saying if I had my way Owen wouldn't be there ahead of Bent.

That said, Bent would supply what Owen needs way more than Crouch, I believe.

Originally posted by Deano
lampard and gerrard = quality. is it the dream partnership everyone hopes? no it isnt and probably never will . point is..playing two similar players together doesnt mean success.

Lampard is recognised perfectly. He's not overrated, nor is he slept on. Gerrard, while I think he is very good, is overrated to me. Not saying he's bad, or not worth taking, but he does get overrated I feel. I too agree that he shouldn't be played with Lampard.

Originally posted by Deano
people booed crouch before. now they cheer him. idiots spring to mind.

Yeah, those people are idiots. Anyone who does that is an idiot, though. Which is also why you shouldn't use that as a plus.

Walcott got a bigger ovation than anyone on that pitch when he came on against Belarus, off the back of what? Newspaper hype.

I never liked Crouch, never will.

Originally posted by Deano
you and krunk can keep attacking crouch all you like. but i cant see why as he is doing nothing wrong at all. when he was having a bad patch, you attacked him, now he is playing very well, you still attack him. you cant admit he is a good player. but i woudnt expect you to go back on your word. that would be too painful.

I'm not attacking the man, I don't hate him personally or anything.

I just don't like him as a player, that's all. I've given perfectly acceptable reasoning as to why I believe so and it's not exactly false is it? It's not that I can't admit he's good, because I don't believe he is anyway. I'm not secretly thinking "Damn, Crouch is good."

You know me better than to do that, from other forums on this site.

-AC

My personal vendetta against Crouch is based on his resemblance to an elongated version of this dude:

That, and the fact that he's crap.

Originally posted by Ya Krunk'd Floo
My personal vendetta against Crouch is based on his resemblance to an elongated version of this dude:

That, and the fact that he's crap.

😆

Crouch is rubbish in the air... fact

As I said, anything remotely decent that he's done hasn't come from his height.

He's tall so he can get to the ball first, he's not necessarily good at headers. The man's no Alan Shearer, who was great in the air I think.

-AC

Originally posted by Alpha Centauri
[B]No, because he's shit isn't he? One of the Merlin football stickers that you'd find stuck on the walls of school corridors because everyone had a double and nobody wanted him.

agreed. heskey is too shit for england. but point was...pace isnt everything

I've not seen any proof. What I have seen is people hyping his height, which has thus far been useless or not AS useful as, I dunno, a player good with his feet.

im not hyping his height, he is a very good player who can be of use to england. he has proved he can be a useful edition. he is very good in the air,but he isnt a shearer type headerer. he can hold the ball up better than any striker i see, and his touch is excellent. an dhe can finish very well too as he has proved. he is a pain to defenders and they hate to play against him.

imagine this, owen is playing crap because the defenders are marking him out the game, when the manager takes him off, who will they hate to see more come on the pitch? bent who is similar to owen? (the defenders woudnt mind at all) or crouch, a big pest of a striker who can cause havoc to defenses with his height, he can bring other players in expertly to open game up. you just seem to be mentioning the bad parts of crouch's game. he has other useful attributes believe it or not.

Because it's about who is better for the team. The top English goal scorer with much better overall talent than Crouch, who managed it with a shit team, or Crouch himself. I'd pick Bent. You, for some reason, would pick Crouch.

again you miss the point as to why crouch is picked. if you dont get it now then you will never get it. bent should of been given the chance yes..but at the expence of hargreaves or walcott, not crouch.

T-that's what Sun-zi read criminals say.

Seriously though, that's like a religious comment. "I believe in God, I see why he exists, you just don't, you're blind." No, you just have faith. He hasn't proven his worth yet, nor do I believe he will.

he has proven his worth though, everytime he has worn the england shirt. even the crowd enjoy watching him play now. they never gave him a chance before, and neither did you. you are blind if you cant see his use on the pitch.

