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Why only one Jack?
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I can't help but notice that Fabio Cappello, our dearly beloved England manager, has once again selected young Jack Wiltshire of Arsenal as his new shining light for the friendly against Denmark but not the other Jack ? our Jack Rodwell. Why is that?
My understanding is that these two are roughly the same age, have both come through the England Youth ranks together and are both (equally) considered as future shining lights in the game. Yet one always seems to make Mr Cappuccino froth around the mouth whilst the other gets nowhere near as much media attention and accolades. Is it me, as an Evertonian just showing my "bitter" side or is there any plausible reason behind this omission (yet again) from the England senior squad?
In my opinion, Jack of the North is just as good as Jack of the South... yet Jack of the North never seems to get equal recognition by those who make the decisions down south. Who said the north/south divide was from a forgotten era?
Matthew Mackey, Posted 08/02/2011 at 17:02:07
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I think he needs to settle on a position and get a good run under his belt.
I think the mix of being a substitute, an attacking midfielder, a defensive midfielder while also being told he might be a defender is stunting his development. The niggling injuries arent helping either.
But yeah I think Wilshire is good value for his call up while Rodwell hasnt quite hit the heights he hope he will be able to later in his career.
We don´t want him knackered. Keep him fresh for us. He will be called up, of that there can be no doubt. He will outshine Jack of the saaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrffffffffff and become his captain. I just hope that when it comes to pass JR is still one of us.
Well, he went off injured in the Under-21s game this afternoon, so that might be too much to hope for...
Maybe one day.
Rodwell, Wilshire and Josh McEachran are the future of England though.
Rodwell is just 19 years old and already he has made 81 appearances for Everton. How exactly is he being left behind?
You want to talk about potentially great kids being left behind, look no further then Jose Baxter.
Baxter is 19 and has only made 11 appearances for Everton.
Or Shane Duffy who is also 19 but has only made 2 appearances for Everton.
I can't get my head around this international shite. For me the days of being a nationalist are well and truly over. As a Scouser I am well aware of the utter contempt that we are held in throughout this country. If you're not it's about time you woke up and smelt the coffee.
Anyone but the youngsters please, Jack has improved in recent weeks and I'm sure he will play really well until the end of the season provided he stays injury free. Remember he started this season with his worst injury yet; have some patience with the lad as he showed plenty of promise last season and is now slowly coming back to that form.
I have seen nothing in Wilshere to say he should be given an England berth. Rodwell I felt had done more.
I have said it before ? Moyes is stunting Rodwell's growth... he needs games.
Frankly I'd sooner see him out of the media spotlight and performing for us than being lauded and fauned over by various arseholes who earnestly question whether he's 'too big for Everton'.
He seems neat and tidy at times and over the last couple of games has just started to get some confidence back resulting in him getting on the ball in advanced positions and we begin to see that he is an awful lot more than a neat and tidy central midfielder.
Give the kid some time, there is no doubt he will be a star... eventually. Look at Huddlestone at Spurs, he was looking for a move 18 months ago as he couldn't cut it. Now looking every bit like a world-beater. He is just 23.
Keep him away from that pressure and expectations and let him develop.
My explanation for him being left behind slightly is that fact that after injury he has found it hard to be given a chance again by Moyes (until the last 2 games) even though our team has been on a terrible run. I hate a player trying to get his form back or given a chance coming on with 2 or 3 mins left to go.
You have the likes of Whilshire who is given the chance to play in a very good Arsenal side. Then there is the lad Jordan Henderson up at Sundeerland who is playing every week.
I used to think Moyes gave youngsters the chance to blossom but sometimes I think it has only been as he has been forced into it because of injury to our very small squad. I just hope the lad doesn't become too frustrated. Do you not remember the same being done to Rooney with him being left out to "protect him". He signs for Man Utd and plays every game...
But the point I was trying to make was this: As the England senior team were playing just another unnecessary friendly, why stuff the team full of the old guard that basically let us all down last summer in South Africa?
And as our Jack was selected to play in the U-21s last night, why not just select him for the senior team instead? Let him make his debut alongside players that a lot of you would consider better than ours and then see how he performs. Isn't that the whole point of a friendly rather than the same old same old that fans are growing tired of watching?
If you are going to select him then select him for the senior squad as we all know what he can do in the U-21s already.
He passes side ways, slows down our play (with the exception of the one goal he scored against United). He certainly isn't as good as Fellaini although age wise they aren't that far apart.
He was at fault for the first goal against Arsenal (he should have taken another step backwards).
Jack 'Sideways' Rodwell is what we call him where I sit in the Park End.
Seem to remember him putting a great ball down the channel on Saturday to Baines for Saha's second goal and lobbing the keeper from the edge of the box forcing a great clearence from a Blackpool player. Is this sideways?
Let the kid develop. He's not the finished product by any means but how can you doubt his potential? Get off his back and get behind the players!
Also his time out with injury has affected his appearances but I am sure he will get his big chance soon because sooner or later Capello will realise that Lampard, Gerrard, Barry and the likes are no longer good enough and younger hungrier players will be drafted in. Wilshire and Walcott are prime examples.
In any event the Everton international players always seem to get injured when selected so let's not dwell to much on Capello choosing them...
You lads who are saying that Wilshire looks better because he is playing in a good team, doesn't that prove that at this moment in time he is better than Rodwell, because he is standing out in a team of good players?
If he's going to be a class centre half (and that's were the plaudits were talking about), then now is the time to start to play him there and not in 2 years when it will take him another year to learn how to play it, and by which time he will have lost out, England-wise.
My own view is that, given games as a first-choice attacking midfielder, then Jack will come on in leaps and bounds... but not as second choice to either Arteta or Cahill. Fellaini, if he stays, will be the foundation we will build our team on.
The article questions why he isn't in the first team for England compared to Wilshere ? and its obvious: Wilshere is more confident, not scared to make mistakes and is always looking to get forward. Our Jack isn't.
And what is this 'potential' bollocks that people rant on about? He doesn't show me anything that Fellaini does and there is a year between them.
We talk Jack Rodwell up and I hope he does develop to his potential (a term I struggle with as it's subjective). Jack Wilshere is far the better player ? more relaxed, better decision making and a much more skilful player (from what I have seen). Moyes doesn't rate Rodwell as highly as the rest of our midfield... so I really do fail to see why people rave about him so much or why you would think Man U etc are looking at him for a big money move?
I reckon that it's more of a case that the clubs who have dared to enquire have been as bad or worse than Everton FC and that's the reason we haven't cashed in.
You never know though, if the fans keep talking him up the way they do, we might sell him for loads of cash, relieving the burden of debt on the club.
If he did leave, would we miss him?
Jack and Fella is the future and God help it when they get a run together and destroy the rest of the Premier League. Believe, it will happen. But in the meantime.... sort long, long term contracts.
It's a good point, but a lot of sides play one up front and the top players still manage to make incisive forward passes to split an opposition defence. That is the difference between a good player like Rodwell who keeps possession by only passing sideways and a great player.
I just don?t believe at this moment Rodwell has the vision or awareness to spot a through ball that can change a game or even the range of passing or technical ability to make the pass if he saw it, unlike Jack Wilshere.
Although, for the first time I can remember, Rodwell made an excellent through-ball to Baines against Blackpool which lead to a goal but I would need to see that kind of thing on more than one occasion to prove it wasn?t just a fluke.
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1 Posted 08/02/2011 at 19:42:56
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