Heaton, Campbell in England Under-21s to face Wales Under-21s

[x42bn6]

England U-21s add defensive pair

England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce has called up Richard Stearman and Jack Cork for Friday's Uefa European Championship play-off against Wales.

Pearce will use the pair to bolster his squad after losing Micah Richards and Aaron Lennon to injuries.

Striker Stearman, 21, plays for Wolves, while Cork, 19, is a Chelsea defender and midfielder on loan at Southampton.

The game at Ninian Park, Cardiff, is the first of two legs - the teams meet again at Villa Park next Tuesday.

England are without Lennon and Richards after the pair suffered injuries in last weekend's Premier League fixtures.

Pearce has also called Southampton's 20-year-old midfielder Adam Lallana into his party for the first time.

Wales Under-21 manager Brian Flynn has hailed 17-year-old talisman Aaron Ramsey ahead of the ties, comparing the teenage sensation to Arsenal hero and team-mate Cesc Fabregas.

Ramsey joined Arsenal from Cardiff City for £5m in the summer and Flynn said: "I've been watching Aaron since he was 14.

"He can be anything he wants to be in the game. He is quite something, and I can compare him to one of the best youngsters in the world in Fabregas.

"He is very close to being a senior international but we want him to help the under-21s first. He even speaks Welsh, he ticks all the boxes!"

Ramsey will play an integral part for Wales in the play-off and is the only high-profile name in the squad.

West Ham midfielder Jack Collison is fit, having played his first game of the season after knee trouble for the West Ham reserves in a 4-3 win against West Brom.

Captain Joe Jacobson also returns to the squad after injury.

Wayne Hennessey, Chris Gunter, Gareth Bale, Joe Ledley and Sam Vokes were all eligible to play for the Under-21s but they have been named in John Toshack's senior squad for World Cup qualifying matches against Liechtenstein (11 October) and Germany (15 October).

Highly rated Middlesbrough centre-back Rhys Williams is out of contention after damaging his knee ligaments.

The countries last met in a friendly in Wrexham in May when Flynn's youngsters were defeated 2-0.

----

Wales Under-21 squad:
Owain Fôn Williams (Stockport County), Rhys Taylor (Chelsea), Neal Eardley (Oldham Athletic), Grant Basey (Charlton Athletic), Darcy Blake (Cardiff City), Joe Jacobson (Bristol Rovers), Lloyd James (Southampton), Rhoys Wiggins (Crystal Palace), Mike Williams, Marc Williams (both Wrexham), Nicky Adams (Leicester City), Joe Allen (Swansea City), Mark Bradley (Walsall), Jack Collison (WHU), Andy King (Leicester City), Shaun MacDonald (Swansea City), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), Jonathan Brown (Cardiff City), Simon Church (Reading), Josh Klein-Davies (Bristol Rovers).

England Under-21 squad:
Joe Hart (Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Manchester Utd) , Joe Lewis (Peterborough); Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Jack Cork (Southampton), Martin Cranie (Portsmouth), Craig Gardner (Aston Villa), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea), Richard Stearman (Wolves), Stephen Taylor (Newcastle), David Wheater (Middlesbrough); Lee Cattermole (Wigan), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Adam Johnson (Middlesbrough), Adam Lallana (Southampton), James Milner (Aston Villa), Fabrice Muamba (Bolton), Mark Noble (West Ham), Jamie O'Hara (Tottenham); Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Frazier Campbell (Manchester United) , Matt Derbyshire (Blackburn), Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (Wolves).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7658092.stm

Ebanks-Blake makes the squad which is good for the former Red Devil.

Agbonlahor's a shoo-in to start and hopefully Campbell will start alongside him in a 4-4-2, although he's competing with Derbyshire.

That said, England Under-21s topped their group without conceding or something, so it should be a walkover.

 

[a_devil_inside]

Campbell isn't first choice unfortunately, plus Derbyshire normally does well for the U21s

 

[samabachan]

Derbyshire's shite and out of form. It'll be a fecking travesty if he starts ahead of Campbell.

 

[x42bn6]

Derbyshire's shite and out of form. It'll be a fecking travesty if he starts ahead of Campbell.

Who's never really got into form with Spurs.

Nah, the two are in direct competition with each other, with Derbyshire the upper-hand.

 

[samabachan]

Who's never really got into form with Spurs.

Nah, the two are in direct competition with each other, with Derbyshire the upper-hand.

When Derbyshire isn't scoring he offers literally nothing to the team. Can't pass, can't cross, can't dribble, can't defend. Campbell on the other hand who isn't out of form he's just not in top form is a vastly superior overall player. Since neither have scored this season as far as I'm aware then surely you have to pick Campbell.

 

[x42bn6]

When Derbyshire isn't scoring he offers literally nothing to the team. Can't pass, can't cross, can't dribble, can't defend. Campbell on the other hand who isn't out of form he's just not in top form is a vastly superior overall player. Since neither have scored this season as far as I'm aware then surely you have to pick Campbell.

Derbyshire has more experience at the Under-21s level - Campbell has something like 2 substitute appearances.

