4-3-3 for me

After a few days deliberation I have finally decided on my England starting XI for Euro 2016.
I'm going with a 4-3-3 formation, gone are the days of playing one up top, I cannot justify keeping such a wealth of attacking talent on the bench.

• Hart in goal, obviously.

• Clyne and Rose as full backs, speed for chasing back and more importantly both not scared to get forward and overlap on the wing.  attack attack attack.

• Cahill and Stones centre back, some would go with Smalling but not me.

• Dele Alli.  Has to start, potential to be England's best for the next 10 years.  Barkley the other option though, how can I leave Barkley out? I dunno! but Alli starts.
• Rooney. Doesn't cut the mustard up front anymore but seems much more effective in the middle for Utd and better the captain is in middle of the park.  Again Barkley could switch like for like.
• Dier needed to shore things up a bit with such an attacking side but good on the ball too.
• Kane is the man. Harry Kane the HurriKane, a bit like Shearer but maybe better, just maybe.
• Vardy.  Nobody wants it more.  Fearless.  The fairytale continues, it isn't over.....
• Sturridge has got over not playing with Suerez anymore, he's back from injury and looking class for Liverpool.

This is it, it can't go wrong, now is the time. Sat 11th June. The Russians. 8pm.  Let's go!
Hold on though..... I've heard a rumour that I'm not picking the team..... it's Roy hodgson!
It'll be okay though won't it???

Oi Hodgson! Don't Roo in it!

As you can read below Van Gaal has said he'll pick Rooney ahead of everyone else when he's back from injury regardless of the fact that Martial is in better form and they have a red hot wonderkid in Rashford who's scored 4 goals in his first two games.  Rooney is captain so his place is guaranteed even if he's playing shit.
I'm not a Utd fan so who cares if Van Gaal fucks up his teams momentum, but unfortunately I just know that there's a very high probability that Roy Hodgson will do the same and scupper England's Euro 2016 hopes.  Everyone knows that one or both of Vardy and Kane have to start up front for England but will they?  Not ahead of Rooney I bet ya!  Be prepared to wait until the 65th minute at 0-0 when a sluggish looking Rooney looks like he's coming off at last..... but wait, no!  He's staying on and Vardy comes on to replace Walcott on the right wing! Whaaat???
 Rooney's captain right?  So he has to play, that's how it works! We're waiting for one of those moments of brilliance he used to be capable of.....         (still waiting.....)

article from Football365.com .....

Van Gaal: Rooney is captain so will always play

Date published: Wednesday 2nd March 2016

Louis van Gaal has reiterated that his captain Wayne Rooney will return to the Manchester United line-up when fit, regardless of the form of teenager Marcus Rashford.
The 18-year-old striker has scored four goals in two starts for the club but the Dutchman has made it clear that Rooney remains his first-choice striker.
Rooney has scored more than one goal in a game for United twice in the past year, but Rashford has done it twice in four days. In the space of 170 minutes, an 18-year-old striker has managed 24% of Rooney’s goal total from the last 12 months.
“I have not bought a striker because of Wayne Rooney and Martial, because they could play in the striker position, and because Rooney is the captain he shall always play,” revealed Van Gaal on Tuesday. “I don’t buy a third striker, so he [Rashford] has the possibility.
“He was on the bench at Watford and Leicester. He was having a very good period. He might have come in for the Watford match but we played another system and Memphis Depay and Jesse Lingard played very well.
“Because we have a small squad and no more than two players for one position, you can give an opportunity to a youngster.
“When I have choice enough, then I rotate. There’s no player in the English Premier League who can cope with the rhythm of matches.
“A player like Rooney could always cope but he is injured and not for the first time. So I have to rotate. I have Rooney, I have Martial, I have Rashford, I had Will Keane but Keane is injured and will be operated on. When I have more players, I will rotate.”
Van Gaal confirmed that Rooney could return to United action by the end of March as he does not need an operation on his knee injury.

Message to Roy Hodgson - URGENT

Dear Roy,
You name your England squad for the world cup today, I know you'll do the right thing but I just want to make sure that you're not gonna do a Sven on us.  Here is my revised starting line up to replace the one I sent you last time

We're going 4-3-3 now Roy, it'll be fine, just go with it.  Make sure you read this before announcing the squad at 2pm and don't worry I won't tell anyone you've been taking my advice, I'll let you take all the credit.
Right then, here's your 23 man squad, now don't mess this up;

Goalies- Hart, Forster, Foster
Defenders- Cahill, Terry, Johnson, Baines, Shaw, Jagielka, Jones, Walker
Midfield- Gerrard, Lallana, Oxlade-Chamberlaine, Henderson, Barkley, Milner, Wilshere
Strikers- Sturridge, Rooney, Sterling, Lambert, Welbeck

 Copy and paste this ready for your announcement later and I promise you the world cup is in the bag.  If Sven calls you don't listen to him, whatever he tells you don't pick Walcott, Townsend or Rodriguez, they are all injured!  and there are definitely to be no wild card 16 year old youth team players.
Good luck Woy and don't take any shit at the pwess confewence.

ps. Any chance you can wangle me tickets for the final? Would love to see our boys lifting the trophy

Oi! Roy! Please don't do a Sven!

It's nearly world cup time and finally after all these years, and despite the general pessimism of the nation England will be lifting the trophy in Brazil. Yep you heard me, that's just so long as Hodgson doesn't do a Sven anyway!  By doing a Sven I mean having a mental crisis on the the brink of announcing the tournament squad and selecting four strikers, two of whom are injured and one who at the age of 16 has only ever played in the youth team and reserves at his club!

At the current price of 25/1 to win the world cup surely it's worth sticking at least a fiver on England?!?!

Unless Roy is either blind or has been hypnotised by Sven Goran Eriksson then he has to have players like Adam Lallana in his team rather than sticking with the 'safe' boring option of Lampard and Barry in midfield while we all shout at the TV screen "for f**ks sake! get Barry off!  bring Oxlade-Chamberlain on!"

If Roy rings me for advice this is the starting line up I'll probably recommend to him.  I'll be telling him to go all out attack.  

If we go out on pens in the quarters as per then most England fans won't mind as much if we've set the tournament on fire with frantic end to end 4-3's every game, well..... we will mind of course because we will have been robbed by an unjust red card and a disallowed goal but like I said, this year we won't have to go through all that, THIS year, this is the one.....