Con

Exactly what I thought when I seen the big price tag on him No disrespect to mark but if he can cause shaw that many problems how would he cope against CL opposition Albrighton caused Shaw problems because of his agility. When Shaw moves to CB he won't have to face nippy 5' wingers every Saturday. Instead he will face Andy Carroll who will destroy him in the air. You can say that about any defender against an in-form Andy Carroll. At 6'1" he's a typical height for a centre-back. This is not Ashley Cole we're talking about.

Lambert plays against better-than Costa Rica / Uruguay defences every week. Against Italy I wouldn't start him. I'd go for width. Sterling, Ox, Rooney (or Sturridge). Very fast.

I think he would be a more reliable performer than Rooney.

Barkley and Lallana are playing for the same place in my teams. I pick Lallana but wouldn't hesitate to go with Barkley if he's on better form. Narrow Hart Johnson Jagielka Cahill Baines Wilshere Gerrard Lallana Rooney Lambert Sturridge Width Hart Jones Jagielka Cahill Baines Wilshere Gerrard Sterling Lallana Ox Rooney

Aye but they have immense talents in Mangala and Varane, it's looking good for them for euro 2018 with Griezmann and Pogba still very young. Not sure why Sissoko is in, after a bright start he's looked very average for Newcastle although suppose he adds pace and athleticism which will be important in Brazil. An interesting and probably underrated squad, they're in a comfortable group so should be quarters. Agree, this French squad has tonnes of ability. Question is, are talents the same as leaders? Without a leader to organize them they could go out in the group stage. I don't know which one of them is the leader. Cabaye, maybe, but you always feel more secure with a powerful leader among the defenders. They may flatter to deceive, I wouldn't place any bets on this squad going further than the round of 16. Switzerland will probably win the group. Djourou is a leader, and Senderos and Schar are very robust committed players if not highly technical like the fancy French ones.

with a name like that he must be built like a Glastonbury port-a-loo. one of my favourite players already based on his name. Right up until the commentators ruin it for everyone and spend 10 seconds rolling his name of their tongue everything time No doubt it's Im-o-beel-ay or eeeeemmoooobeeeeeelaaaaay when he brings his wag along it will be Donna et Immobile.

Too many cooks? The tika-taka style hasn't been too successful in European competition recently. I suspect Spain might be a big flop. This tournament may be more about freedom of expression than collectivist effort (the Spanish style).

with a name like that he must be built like a Glastonbury port-a-loo. one of my favourite players already based on his name.

Greizmann is a beast. Imagine Barry Bannan, couple of inches taller playing as a striker and being good in the air. Have to say I've never heard of him before but based on this youtube video he could be a star of this World Cup. Nasri doesn't stand a chance against this fella, but what about that midfield spot... who is this Grenier and is he really better than Nasri?

French squad looks good except for the defence, and I'm not sure if there are any real leaders there, of the Desailly, Blanc, Viera calibre. Certainly they have no Zidane.

How is Nasri not in the French squad? Unbelievable. He would be one of the star players at the World Cup. Grenier has taken the spot. He better be good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cl%C3%A9ment_Grenier

Exactly what I thought when I seen the big price tag on him No disrespect to mark but if he can cause shaw that many problems how would he cope against CL opposition Albrighton caused Shaw problems because of his agility. When Shaw moves to CB he won't have to face nippy 5' wingers every Saturday.

Thanks. The rules can still be adjusted if anyone has some good suggestions. There are negative points for non-participation because someone could employ the tactic of not playing at all in order to protect their stock of players. That is almost cheating and would go against the spirit of the game which is about making a prediction and risking something on it. Perhaps I can come up with some other idea to punish non-participation which doesn't mean loss of points. Loss of player? No, the striker only needs to score or assist once, or fulfil any one of the conditions. It's not cumulative. You get a maximum 10 points for a correct prediction. However... perhaps it could be cumulative? Maybe that would be more interesting. Their team ends the game more than 50% possession.

Nah 5-4-Kwan Kwan in the hole. False number Kwan

If Lambert did go I would be happy with Sherwood as our manager.