I wouldn't play Owen and Crouch at all. I'd play Bent and Rooney, or Bent just infront of Rooney. Bent can supply and be supplied to, as can Rooney. They can also both make their own goals.

bent and rooney, good choice, i can see your point. it could work. you have a good argument there .. but michael owen, when fit can be vital to england. but idiot sven never gave bent much of a chance, and it would be risky banging him straight in the first team.

point here is, crouch is a useful squad member. he adds another dimension.

Owen can't do anything without having the ball put to his feet, Crouch can't do anything without zero hassle or lots of time.

every striker adds something different. owen is deadly in front of goal. thats why he is there. strongly disagree about your comment that crouch cant do anything, i think last night he proved he could.

You're missing the point, I'm not saying Bent and Owen would be my choice, I'm saying if I had my way Owen wouldn't be there ahead of Bent.

fair comment again. but bent has to be given the chance to prove himself. im not saying he coudnt be a top national striker. but idiot sven has to play him...sadly he hasnt given him a chance,

That said, Bent would supply what Owen needs way more than Crouch, I believe.

bent is more like owen though, none would be willing to drop deep like crouch and rooney would. it woudnt work imo.

Lampard is recognised perfectly. He's not overrated, nor is he slept on. Gerrard, while I think he is very good, is overrated to me. Not saying he's bad, or not worth taking, but he does get overrated I feel. I too agree that he shouldn't be played with Lampard.

i dont think lampard or gerrard are overrated. its just they havent been able to turn a great performance on for england. i dont mind him playing with lampard, but if thats what sven decides, then you have to play an holding midfielder like carrick or beckham.

Walcott got a bigger ovation than anyone on that pitch when he came on against Belarus, off the back of what? Newspaper hype.

strongly agree

I never liked Crouch, never will.

but realise his importance to the team. most people else can.

I just don't like him as a player, that's all. I've given perfectly acceptable reasoning as to why I believe so and it's not exactly false is it? It's not that I can't admit he's good, because I don't believe he is anyway. I'm not secretly thinking "Damn, Crouch is good."

You know me better than to do that, from other forums on this site.

i just dont think you have given him much of a chance. i just think you underestimated his importance of his presence to the squad

Originally posted by Deano
im not hyping his height, he is a very good player who can be of use to england. he has proved he can be a useful edition. he is very good in the air,but he isnt a shearer type headerer. he can hold the ball up better than any striker i see, and his touch is excellent. an dhe can finish very well too as he has proved. he is a pain to defenders and they hate to play against him.

You keep saying he has proved this, that and the other, but to who? You, many others? So what? He's not proven it to me. I'm not one to deny things I agree with just because I don't like them.

If he came out, started playing great and proved himself to be a worthy asset in my eyes, I'd admit as much. However, he hasn't, not to me. What YOU see is irrelevant to me, I don't care if he's being better than any striker you see, that, to me, is a ridiculous comment.

How do you know defenders hate to play against him? Have you been told this by the England supporters, or have the defenders of the world told you this?

Originally posted by Deano
imagine this, owen is playing crap because the defenders are marking him out the game, when the manager takes him off, who will they hate to see more come on the pitch? bent who is similar to owen? (the defenders woudnt mind at all) or crouch, a big pest of a striker who can cause havoc to defenses with his height, he can bring other players in expertly to open game up. you just seem to be mentioning the bad parts of crouch's game. he has other useful attributes believe it or not.

Bent isn't similar to Owen, what are you talking about? I've seen him beat multiple men and smash shots into the back of the net, I've seen him tap shots in and I've seen him win in the air. Owen has only ever done two of these consistently, the latter two, and they both require an element of luck. Bent is the more powerful and skillful player, he can make his own space and chances. Owen needs to be at least two on one.

Originally posted by Deano
again you miss the point as to why crouch is picked. if you dont get it now then you will never get it. bent should of been given the chance yes..but at the expence of hargreaves or walcott, not crouch.

