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Shearer Has Own Ideas For England Squad

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Former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer has said that England manager Roy Hodgson should consider including Southampton’s Ricky Lambert just for his penalty taking abilities. Hodgson is expected to name his provisional 23 man squad for the World Cup today. This is expected to spring a number of surprises with Ashley Cole being left out. Hodgson is expected to come out with a youthful squad for the World Cup with players like Luke Shaw and Ross Barkley being included in place of established internationals like Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard.

The inclusion of youth, though, puts more pressure on the established players during tense situations. Shearer, who has played several measures for the national team, says that it is also vital that England prepare for penalties in the best possible way. This has often been the place where England have been let down, but Shearer says that caution should consider taking Lambert for this reason alone. The Southampton striker has been impressive in the last two seasons with his goalscoring record, but he has also been one of the coolest customers from the spot.

Current penalty takers like Lampard have been inconsistent in the last few years. Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney are the other regular penalty takers in the England squad.

“One of the reasons I would take Rickie Lambert is for that eventuality – how important have penalties been for England at major tournaments in the last 25 years? Lambert’s record from penalties for Southampton is amazing, but I would take him to Brazil on merit for his overall contribution. To have him on your team, knowing that if it goes to a shoot-out he is a virtual banker, is a great feeling for a coach,” said Shearer, who has little managerial experience apart from a few games at Newcastle.

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CARROLL HAS POINT TO PROVE

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Former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has stated that he wants to prove a point for both England manager Roy Hodgson and his former manager at Liverpool – Brendan Rodgers. Carroll is the record signing for Liverpool at £ 35 million after he arrived from Newcastle United with a big reputation. He was signed by former Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson, but his successor, Brendan Rodgers, did not expect him to fit into his style at the club. Hence, Liverpool had to take a huge hit on the 24-year-old and sell him for just £ 15 million in the summer.

He spent the last season on loan at West Ham and he made the move permanent for this massive transfer fee. He is widely regarded as the next best striker with the England squad. Wayne Rooney is undoubtedly the star name, but many reckon that Carroll should be the next name on the squad for Brazil. As West Ham prepare to face Liverpool on Sunday at Upton Park, Carroll, who has once again regained his fitness after being injured for most of the first six months of the campaign, is expected to start. He says that he wants to prove his former managers that he is capable of scoring goals given the opportunity.

“There’s no bitterness about Liverpool at all. I moved to West Ham and I’m loving it. Apart from the injury setback everything has been great but I’m looking forward to playing Liverpool on Sunday. They’re on fire at the minute and they’re the team to beat. Hopefully we can do it. I think we’re all confident we’re safe now. We’ve taken 18 points from the last nine games and it would be great to keep the run going,” said Carroll.

The 25-year-old has scored just two goals in 10 appearances this season, but his contribution has been immense all over the pitch.

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HODGSON BACKS ENGLAND

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England manager Roy Hodgson has stated that he is confident that the team will do well at the upcoming World Cup 2014. The national team has failed to deliver expectations in the previous major tournaments. They have not won a World Cup since 1966. Even though the English are nowhere near enough to being considered as favourites, Hodgson believes that the team will have a good World Cup since he is seeing a lot of promising signs over the last few months. Hodgson himself has not spoken about England lifting the trophy, but he is confident of giving a good account in Brazil.

England have not managed to get past the quarter-finals of a major tournament in recent decades. Even reaching the semifinals will be considered as a great achievement for this team especially considering that there are several youngsters in the squad. The Golden generation of Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, and Frank Lampard is almost over. England will be up against Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Italy in the group stages. This is seen as one of the tough groups since Uruguay and Italy will be the favourites to qualify.

England recently achieved a positive result by winning their friendly match against Denmark whereas all other group opponents lost their friendly matches.

“I think everyone is excited by this tournament. I think everyone’s quite excited by the fact that this is an England team in transition at the moment and there are some very interesting players who could be involved. I think we will be very well supported, not only in Brazil but back here in England as well, wherever the games are being shown. So I’m sure the players will do their best and I’m very confident that we’ll come away from the tournament having given a good account of ourselves,” said the 66-year-old.