Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Gladiator]

What do you football buffs reckon? I reckon it's going to be a very close call and he definitely won't be match fit by the time the tournament starts. His rate of recovery has been much slower then Beckham's back in 2002.

Subs bench at best.

As for the other walking wounded, the Czech Republic's Koller doesn't have a hope in hell of making the finals. Neither does Ashley Cole.

[itaewonguy]

Owen will be there...

[diablo3]

Good to see him kick a few goals, but whether he is in or not, England will not win the cup.

[bigverne]

[indytrucks]

A fit Michael Owen is not as much of a concern as a fit Wayne Rooney would be. English supporters better pray nothing happens to him before the start of the WC.

[Charlieb]

Haha, too true! Owen usually comes back pretty strongly from injury, i think he'll be ok. Beckham didnt play a game until 2 weeks before the WC in 2002, Owen could make a comeback before the seasons over apparently. Lets face it though they'll take him whether he's fully fit or not, the image of crouch linig up alongside rooney is too painful to contemplate.

As for our chances, dont write us off yet. Fair enough England are always garbage in friendlies but we've got a few very big game players who can win us games on their own. I've been watching England for a long time and haven't seen a team this good on paper in my opinion. With rooney we've finally got a player who would walk into any team, even Brazil. How good were Henry, Zidane and Ronaldinho at the same age? lets just hope he stays fit . We need cole to come back too, sharpish, im not expecting too much but can't wait for June to come around!

[SPINOZA]

The absence of Ashley Cole is surely more of a blow than Owen. That said, who's gonna start up front with Roon? Defoe, Beattie or perhaps the unfortunately-named Darren Bent?

[indytrucks]

[Gladiator]

Indytrucks,

Rooney certainly has his useful attributes, but for sheer finishing prowess Owen's stats indicate he's the striker England definitely cannot do without if they want to have even a hope of progression to the later stages. I have a nasty feeling he's peaked as a player however.

Crouch has limited use as a target man or possible foil for a more mobile partner but I agree his inclusion makes an actual mockery of the belief England have some kind of untapped embarassment of riches of attacking talent waiting if the first choice guys suddenly get struck down.

Try hard as I can I can't quite connect the names Darren Bent, Kevin Beatie or even Jermain Defoe with the idea of World Cup glory in two months' time.

[Gladiator]

[Charlieb]

Ronaldo was arguably better but if rooney was playing in the dutch league like ronaldo was at the same age, he'd be banging them in for fun too. On a scale of 100, no chance! Ronaldo would and perhaps still could be regarded as an all time great if he hadn't suffered such bad injuries. That said he has a lazy mentality which prevents him from reaching his true potential, Rooneys work rate is fantastic.

I dont think Beattie should be anywhere near that plane. Crouch will go as an impact player and the fact hes 6ft 7 will give defenders the illusion that he can head the ball. Id take Defoe and maybe even Fowler, which shows how bad we are in the strikers dept.

[whitebeagle]

England squad selecta. Nice way to waste 5 mins at work.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/england_selector/default.stm

[sid]

In a way I don't think it matters too much if we have a non-scoring but good for the team striker like Crouch, as our main goal threat will be set pieces anway - Beckham/Lampard from direct freekicks and Terry/Ferdinand headers.

[indytrucks]

[Gladiator]

And Owen's chances still aren't looking any better are they? Get ready for Marcus Bent and Peter Crouch up front folks.