When are you going to stop with the "I get it, you don't, so that's why" bs? No, you like Crouch, I don't. I've not seen any reason for you to believe what you do, and everytime I come back with a retort, your reply is "He'll get better" or "I believe he's proven his worth'.

Originally posted by Deano
he has proven his worth though, everytime he has worn the england shirt. even the crowd enjoy watching him play now. they never gave him a chance before, and neither did you. you are blind if you cant see his use on the pitch.

England fans will support whoever they're told to support, Deano. Let's put the patriotism aside for a sec. As blind and naive as I sometimes believe you are (and you know that), you can't deny that.

England fans loved Sven when he joined, for no other reason than "Wheeey England manager!".

So you're now resorting to "You can't see what his use is, so you're just blind."? How about, he just doesn't do anything worth seeing? It's getting like Beckham. He could f*ck up 9 times out of 10, but if he scores a free kick on the 10th try, people will go "Told you he was good." In the England team, if you have people against you, all you have to do is score a goal or two and you'll have them off your back. It's stupid.

Originally posted by Deano
bent and rooney, good choice, i can see your point. it could work. you have a good argument there .. but michael owen, when fit can be vital to england. but idiot sven never gave bent much of a chance, and it would be risky banging him straight in the first team.

Fair enough, in a World Cup you need something solid, but at the moment you've got a team that is so solid that it's stiff. Tunisia beat Belarus 3-0 recently. England struggled against them and still lost. Granted, it was the B team, but only because Sven is too dumb to see that the A team is full of B team talent, and vice versa.

As much as you like to say Crouch and Owen is a great partnership, you honestly believe that defenders wouldn't be MORE afraid of Bent/Rooney, with Lennon supplying to them? Come on, that's one of the best attacking combos there is in the world right now, potentially. This coming from someone who doesn't support the team.

Originally posted by Deano
point here is, crouch is a useful squad member. he adds another dimension.

Ok well, for arguments sake, as much as I dislike Crouch and don't see why he's in the squad at all, having him in the squad wouldn't bother me as much as having him as a starting player all the time. He's just not good enough and there are better players.

You say "Bent may be better, but Crouch is the different option." Why though? What option? He is useless in the air, that much is proven. The odd occasion he does win it, he flicks it to Owen. Why don't we just have someone like Bent who can beat players and give Owen a much better opportunity to score?

Originally posted by Deano
every striker adds something different. owen is deadly in front of goal. thats why he is there. strongly disagree about your comment that crouch cant do anything, i think last night he proved he could.

Yes, against Hungary's defenders. If you seriously think that top quality teams will allow that to happen (not saying it won't) as easily, then you're sorely mistaken.

Originally posted by Deano
bent is more like owen though, none would be willing to drop deep like crouch and rooney would. it woudnt work imo.

Crouch is willing to do whatever he's told because he wants his spot. I don't believe Crouch has as high opinion of himself as everyone else does, to be honest.

Nobody seriously thought this man was England material until he was called up, and that's not how it should be, especially with players out there playing excellently. Again, Sven's fault.

Originally posted by Deano
i dont think lampard or gerrard are overrated. its just they havent been able to turn a great performance on for england. i dont mind him playing with lampard, but if thats what sven decides, then you have to play an holding midfielder like carrick or beckham.

The problem with Beckham is that when he has a great game, all other 9 players have to play to his strengths. This is not a good sign for England, especially since they have the best potential team that they have had in years.

If they had a decent manager I believe they could win it, but I don't believe they will, and if they do...I don't believe it'll be a great performance or a deserved win to be honest. I don't care if they win or lose, but part of my dislike for them is how the majority of England fans are fickle. They act like the best team in the world regardless of how England win, yet if England lose it's "Doesn't matter, just one game." I just think it's a shame that with genuinely great players this time, Sven is f*cking it up.

Which is why, getting back to the Beckham thing, that I don't think he should be picked. Lennon should be there. People rate his passing as excellent, but as someone said to me yesterday "Beckham is hit and hope. He hits a couple of good passes, despite missing many and hitting lots of bad ones, and people praise him."

