Five steps forward for England – including a list of England’s best 32 under 23s (Part three…of five)

July 7th, 2010 | by: Ethan Dean-Richards | View Comments

How can we get success like this?

Tradition dictates that all value judgements made before an England World Cup exit be immediately reformed in the weeks and days that elapse following it. The regularity of the clamber has undoubtedly dampened its effect over the years and, as such, scepticism about the extent to which anything England will change after the latest knockout is justifiable: therefore for suggestions to be anything but fantastical they’re going to have to be minimal. Here are five that fit the bill (over the course of five posts):

3.) Do try out some young players over the next couple of years

Seemingly in spite of FA policy, England’s Under-21 team reached the final of their European Championships last year and the Under-17s won their equivalent of the same tournament earlier in the summer. These players are worthy of consideration on their own merit, but with a longer-term vision in mind, thrusting them into the team early could create an unrivalled consistency of squad selection in which a team can grow organically.

Nevertheless, integration of the new guard will, rightly, progress slowly under Fabio Capello, a conservative coach not known for his development of young players. The old guard continue to offer experience and expertise that, if not worth anything in terms of winning World Cups directly, can at least be passed on to the likes of Jack Wilshere and Joe Hart.      

A new generation is ready, but it must be nurtured with care.   

Here are a few of them (33 ’23s and under’): 

Goalkeepers: Scott Loach (Watford), Joe Hart (Man City); Defenders: Micah Richards (Man City), Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace), Kyle Naughton (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Smalling (Man Utd), Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea), James Tomkins (West Ham), Nedum Onouha (Man City), Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur); Midfielders: Fabian Delph (Aston Villa), Jack Rodwell (Everton), Lee Cattermole (Sunderland), Jordan Henderson (Sunderland), Mark Noble (West Ham), Junior Stanislas (West Ham), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Adam Johnson (Man City), Victor Moses (Wigan Athletic); Strikers: Nathan Delfouneso (Aston Villa), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Connor Wickham (Ipswich Town), James Vaughan (Everton), Fraizer Campbell (Sunderland), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Danny Welbeck (Man Utd), Zavon Hines (West Ham), Andy Carroll (Newcastle)

*Please try the links – they take ages to find and usually (except for the odd self-indulgent one) enhance the ideas put forward