I agree, and not only that, there has surely got to be competition for his signature. I didn't ask about transfer fees but he was sure that those three are happening. He also suggested that Terry would stay at Chelsea and that Rio Ferdinand was going back to West Ham. Seems as though the Ferdinand one may well be true too. Good signing for them if so but how on Earth can they pay those sort of wages? New stadium?

Genghis Kwan.

Kwan Direction

Luke Shaw compilation video. Lasts all of one and a half minutes and contains 0 goals and 1 assist. Pretty pathetic. Where does his reputation as an offensive player come from? He played 35 games this season and scarcely managed 1 key pass per game. In contrast, Southampton's other fullback Nathenial Clyne ended the season with more than 1 key pass per game and 4 assists. Sure, it is only one season and he is very young. But at this stage all this abilities will improve, including his defensive ones, and I think he is more likely to end up World Class defensively than going forward. Another thing that makes me think he will soon go CB - this guy is big and athletic and at 19 is only going to get bigger. Like Ivanovic, he won't have the agility to play LB as his permanent position.

Reposted from the Man Utd discussion Ridiculous, it's like suggesting the first thing Tottenham would've done with Bale was convert him to CB, it ain't gonna happen as it won't get anywhere near the best out of him. If Shaw is to be converted to a new position, it's much more likely he'll be pushed further up the pitch to play on the wing where he can hurt players with his dribbling and pace. Not to mention he's not great defensively so would get massively shown up at CB. And I'm pretty sure Utd will buy an actual CB instead of spending £27m to play a LB out of position. I'm ready to be proved wrong. However, one thing Bale had at Shaw's age was long range shooting. Bale at 19 was already a free kick specialist who could score a goal. Shaw hasn't looked likely to score at all. With his technical ability on the ball though he'll be a top class CB. Man Utd need a replacement for Ferdinand and in Shaw they may have got him. Maybe he won't literally be converted to a CB by game 1 next season but I would bet that he plays some time there at some point, for example if couple CBs get injured. You would expect this to happen if they were thinking of him as a LT solution at CB. As for Man Utd buying a world class CB - remember they need two! Vidic and Ferdinand have gone. As for getting even one World Class CB over the summer, that will be difficult. Two? Forget about it. There are very few experienced world class CBs and those that do exist will want to play at a Champions League club next season. The only way Man Utd can quickly get a World Class CB is buying one young. Shaw is talented enough footballer to play any position. Nobody would argue with me Shaw can't play CB, the contrary argument seems to be that he's "wasted there." As yet although Shaw is quick and can short pass well I've yet to see world class ability in attack. He's not Bale. Does not look as talented offensively as Baines or Coleman, for example.

Ridiculous, it's like suggesting the first thing Tottenham would've done with Bale was convert him to CB, it ain't gonna happen as it won't get anywhere near the best out of him. If Shaw is to be converted to a new position, it's much more likely he'll be pushed further up the pitch to play on the wing where he can hurt players with his dribbling and pace. Not to mention he's not great defensively so would get massively shown up at CB. And I'm pretty sure Utd will buy an actual CB instead of spending £27m to play a LB out of position. Edit: I've reposted in the new Shaw thread so we don't derail this one with Shaw discussion.

Impossible to believe Defoe thought he could get in the squad ahead of Sturridge after the season he had, although they are the same kind of player. He's a different style of player to Lambert so he couldn't take his place. Lambert took Carroll's spot. Obviously he couldn't take Rooney's place either. He's one of the first names on the list. It was either Welbeck or Defoe. Welbeck must have got it because his all-round play is better. Holds the ball up, creates a bit. Defoe is just a finisher and Sturridge is our finisher. Not sure what Defoe's problem is.

Portugal... you should have listed Portugal!

To be fair Shaw is 29/141 for accurate crosses this season. The point is, CB is the most influential position in the team. It's where you want your best defender to be even if he is good at all sorts of things other than heading and clearances. Vincent Kompany and Sergio Ramos could knock in a cross or two.

You are so cruel. Only just made this up today. Took me an hour to post. No big deal if nobody plays. However I think there will be a dozen or so who like strategy games who will play and enjoy the game.