Originally posted by Deano
i just dont think you have given him much of a chance. i just think you underestimated his importance of his presence to the squad

I think you overestimate him.

Either way, we all know England have problems as a team and they won't get past them before or during the World Cup. Will they do well enough to succeed or have some success? We'll see.

As much as I support Brazil's team, I'm excited to see many of the teams play, I'm excited for the World Cup in general.

-AC

what exactly is this 'other dimension' crouch brings to the team that there are no players better at?

Martin swain - express and star

From david beckham came a reminder of his immense value to england. and just an hint that his squad regard all this rooneymania as something as an insult.
If the nation largely believes that englands best chance of winning the world cup went with rooney's snapped metatarsal a month ago then the captain begs to differ.
With Rooney now all but certain to miss the globes greatest spoting showpiece, beckham chose last nights old trafford stage to remind supporters that there are more strings to the england bow aimed at germany this summer.

Tottenhams winger will have his time and may turn out to be a far more useful impact player than the little boy lost that is theo walcott, but the england captains brilliant deliveries agaisnt hungary hopefully silenced those who mistook beckhams glittering profile for a dimming of his effectiveness.

Above all things, beckham is a class act who posseses one of the finest techniques ever constructed by an englishman. it has been honed by thousands of hours of dedicated training and tried and tested on some of the most demanding stages in world football.
Now into his 30's and on his way to a century of caps, that kind of experience and expertise is beyond measure when you stand at the head of your team preparing to walk out the tunnel ina foreign stadium to meet foreign opposition at the world cup.

For beckham to hear various ninconpoops claiming he owes his place to the FA's commerical deals and the blind, misguided faith of Sven Goran Eriksson has been insulting as it has been stupid.

Eriksson can be certain thats beckhams assets remain as solid and considerable as ever.

Originally posted by Alpha Centauri
You keep saying he has proved this, that and the other, but to who? You, many others? So what? He's not proven it to me. I'm not one to deny things I agree with just because I don't like them.

If he came out, started playing great and proved himself to be a worthy asset in my eyes, I'd admit as much. However, he hasn't, not to me. What YOU see is irrelevant to me, I don't care if he's being better than any striker you see, that, to me, is a ridiculous comment.

How do you know defenders hate to play against him? Have you been told this by the England supporters, or have the defenders of the world told you this?

Bent isn't similar to Owen, what are you talking about? I've seen him beat multiple men and smash shots into the back of the net, I've seen him tap shots in and I've seen him win in the air. Owen has only ever done two of these consistently, the latter two, and they both require an element of luck. Bent is the more powerful and skillful player, he can make his own space and chances. Owen needs to be at least two on one.

When are you going to stop with the "I get it, you don't, so that's why" bs? No, you like Crouch, I don't. I've not seen any reason for you to believe what you do, and everytime I come back with a retort, your reply is "He'll get better" or "I believe he's proven his worth'.

England fans will support whoever they're told to support, Deano. Let's put the patriotism aside for a sec. As blind and naive as I sometimes believe you are (and you know that), you can't deny that.

England fans loved Sven when he joined, for no other reason than "Wheeey England manager!".

So you're now resorting to "You can't see what his use is, so you're just blind."? How about, he just doesn't do anything worth seeing? It's getting like Beckham. He could f*ck up 9 times out of 10, but if he scores a free kick on the 10th try, people will go "Told you he was good." In the England team, if you have people against you, all you have to do is score a goal or two and you'll have them off your back. It's stupid.

Fair enough, in a World Cup you need something solid, but at the moment you've got a team that is so solid that it's stiff. Tunisia beat Belarus 3-0 recently. England struggled against them and still lost. Granted, it was the B team, but only because Sven is too dumb to see that the A team is full of B team talent, and vice versa.

As much as you like to say Crouch and Owen is a great partnership, you honestly believe that defenders wouldn't be MORE afraid of Bent/Rooney, with Lennon supplying to them? Come on, that's one of the best attacking combos there is in the world right now, potentially. This coming from someone who doesn't support the team.

