Hmm. Personally I'd start:

 

Hart

Johnson Cahill Terry Cole

Carrick Lampard

Walcott Gerrard Johnson

Welbeck

 

The midfield is really lacking options isn't it?

Hodgson: "Gerrard and Lampard can play together"

 

Oh dear

 

as long as it's not 4-4-2. I guess they could play 4-3-3

Hodgson: "Gerrard and Lampard can play together"

 

Oh dear

 

as long as it's not 4-4-2. I guess they could play 4-3-3

 

They can't play together in a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. Neither are good enough defensively, and one of them would have to be (probably Gerrard). And it's a role he's not very good at. It will be a 4-4-2 though.

Lampard has sat back as a distributor for Chelsea in numerous games in the last year or so, he's slightly wasted there but it's probably the only role he can play for England now as he hasn't got the pace to come back and help defensively after a marauding run forward any more.

 

I think the two of them could potentially play together in a 4-3-3 if it were alongside probably Parker who played a purely defensive role and you had a very dynamic front three with no target man.

It will almost certainly be Lampard that sits back with Carrick in a 3 man midfield, given that's what he's done fairly impressively for Chelsea. I see that working as well as they've ever worked as Carrick will give them both the license to go forward and is a much better player than either Parker or Barry. There's no way at all it's going to be a 4-4-2.

Adam Johnson withdrawn from the squad with a thigh injury

It will almost certainly be Lampard that sits back with Carrick in a 3 man midfield, given that's what he's done fairly impressively for Chelsea. I see that working as well as they've ever worked as Carrick will give them both the license to go forward and is a much better player than either Parker or Barry. There's no way at all it's going to be a 4-4-2.

 

I don't think I've ever seen a Roy Hodgson football team that's not been set up with two very strict lines of four and then either two strikers or a striker and an attacking midfielder. Unless he's been told by his coaching staff that we should adopt a different formation then idk, but throughout his management career he's always played something similar. That being said with so many players ruled out through injury I'm not entirely sure what we'll play at all, but I'm sure it will be some form of 4-4-2.

Just had a look at the starting XI vs. Italy last month

 

I didn't watch the match too closely, but I'm assuming they were set out like this ?

 

Butland

Walker Cahill Jagielka Baines

Carrick Lampard

A.Johnson Cleverley Young

Carroll

 

More of a 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 than 4-3-3, which obviously wouldn't be defensive enough for Hodgson

Yeah I was going to say the friendly last month. Didn't watch it either but they did get a lot of praise for the way they played compared to how they played at the World Cup.

 

 

 

Yeah I was going to say the friendly last month. Didn't watch it either but they did get a lot of praise for the way they played compared to how they played at the World Cup.

 

I had forgotten about the friendly, I didn't see it so I can't comment. I'd hope we change more towards a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3. Gary Neville has a lot of sense in him, so hopefully some of that can come through to dinosaur Hodgson as so many of our players do not set up for a deep-lying 4-4-2 as it is such a limited formation.

Hasn't Gerrard spent a good chunk of the last five years playing as the Number 10 behind a lone striker? In that case it's hardly a stretch that he could play in front of Lampard and Carrick.

Confirmed team: Hart; Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Baines; Milner, Gerrard, Lampard, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Cleverley; Defoe (4-4-1-1)

 

Why are we still playing with a two man central midfield ? and since when has Gerrard and Lampard ever worked ? It'd make more sense to play Cleverley there and Gerrard behind Defoe

Odd team, but Moldova shouldn't be enough of a threat to exploit it.

Ok I was for Lampard and Gerrard presuming the other midfielder was Carrick. But Cleverley playing ahead? Dear me.

That was practically a walk in the park for them, with 5 goals against Moldova, Tuesday will be their first test against Ukraine I think, home game match should get a win for England but the final scoreline will be different, most likely 2-1 to England.

How did we set up then? 4-3-3? 4-4-1-1 (like the World Cup) or 4-4-2?

It wasn't a 4-4-2 given Cleverley wasn't hugely advanced, which suggests 4-3-3 since Lampard in particular was constantly coming forward. But the wingers were no more advanced than the central players so I guess you'd say a 4-5-1.

England are wasting their time they're not gonna win the world cup. They will probably just end up getting knocked out at the last 16 or quarter final stage as per usual.

England are wasting their time they're not gonna win the world cup. They will probably just end up getting knocked out at the last 16 or quarter final stage as per usual.

 

So what do you suggest?

Probably England pulling out of FIFA so we don't even bother with the competition at all, putting us in good company with the likes of Mauritania and Bhutan, although what good that'd do I have no idea. Care to elaborate, Mr Van Persie?