Englands Centre forward crisis

Fergies Formula · 24th July 2008, 02:55

I was thinking earlier what a sad state uf affairs we are in with english football that at the moment we dont actually have a world class striker(i dont mean a second striker,ala rooney)

We have a couple of decent out and out strikers like defoe and crouch, but past them there is know one who england can count on to push for world cup glory, owen will be 30, i dont think we will be relying on dean ashton if im honest, so who is there out in the youths who is special if any, someone who looks special.

Its funny how all the top teams in world football groom plenty of young attack-minded potential superstars and England have nothing. its depressing

Sarni · 24th July 2008, 02:56

Kitson can solve all England's problems. He has a grade.

kietotheworld · 24th July 2008, 03:19

Don't need one, put Rooney upfront, have Cole, Lampard, Gerrard behind him, then have Carrick and Hargreaves to give the 3 behind Rooney the freedom to play.

njred · 24th July 2008, 05:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by kietotheworld

Don't need one, put Rooney upfront, have Cole, Lampard, Gerrard behind him, then have Carrick and Hargreaves to give the 3 behind Rooney the freedom to play.

It hasn't worked though has it with Rooney up front?The original poster was right.

a_devil_inside · 24th July 2008, 07:14

Fraizer Campbell

maybe that Sturridge from Man City

Escobar · 24th July 2008, 07:46

I'd agree, England just dont have enough quality players to really be considered a world class team. On some positions, they have the best players, but the wings, goalkeeper and striker department is just not strong enough. And before every tournament, the team gets massively overrated.

Hope Capello can sort that out and find a good formation

ERICSAGOD · 24th July 2008, 07:55

Don't worry lads there's always err . . . . . . . . .

Crouch!

Mr Darcy · 24th July 2008, 08:08

Englands problems are in goal, an on the wings, anyone who says otherwise is spastic, and plays too much pes.

Good game, but football is not as simple as saying Rooney is a 'ss' and therefore I need a 'cf' on the team with special ability in 'post player'. lolz i bet thats what the original poster thinks, picking out weakness where there are none (England have good strikers) and missing the glaringly obvious weaknesses such as on the wings (imagine a Nani and Ronaldo??) and in goal (imagine a Buffon or a Cech).

Now I will wait to be attacked by the spastics.

Longlivekeano · 24th July 2008, 08:20

How about the "legendary" Darren Huckerby who scored the greatest goal in the history of the game

Lot 49 · 24th July 2008, 08:35

Agbonlahor is great and only 21. His speed would also be useful as England tend to play with a fairly slow attack.

Stick · 24th July 2008, 09:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lot 49

Agbonlahor is great and only 21. His speed would also be useful as England tend to play with a fairly slow attack.

He plays down the right or in the same role as Rooney. You need a big strong but skillfull lad who's a threat in the air and on the deck. If Carlton Cole or Dean Ashton knuckled down a bit instead of enjoying life in London too much then they could do this. I remember when England had some choice up front between Shearer, Sherringham, Ferdinand, Fowler and Cole but still only shearer and sherringham really made an impression at international level.

Lot 49 · 24th July 2008, 09:28

Agbonlahor doesn't play the same role as Rooney. He's been played on the right a lot for Villa out of necessity because they had no other decent options for a while but his best position is as an out and out striker who uses his pace to get away from the last defender. He would work very well with Rooney dropping in deep behind him imo.

Stick · 24th July 2008, 09:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lot 49

Agbonlahor doesn't play the same role as Rooney. He's been played on the right a lot for Villa out of necessity because they had no other decent options for a while but his best position is as an out and out striker who uses his pace to get away from the last defender. He would work very well with Rooney dropping in deep behind him imo.

He's not a great out and out striker and is used correctly by Martin O'Neill as a winger/supporting front man. He cannot hold the ball up on his own and that's why he plays with Big John. Agbonlahor is a poor mans Rooney.

FlawlessThaw · 24th July 2008, 10:05

Start Rooney playing off Ashton and see how that goes for now.

Lot 49 · 24th July 2008, 10:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stick

He's not a great out and out striker and is used correctly by Martin O'Neill as a winger/supporting front man. He cannot hold the ball up on his own and that's why he plays with Big John. Agbonlahor is a poor mans Rooney.

He's never played as a supporting front man and when played upfront for Villa he plays alongside Carew and not in behind him. And again he's only been played on the right out of necessity and not because that's his position. When O'Neil took over at Villa they had been using Milner on the right, O'Neil wanted to keep him as his winger and made an offer but the deal broke down at the last minute so O'Neil had to start the season with out a right winger. That's the only reason they played Agbonlahor there, it's not and never will be his position. O'Neil has been trying to get him off the wing by signing players like Maloney and Routledge but they've not worked out for varying reasons.