Ok well, for arguments sake, as much as I dislike Crouch and don't see why he's in the squad at all, having him in the squad wouldn't bother me as much as having him as a starting player all the time. He's just not good enough and there are better players.

You say "Bent may be better, but Crouch is the different option." Why though? What option? He is useless in the air, that much is proven. The odd occasion he does win it, he flicks it to Owen. Why don't we just have someone like Bent who can beat players and give Owen a much better opportunity to score?

Yes, against Hungary's defenders. If you seriously think that top quality teams will allow that to happen (not saying it won't) as easily, then you're sorely mistaken.

Crouch is willing to do whatever he's told because he wants his spot. I don't believe Crouch has as high opinion of himself as everyone else does, to be honest.

Nobody seriously thought this man was England material until he was called up, and that's not how it should be, especially with players out there playing excellently. Again, Sven's fault.

The problem with Beckham is that when he has a great game, all other 9 players have to play to his strengths. This is not a good sign for England, especially since they have the best potential team that they have had in years.

If they had a decent manager I believe they could win it, but I don't believe they will, and if they do...I don't believe it'll be a great performance or a deserved win to be honest. I don't care if they win or lose, but part of my dislike for them is how the majority of England fans are fickle. They act like the best team in the world regardless of how England win, yet if England lose it's "Doesn't matter, just one game." I just think it's a shame that with genuinely great players this time, Sven is f*cking it up.

Which is why, getting back to the Beckham thing, that I don't think he should be picked. Lennon should be there. People rate his passing as excellent, but as someone said to me yesterday "Beckham is hit and hope. He hits a couple of good passes, despite missing many and hitting lots of bad ones, and people praise him."

I think you overestimate him.

Either way, we all know England have problems as a team and they won't get past them before or during the World Cup. Will they do well enough to succeed or have some success? We'll see.

As much as I support Brazil's team, I'm excited to see many of the teams play, I'm excited for the World Cup in general.

-AC

bent and owen are both poachers. they are similar.

i disagree with you about crouch, he will be a good addition. but opinions are opinions.

i agree also that england wont go all the way, which is a shame because they have the ability. sven just cannot put it right and play to a system that works. the key to winning the world cup is to go there and enjoy it and play with no fear. something england wont be able to do because of the immense pressure. thats why i favour brazil or argentina to lift the trophy.

Originally posted by Df02
what exactly is this 'other dimension' crouch brings to the team that there are no players better at?

Crouch is the sort of player defenders do not like to play against - he is a real handful.

There are not many international defenders who will have played against a player like him.

If you give him the right service he adds another dimension for the England forward line.

The England wide men will know that, without picking their heads up, if they get the ball in the box they have someone who is likely to get on the end of it.

He is a threat and hard to handle, particularly if he is coming on as a substitute in the last 20 minutes.

If Owen and Rooney are fit for the final stages then his involvement will be in coming off the bench as a super sub.

But for the group stages, he obviously he has a much better chance of starting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/england/4944206.stm

Originally posted by Deano
bent and owen are both poachers. they are similar.

i disagree with you about crouch, he will be a good addition. but opinions are opinions.

i agree also that england wont go all the way, which is a shame because they have the ability. sven just cannot put it right and play to a system that works. the key to winning the world cup is to go there and enjoy it and play with no fear. something england wont be able to do because of the immense pressure. thats why i favour brazil or argentina to lift the trophy.

Bent can and does poach, but he is much more than that. He can beat men and create play, Owen is just a poacher.

-AC

Originally posted by Deano

There are not many international defenders who will have played against a player like him.

Players like him aren't usually in international teams.

Originally posted by Victor Von Doom
Players like him aren't usually in international teams.

Snap.

Here's a thought: Pick the best players, and play them in their best position. Simple enough, right?

I don't see Brazil, France, Holland, and Argentina picking shit players just because they're 'different' (The 'difference' being that they're shit, and the other players are quite good).