No Gray Areas: England call awaits Warnock
Now he's back in the country, England coach Fabio Capello faces the small matter of picking the 23 players making up the World Cup squad. I'll be discussing this matter further over the next few weeks here on Betfair Football but my gut instinct is that barring injuries, 18 or 19 players are shoo-ins at this stage, and we know who they are.
Betfair is running a market on who makes the squad for South Africa and though at present it doesn't have a great liquidity, I'd recommend keeping an eye on the prices of three players in particular.
The first is Stephen Warnock. One thing to come out of the unfortunate incident that led to John Terry being stripped of the captaincy is that Wayne Bridge's international career may be over and if we assume Ashley Cole is already on the plane, that leaves one more spot for a natural left-back.
Joleon Lescott should make the squad as a centre-back whilst neither Paul Konchesky nor Kieran Gibbs have been particularly consistent. Leighton Baines is also in with a shout but my money would be on the Villa man.
The second is another Villa player in the shape of James Milner, whose versatility, stamina and passing should see him get a place in the squad as well. You may have to back him at odds-on but that should be a safe bet.
The last one to keep tabs on is Darren Bent. The Sunderland man hasn't figured too much for England under Capello but he's getting goals in a poor side and is a completely different animal to the likes of Wayne Rooney and Peter Crouch. I wouldn't expect him to start a match in South Africa but he's a good man to bring off the bench.
Do you agree with Andy's choices? To share your outside fancies for a spot in the squad or ask a question for our next podcast later this month, either leave a comment in the box below or e-mail andy.gray@betfair.com.
Published: 10 Feb 2010 - Tags: Andy Gray, Darren Bent, James Milner, Stephen Warnock
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Matt Carey (February 11, 2010 11:18 AM) said:
Nooooo. Not Darren Bent. A good finisher and will get 15-20 goals a season for his club, but IMHO is not able to step up to the next level.
I also don't think he has it mentally. Imagine this... World Cup semi final, last minute with the scores level. Bent is put through on goal. One on one with the keeper. Will he score?
I don't think so either.
ZinedineKilbane (February 11, 2010 11:37 AM) said:
Matt – You mention that he's a "good finisher" but you don't think he would score a hypothetical one-on-one? Seems a bit of a contradiction.
However I agree he shouldn't go, because he's not an impact player off the bench, which is all he would be used as at the World Cup. Defoe is better at making a difference late in a game when things need changing up.
But anyone who manages to score plenty of goals feeding off scraps in a side likely to be fighting relegation should be respected, especially after the disgraceful way he was treated at Spurs – if anything I'd say this setback has made him mentally stronger.
George (February 12, 2010 9:53 AM) said:
Warnock has been fantastic this season and in my opinion should be on the way to SA ahead of Bridge, but now Cole is injured and Warnock is struggling to shift his shin injury it's all up in the air...