Sheringham For England

[John 24]

Surely going by Keegans logic he should be in the England squad. I am all for bringing in youth but if Keegan isn't prepared to do this just yet surely Sheringham would be the perfect partner for Owen or Cole. He had a great partnership with Shearer and I think he would form a great partnership with Owen. He's playing really well for Man U at the moment and would surely link the midfield to the forward line. He could also partner Cole as he has done with great success for Man U.

[Matty]

I agree that he's hit top form, but the England manager should be building for the future.
That means cutting out the has beens (two or three Arsenal players spring to mind) and not bringing back old players. And in friendlies blood the youngsters. It's a disgrace seeing people making debuts at the age of 28 or 29 - we want good players to have international careers from their early/mid up to late twenties.

I'm afraid even "our" Nige is getting a bit long in the tooth, although he should be first choice, followed by the prospects for the future i.e. Richard Wright (how the hell did David James get in ahead of him?) and Stuart Taylor.

Quite honestly Euro 2000 showed how far behind the rest England and Germany are. In a few years time (hopefully) the youth policies and schools of excellence should start to bear fruit (the encouranging performances by the under 21's give some hope). But it means that to really improve we really are going to go for youth in the England first team for their skills rather than worrying about experience at international level. Otherwise it's catch 22 and, as we've done over the past few years, we're left with a squad of players past their best and at the end of their careers (think Ince and Shearer).

Oh, and while I'm on the subject forget Anderton. He will never last a tournament.