Saying he's a poor man's Rooney is ridiculous because he's nothing like Rooney, you might as well say Carew is a poor man's Tevez. He's not got Rooney's vision or his passing or his work rate or any of the other things that make Rooney a great no. 10. What he has got is blistering pace, a decent shot and good reading of the game which make him a good striker.

Anderson15 · 24th July 2008, 10:48

Calm down everyone, we still have Emile Heskey

Red Pavan · 24th July 2008, 10:53

This is not the only crisis in the England team.

Justin · 24th July 2008, 11:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anderson15

Calm down everyone, we still have Emile Heskey

England's answer to Kuyt, but not as good.

Rowem · 24th July 2008, 11:30

England's whole attacking game, not just the striker but the wings and midfield as well, just looks completely slow and lacking any sort of cutting edge asides from Rooney and Gerrard who often are played in numerous different roles. England need to get the best out of them consistently. There is a desperate need for a pacey goalscorer upfront, some creativity in midfield and some pace+skill on the wings.

England need some of the young prospects like Agbonlahor, Young, Ashton, Lennon, Bentley, Walcott, etc. to push on and take the places of Owen, Cole, Lampard and Beckham, who no longer shine on the international stage.

Bape · 24th July 2008, 11:57

Hopefullly Walcott in a few years time can do the job for us, not betting on it mind.

Fergies Formula · 24th July 2008, 11:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Darcy

Englands problems are in goal, an on the wings, anyone who says otherwise is spastic, and plays too much pes.

Good game, but football is not as simple as saying Rooney is a 'ss' and therefore I need a 'cf' on the team with special ability in 'post player'. lolz i bet thats what the original poster thinks, picking out weakness where there are none (England have good strikers) and missing the glaringly obvious weaknesses such as on the wings (imagine a Nani and Ronaldo??) and in goal (imagine a Buffon or a Cech).

Now I will wait to be attacked by the spastics.

England dont have a weakness up top?>

tell me who will be able to play that role, because rooney shouldn't be asked to play it alone, he isnt as good or effective, alone up top.

my original point that we have no real out and out striker of world class, like holland have van nistelrooy, spain - torres, sweden - imbrahimovic, Italy toni, germany - klose etc, as my original point mentioned we have know one like this and there is know one who looks like they could be this for england at the next world cup, its a depressing state of affairs, england rarley produce top class attackers now, they are all just nearly men, apary from rooney

oh any how do you know what i think?

Name Changed · 24th July 2008, 12:43

Didn't Spurs pay 17m for Darren Bent. At 17m he must be great.

Lot 49 · 24th July 2008, 12:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rowem

England's whole attacking game, not just the striker but the wings and midfield as well, just looks completely slow and lacking any sort of cutting edge asides from Rooney and Gerrard who often are played in numerous different roles. England need to get the best out of them consistently. There is a desperate need for a pacey goalscorer upfront, some creativity in midfield and some pace+skill on the wings.

England need some of the young prospects like Agbonlahor, Young, Ashton, Lennon, Bentley, Walcott, etc. to push on and take the places of Owen, Cole, Lampard and Beckham, who no longer shine on the international stage.

Exactly. England have had a slow attack since Owen lost his pace and that was years ago now. Put Agbonlahor upfront with Rooney and Young on the left and the team will have far more penetration.

UnofficialDevil · 24th July 2008, 13:02

England is not the only National team with striker problems.

Look at Portugal, Nuno Gomes and Hélder Postiga is all they've got (both shit) but they still manage to play attractive attacking football.

(And get results)

Mr Darcy · 24th July 2008, 13:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fergies Formula

England dont have a weakness up top?>

tell me who will be able to play that role, because rooney shouldn't be asked to play it alone, he isnt as good or effective, alone up top.

my original point that we have no real out and out striker of world class, like holland have van nistelrooy, spain - torres, sweden - imbrahimovic, Italy toni, germany - klose etc, as my original point mentioned we have know one like this and there is know one who looks like they could be this for england at the next world cup, its a depressing state of affairs, england rarley produce top class attackers now, they are all just nearly men, apary from rooney

oh any how do you know what i think?

I just think football is not so simple. Just because certain countries have strikers who are famous (as strikers), does not mean they are better than a striker who because of lack of service or being played out of position (at club level) does not appear to be prolific. It is only the setup of the teams he plays for which makes this the case, and if anything Manchester United are the supreme example that a team can be the best in the world without a superstar forward! And this leads me to the conclusion that England could have won the world cup in the last couple of decades if they had the services of Fergie and not their greatest club team!!!