While Campbell may have been one of Spurs's better attackers he still hasn't impressed.

In other words, there's no reason to drop Derbyshire for Campbell yet.

 

[samabachan]

If being shit at everything except scoring and then not scoring isn't a reason to be dropped I don't know what is.

 

[x42bn6]

If being shit at everything except scoring and then not scoring isn't a reason to be dropped I don't know what is.

Derbyshire's not shit as he's been picked for the England Under-21s - he has 12 appearances under his belt already. Campbell doesn't.

Campbell hasn't been scoring either so Pearce will be dropping an off-form striker for another off-form striker. However, as Derbyshire has had more experience at this level, he's more likely to start.

 

[samabachan]

Derbyshire's not shit as he's been picked for the England Under-21s - he has 12 appearances under his belt already. Campbell doesn't.

Campbell hasn't been scoring either so Pearce will be dropping an off-form striker for another off-form striker. However, as Derbyshire has had more experience at this level, he's more likely to start.

Sound logic there. Nigel Quashie. And Campbell isn't off form and is a vastly superior all round player.

 

[x42bn6]

Sound logic there. Nigel Quashie. And Campbell isn't off form and is a vastly superior all round player.

???

There are plenty of strikers who qualify for the England Under-21s - Cameron Jerome, Luke Moore, James Vaughan and Ismael Miller off the top of my head. These aren't bad strikers. Consequently, Derbyshire's a good striker for the Under-21s. If he was shit, he wouldn't be picked. He's been picked. Join the dots together.

There are plenty of good players who've ended up in the Under-21s and plenty of bad ones. Quashie lasted 4 appearances before he went to Scotland, for example, while Jermaine Defoe's now in the England squad. However, Derbyshire's not like Quashie - Derbyshire's been a fairly long servant to the England Under-21s as a sign of his ability.

Campbell's not necessarily a better all-rounder - he lacks composure and strength but makes up for it with a bucketload of pace. Derbyshire's average in all the departments but has experience on his side. Campbell and Derbyshire are roughly equal in the England Under-21s but there's a reason that despite Campbell's heroics for Hull last season, he only managed to come off the bench. That's a sign of how difficult it is for a striker to break into the England Under-21s. If Campbell was that good, he'd be playing all the time.

 

[PS18]

Sound logic there. Nigel Quashie. And Campbell isn't off form and is a vastly superior all round player.

Much as I like Fraizer and rate him higher than Derbyshire, where has this notion that Derbyshire is woefully off-form in comparison come from? He has 3 goals in 4 starts (plus 3 sub appearances), not a bad record at all. He's also much more experienced at Premier League level.

 

[samabachan]

Much as I like Fraizer and rate him higher than Derbyshire, where has this notion that Derbyshire is woefully off-form in comparison come from? He has 3 goals in 4 starts (plus 3 sub appearances), not a bad record at all. He's also much more experienced at Premier League level.

Well I watched him against us, in the last England U21 game and another game I've forgotten and he was pitiful. Not only that he couldn't shoot for shit. I haven't really taken much notice other than those games tbf.

 

[samabachan]

???

There are plenty of strikers who qualify for the England Under-21s - Cameron Jerome, Luke Moore, James Vaughan and Ismael Miller off the top of my head. These aren't bad strikers. Consequently, Derbyshire's a good striker for the Under-21s. If he was shit, he wouldn't be picked. He's been picked. Join the dots together.

There are plenty of good players who've ended up in the Under-21s and plenty of bad ones. Quashie lasted 4 appearances before he went to Scotland, for example, while Jermaine Defoe's now in the England squad. However, Derbyshire's not like Quashie - Derbyshire's been a fairly long servant to the England Under-21s as a sign of his ability.

Campbell's not necessarily a better all-rounder - he lacks composure and strength but makes up for it with a bucketload of pace. Derbyshire's average in all the departments but has experience on his side. Campbell and Derbyshire are roughly equal in the England Under-21s but there's a reason that despite Campbell's heroics for Hull last season, he only managed to come off the bench. That's a sign of how difficult it is for a striker to break into the England Under-21s. If Campbell was that good, he'd be playing all the time.

You're missing one crucial point. They're managed by Stuart Pearce who is a bit of a plonker. And all the strikers you listed are crap or in Vaughan's case ridiculously injury prone. Seriously ask a Villa fan what they think of Luke Moore.

 

[x42bn6]

You're missing one crucial point. They're managed by Stuart Pearce who is a bit of a plonker. And all the strikers you listed are crap or in Vaughan's case ridiculously injury prone. Seriously ask a Villa fan what they think of Luke Moore.

Pearce may be an idiot but one thing he knows how to do is develop youngsters (Ched Evans, Daniel Sturridge, Joe Hart, Kasper Schmichael, ... from him at Manchester City) - he'll know who's better out of Derbyshire and Campbell.

 

[x42bn6]

Game finished Wales Under-21s 2-3 England Under-21s (Church 13, 44 - Wheater 19, Johnson 35, Agbonlahor 61). Campbell came on for Agbonlahor on the 76th minute.