England's World Cup Dream Gone?

[Vladamir]

With Rooney's big toe now broken, and Owen doubtful, it looks like it's up to Peter Crouch to win us the world cup :touch:

Which two strikers would you play now that our best two are pretty much gone?

 

[WiZe^]

awww

/plays world smallest violin

 

[Krait]

\o/

Our excuses are now in place for when we go out at the quarter final stage............... good planning as always.

 

[Raven]

crouch isnt to bad, he always seems to play better in big games, saying that though he is far from being a replacement for rooney. see how it goes, six weeks until the world cup, he may be fit in time, but then we took the risk with becks in the Euros and he sucked.

 

[ilaya]

owen will be fit dont worry.. but i think i get your point of thread..

jermaine defoe and darren bent

i also reckon there's a case for Sven to include teddy sheringham in squad.. need that experience if even only for 20 mins (even suggestions on msg boards to ask alan shearer to come back if fit lol.. but he's eating pies atm hehe )

losing rooney aint end of the world, not like we dont have other strikers. more concerned about john terry tbh.. but its just a cut to his leg, should be ok.

 

[Cozak]

Like we would win even if we had Rooney

 

[Raven]

with everyone fit there is no reason why we cant win, dont think we will but this is the best chance we have had in a long time.

 

[Rakshasa]

good news.

 

[Vladamir]

i also reckon there's a case for Sven to include teddy sheringham in squad.. need that experience if even only for 20 mins (even suggestions on msg boards to ask alan shearer to come back if fit lol.. but he's eating pies atm hehe )

Aye i'm sure he can overcome that career-ending knee injury he sustained a few weeks back

 

[Marc]

I very much doubt Rooney will play at all. Its a nasty injury to have but hes young and fit so who knows. Hopefully this means James Beatie will get a call up

 

[Bracken]

Rooney has no chance of making it but Owen will probably be ok to go. Just means they'll have to play 451, with Carrick as the holding player (seeing as King is out too) and pushing Gerrard and Lampard on more (Cole and Beckham on the flanks). Crouch is good for bringing off the bench, but can't see him as a starting player.

 

[Dracus]

Omgosh the footy jargon is impeccable I dont understand half of what you guys are on about, but then I rarely understand what ppl are on about

/Dracus

 

[Himse]

jermaine defoe and darren bent


yep yep!

 

[Raven]

defoe is not england material, i thought he was at the start of the season but he isnt really up to much atm, maybe a squad player but not a 1st team player

 

[cHodAX]

If no Rooney then we can't win it, quarter finals would be the best we could expect. We don't have anyone else who can create space like that lad can or terrorise defenders with strength and pace. Will be tragic if the lad misses out.

 

[Thadius]

Strikers Bent and Defoe

Could rip apart defences

The tit of a manager would pick Heskey and Crouch up front :touch:

 

[cHodAX]

Strikers Bent and Defoe

Could rip apart defences

The tit of a manager would pick Heskey and Crouch up front :touch:

We are not talking about mickey mouse defences like the kind they come up against week in week out in the league, we are talking Brazil/Argentina/Italy/France/Germany and they are better defensive units than either Bent or Defoe are used to. Neither is proven in either European or International level and quite frankly I honestly can't see either being able to fill the boots of Rooney or Owen. England have two world class strikers, if one is missing then our chances of winning are effectively halved. Right nowI am more upset about Rooney being injured than the 3-0 defeat and the heartless performance United put it.

 

[Shagrat]

Rooney is a good striker and he is going to be missed (I really cant see him going) but like someone else has said all that will mean is playing with 1 up front instead of 2 and using Carrick instead, meaning Gerrard and Lampard can both attack.

England do have a really good squad atm, with or without Rooney. Still think we have a chance of winning it without him though, as long as Sven doesnt do the usualy q-final trick, "ok 85 minutes to go and we're 1-0. lets sit back and defend it".....

 

[lilmissnaughty]

well with any luck shrek will be able to pull thro in the end just like in both his films

 

[Gibbo]

Rooney will be fit........Owen will be fit........we will win the world cup....

Just keep thinking that...

/crosses fingers

 

[Jeremiah]

Losing Rooney is a blow, I've never been too convinced about Owen. But Sven will take them both and probably play them despite being unfit - he has never been too brave about dropping/resting players when it was needed.

I would take James Beattie over Crouch, he's been scoring goals for longer and is finally doing it at Everton. I'd play him as the holding target man, but there is a lack of decent strikers. Maybe Darren Bent, he's done well this season, but England really lack strikers who can take on and beat a man consistently. (Rooney aside) They have pace in abundance, but continental teams tend to have at least 2 speedy defenders in a team to cancel the threat.

TBH, I think Joe Cole will be the star of Englands world cup this year, not Rooney And thats from a Scotsman

 

[Ctuchik]

\o/

Our excuses are now in place for when we go out at the quarter final stage............... good planning as always.

wanna blame Sven for those injuries too? c'mon, i know u want to! xD

 

[Marc]

By all accounts he should be fit for the knockout stages after all. According to the papers (if you believe them) this means Owen wont be going to the world cup as Sven doesnt want to take 2 crocks.

 

[Helme]

Meh, like it would matter. You're team is still shit even thought you got some of the best players in the world.

 

[Konah]

need a miracle this time

 

[Raven]

Meh, like it would matter. You're team is still shit even thought you got some of the best players in the world.

sure, yet we will still top our group

 

[Marc]

Helme does have a point. For all our world class players we still are the perennial under achievevers of interntaional football

 

[Jeremiah]

I think England still have a way to go to beat Spain's underachieving!

 

[Dorimor1]

Defoe and Bent lack experience and aren't good enough for england imo.

Without rooney england have no chance

 

[cHodAX]

By all accounts he should be fit for the knockout stages after all. According to the papers (if you believe them) this means Owen wont be going to the world cup as Sven doesnt want to take 2 crocks.

Took Owen over 10 weeks to recover from this so-called 6 week injury, it took Rooney 9 weeks to recover from his previous break, it really doesn't bode well as he can't do any kind of stamina training and basically has to spend the best part of the next 4 weeks either sat or lying down to help the healing process.