GAngel · 24th July 2008, 13:16

if ingurland wants to win they need to play all the utd players. They're the only ones who don't bottle everything.

samabachan · 24th July 2008, 14:18

Agbonlahor is a crap footballer. Fast as fuck and pretty strong but he's a sprinter not a footballer. OP's right. England do lack decent, fit strikers. Owen and Rooney are top class though.

Stick · 24th July 2008, 15:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lot 49

He's never played as a supporting front man and when played upfront for Villa he plays alongside Carew and not in behind him. And again he's only been played on the right out of necessity and not because that's his position. When O'Neil took over at Villa they had been using Milner on the right, O'Neil wanted to keep him as his winger and made an offer but the deal broke down at the last minute so O'Neil had to start the season with out a right winger. That's the only reason they played Agbonlahor there, it's not and never will be his position. O'Neil has been trying to get him off the wing by signing players like Maloney and Routledge but they've not worked out for varying reasons.

Saying he's a poor man's Rooney is ridiculous because he's nothing like Rooney, you might as well say Carew is a poor man's Tevez. He's not got Rooney's vision or his passing or his work rate or any of the other things that make Rooney a great no. 10. What he has got is blistering pace, a decent shot and good reading of the game which make him a good striker.

He's not got enough of a physical presence up front. I've seen himself and Young play in behind Carew on the left and right for villa and work the touchline like wingers. I dont think I've ever seen him as an out and out striker. He has pace and a decent shot but his reading of the game needs to improve.

AttackingFlair · 24th July 2008, 16:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lot 49

He's never played as a supporting front man and when played upfront for Villa he plays alongside Carew and not in behind him. And again he's only been played on the right out of necessity and not because that's his position. When O'Neil took over at Villa they had been using Milner on the right, O'Neil wanted to keep him as his winger and made an offer but the deal broke down at the last minute so O'Neil had to start the season with out a right winger. That's the only reason they played Agbonlahor there, it's not and never will be his position. O'Neil has been trying to get him off the wing by signing players like Maloney and Routledge but they've not worked out for varying reasons.

Saying he's a poor man's Rooney is ridiculous because he's nothing like Rooney, you might as well say Carew is a poor man's Tevez. He's not got Rooney's vision or his passing or his work rate or any of the other things that make Rooney a great no. 10. What he has got is blistering pace, a decent shot and good reading of the game which make him a good striker.

I agree with this. Maybe he's not ready yet, but in the future... yeah.

red2deadboy · 24th July 2008, 16:28

--------Rooney
Young----Cole---Walcott
-----Carrick--Gerrard
Cole----Rio----Terry--Hargreaves
----------Foster

I believe the above team would be our best selection as is has pace, experience, solid defence and exuberance of youth in Walcott & Young. I believe Cole would be ideal partner for Rooney as he likes to drift and is capable of executing that killer pass needed at international level.

kietotheworld · 24th July 2008, 17:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by red2deadboy

--------Rooney
Young----Cole---Walcott
-----Carrick--Gerrard
Cole----Rio----Terry--Hargreaves
----------Foster

I believe the above team would be our best selection as is has pace, experience, solid defence and exuberance of youth in Walcott & Young. I believe Cole would be ideal partner for Rooney as he likes to drift and is capable of executing that killer pass needed at international level.

Gerrard's not at his best as a central midfielder, Walcott's not very good, Lampard is very good and should be in the team.

24th July 2008, 02:55	#1 (permalink)
Fergies Formula Reserve Team Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Brighton/ London Posts: 1,573	Englands Centre forward crisis I was thinking earlier what a sad state uf affairs we are in with english football that at the moment we dont actually have a world class striker(i dont mean a second striker,ala rooney) We have a couple of decent out and out strikers like defoe and crouch, but past them there is know one who england can count on to push for world cup glory, owen will be 30, i dont think we will be relying on dean ashton if im honest, so who is there out in the youths who is special if any, someone who looks special. Its funny how all the top teams in world football groom plenty of young attack-minded potential superstars and England have nothing. its depressing

24th July 2008, 02:56	#2 (permalink)
Sarni nice guy, unassuming, objective United fan. Thinks hes intelligent though. Nutter Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Krakow Posts: 11,283	Kitson can solve all England's problems. He has a grade.

24th July 2008, 03:19	#3 (permalink)
kietotheworld Reserve Team Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Airstrip One Posts: 3,763	Don't need one, put Rooney upfront, have Cole, Lampard, Gerrard behind him, then have Carrick and Hargreaves to give the 3 behind Rooney the freedom to play.

