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K3V0
I'm delighted he's back and hopefully soon he'll be pushing for a first team place.
Eric Portapotty
Crane
Thought this was the best place to put it. Think Barthez is actually saying what a lot of people think, but at the moment, Friedel doesn't deserve to be dropped.
jumberto
Surely would be better in the Premier League thread?
Obtuse
jumberto
Because the media are irresponsible and like to stir things up, playing on the sensitivity of the situation to sell papers with misleading headlines. People aren't bothered about finding out the full story and will just accept what they are told as truth. Very sad.
Crane
WHY ARE YOU BULLYING ME?
2D Pitch FM
Rafael. Our second top goal scorer this season
jumberto
Feels like an age since that last happened.
jumberto
Abbott
[/bitter]
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Sam
For fuck's sake.
Telegram Sam
Ninja
2D Pitch FM
bluemoon.
jumberto
Sam
Crane
K3V0
It's not the same injury man, if it was he'd be out for the entire season.
jumberto
K3V0
Aren't you a little feisty today?
It will be a clean up due to the surgery for sure!!
SamboXIV
Sam
Even if Rio got offered to be in the squad he shouldn't, the FA have treated him like shit.
Telegram Sam
Rio is undoubtedly a good defender but we shouldn't be calling on a player who is going to be 35 at the next World Cup, and there's no point playing a guy in the qualifiers if he isn't going to be involved in the actual competition.
Ninja
Rio has nothing to offer England long term, absolutely no point him being in the team.
I would, however, argue the same for Steven Gerrard who will be 34 by the next World Cup and whose form is dipping alarmingly quickly and Lampard who will be 35 or 36.
But if Hodgson is going to include both of them, then he has no argument not to include Ferdinand.
jumberto
Agree. Especially the last bit.
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Ninja
I find it hard to accept the argument that any of the other candidates for that Centre Back slot are better than Ferdinand to the point that he would be a squad player if he came back. I think he's been consistently the best English centre-back around the past year and he's played a lot of football too.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Ferdinand has played more football than Gerrard in the past year and a half.
I really don't care if he's in the England team or not, I'd prefer it if he wasn't because it will benefit us, but I think it's bizarre that really average Premiership footballers like Shawcross (who, let's face it, will be out of the team as soon as Jones and Smalling are fit) are being picked over a guy who has a wealth of international experience and is in really good form (well, aside from getting violated by Bale at the weekend).
As for Gerrard, I really think he's going to be affected by his declining physical prowess in the next few years. He was never a great passer of the ball, even if he bizarrely compares himself to Paul Scholes, but he was a world class player because of his drive, his ability to drag a team by it's shoulders kicking and screaming to some kind of improvement and his impact at both ends of the pitch. I don't think he'll be able to get around the pitch as much as he gets older, and I don't really think he's got enough technically to compensate when he can't cut it physically any more.