Relax, Fabio. We know you need to familiarise yourself with the best English players, but there's no need to spend your days groundhopping in the cold because PlayTheGame has done the hard work for you.
We've used mountains of data from our innovative fantasy game to come up with a real-life best England squad and XI based on player performance in the league this season. And unlike certain former England gaffers, we don't favour the big clubs because we judge player effectiveness in relation to their team's performance.
It's not good news for David Beckham - he's not in our game, so he's not in our squad (fantasy about to emulate reality, there?) But PlayTheGame wholeheartedly endorses the growing international buzz around Dave Kitson, and thinks that Steve McClaren was wrong to spurn the glovework of David James and Robert Green. The data also reckons Joleon Lescott deserves another chance. Ready, Fabio? Here's England's finest, and remember, the stats don't lie...
Goalkeepers: David James, Robert Green
Centre backs: Rio Ferdinand, Joleon Lescott, Sol Campbell, Matthew Upson
Right backs: Wes Brown, Micah Richards
Left backs: Ashley Cole, Stephen Warnock
Centre midfield: Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick, Nigel Reo-Coker, Jermaine Jenas
Right midfield: David Bentley, Phil Neville
Left midfield: Gareth Barry, Stewart Downing
Forwards: Gabriel Agbonlahor, Wayne Rooney, Dave Kitson, Jermain Defoe.
And the starting XI (4-4-2):
D James - W Brown, R Ferdinand, J Lescott, A Cole - D Bentley, M Carrick, S Gerrard, G Barry - G Agbonlahor, W Rooney.
A tidy blend of youth and experience, we're sure you'll agree...
Comments (3)
Decent team, but where's Ashley Young? 3 goals and 11 assists this season so far...
Posted by Ian Fannon | January 29, 2008 8:14 PM
Posted on January 29, 2008 20:14
And Ashley Young?...11 assists not good enough??
Posted by The Red Feathers | January 29, 2008 9:42 PM
Posted on January 29, 2008 21:42
Looks good, but again Ashley Young should be in the team. By far the best Left Mid this season.
Posted by Sam de Kooker | January 30, 2008 12:58 PM
Posted on January 30, 2008 12:58