24th July 2008, 07:14	#5 (permalink)
a_devil_inside Big footed hermaphrodite Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Little Britain Posts: 25,013	Fraizer Campbell maybe that Sturridge from Man City

24th July 2008, 07:46	#6 (permalink)
Escobar Poster originally known as Michel04 Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Federer-Land Posts: 11,984	I'd agree, England just dont have enough quality players to really be considered a world class team. On some positions, they have the best players, but the wings, goalkeeper and striker department is just not strong enough. And before every tournament, the team gets massively overrated. Hope Capello can sort that out and find a good formation

24th July 2008, 07:55	#7 (permalink)
ERICSAGOD Grumpy Old Git Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Mrs Slocombe's Pussy Posts: 3,965	Don't worry lads there's always err . . . . . . . . . Crouch!

24th July 2008, 08:08	#8 (permalink)
Mr Darcy Youth Team Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 408	Englands problems are in goal, an on the wings, anyone who says otherwise is spastic, and plays too much pes. Good game, but football is not as simple as saying Rooney is a 'ss' and therefore I need a 'cf' on the team with special ability in 'post player'. lolz i bet thats what the original poster thinks, picking out weakness where there are none (England have good strikers) and missing the glaringly obvious weaknesses such as on the wings (imagine a Nani and Ronaldo??) and in goal (imagine a Buffon or a Cech). Now I will wait to be attacked by the spastics.

24th July 2008, 08:20	#9 (permalink)
Longlivekeano Reserve Team Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,411	How about the "legendary" Darren Huckerby who scored the greatest goal in the history of the game

24th July 2008, 08:35	#10 (permalink)
Lot 49 Doom Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 989	Agbonlahor is great and only 21. His speed would also be useful as England tend to play with a fairly slow attack.

24th July 2008, 09:28	#12 (permalink)
Lot 49 Doom Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 989	Agbonlahor doesn't play the same role as Rooney. He's been played on the right a lot for Villa out of necessity because they had no other decent options for a while but his best position is as an out and out striker who uses his pace to get away from the last defender. He would work very well with Rooney dropping in deep behind him imo.

24th July 2008, 10:05	#14 (permalink)
FlawlessThaw most 'know it all' poster Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: London Posts: 9,523	Start Rooney playing off Ashton and see how that goes for now.

24th July 2008, 10:48	#16 (permalink)
Anderson15 Reserve Team Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,195	Calm down everyone, we still have Emile Heskey

24th July 2008, 10:53	#17 (permalink)
Red Pavan shittest username ever manutddabest791 (changed) Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Ronaldo's House. Posts: 3,019	This is not the only crisis in the England team.

24th July 2008, 11:30	#19 (permalink)
Rowem Reserve Team Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 2,378	England's whole attacking game, not just the striker but the wings and midfield as well, just looks completely slow and lacking any sort of cutting edge asides from Rooney and Gerrard who often are played in numerous different roles. England need to get the best out of them consistently. There is a desperate need for a pacey goalscorer upfront, some creativity in midfield and some pace+skill on the wings. England need some of the young prospects like Agbonlahor, Young, Ashton, Lennon, Bentley, Walcott, etc. to push on and take the places of Owen, Cole, Lampard and Beckham, who no longer shine on the international stage.

24th July 2008, 11:57	#20 (permalink)
Bape Reserve Team Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 2,415	Hopefullly Walcott in a few years time can do the job for us, not betting on it mind.

24th July 2008, 12:43	#22 (permalink)
Name Changed weso26 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dublin Posts: 4,517	Didn't Spurs pay 17m for Darren Bent. At 17m he must be great.

24th July 2008, 13:02	#24 (permalink)
UnofficialDevil Reserve Team Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Love United. Posts: 1,814	England is not the only National team with striker problems. Look at Portugal, Nuno Gomes and Hélder Postiga is all they've got (both shit) but they still manage to play attractive attacking football. (And get results)

24th July 2008, 13:16	#26 (permalink)
GAngel Reserve Team Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,820	if ingurland wants to win they need to play all the utd players. They're the only ones who don't bottle everything.

24th July 2008, 14:18	#27 (permalink)
samabachan Cockface McSticklebrick Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: He plays on the left, he plays on the riiiiiiiight, our boy Ronaldo made you look shite. Posts: 4,008	Agbonlahor is a crap footballer. Fast as fuck and pretty strong but he's a sprinter not a footballer. OP's right. England do lack decent, fit strikers. Owen and Rooney are top class though.

24th July 2008, 16:28	#30 (permalink)
red2deadboy Reserve Team Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 1,048	--------Rooney Young----Cole---Walcott -----Carrick--Gerrard Cole----Rio----Terry--Hargreaves ----------Foster I believe the above team would be our best selection as is has pace, experience, solid defence and exuberance of youth in Walcott & Young. I believe Cole would be ideal partner for Rooney as he likes to drift and is capable of executing that killer pass needed at international level.