Stones and Barkley go to the Euros

I did notice that Roy played Alli and Barkley together a few game back and they worked a lot of magic. Don't bet against them both playing together at some stage in the tournament.

I hope Stones has a great tournament too, as we can't lose on that one.

Come on, England

I'd wish the same about Stones and do hope he has a good tournament but sadly I think he will be elsewhere in August.

I have been aware of the BBC refusing to respect Everton's rights as a football club for years but it is not often the football establishment's figurehead is so blatantly dismissive of us. Time for a change, Mr Moshiri.

It's all conjecture but I believe he had lost belief in the manager and his methods. Hodgson has been critical in the past but clearly believes in Ross and I think he could be a match winner for England and us next year when back in shape and the right frame of mind.

That is better than Rooney, Sturridge, Coutinho, Mata, De Bruyne, Pedro, Sterling, Yaya, Fabregas.

We all know that Ross wasn't consistent enough this year, but he can make things happen.

I can't stand the man.

Ross needs to get his confidence back, he is a great player in the making who lost his way a little last season.

John will be kept out of the starting eleven by the other two centre-halves. Smalling, I can accept the logic in that. For him to be second choice to Cahill will be disappointing for the lad and his supporters.

Amazing!

Sturridge, is a great talent but has the resilience of Weetabix in hot milk!

Wilshere, is a talent, but has the resilience of Weetabix in hot milk.

Henderson has the talent of warm milk.

Ross Barkley just has not maintained his early season improved level of performances. TBH his tracking back reminds me of Peter Kay's "Dad Running".

(Tried but can't find the bloody thing, hence no link.)

Also one in the eye for the Drinkwater sentimentalists, notably the dire Ian Wright.

Mostly made up squad of top teams and favourites.

Good luck to Barkley and Stones.

After all... this Roy Hodgson. They'll all be home before the kit man has finished unpacking!

He isn't Rooney, or Owen, he's only a few games better off than Walcott's unnecessary inclusion back in '06.

There is no reason for England payers to make there debut until 22, 23 unless there's an obvious dearth of talent in their position. He may well end up the greatest striker ever, but this doesn't help. Its only the need to have a story like Schillachi or Rooney back in '04.

I wish Barkley had been excluded to be honest. He could use the rest followed by a good, full, hard pre-season to get him sharp rather than collecting splinters in France.

I hope he gets a chance to impress, and really takes it. I think his talent has been managed atrociously to this point by all the managers he's worked under – Moyes, Warnock, Hodgson... but most especially Martinez. The damage he has done to this club and our best players could take some time to heal. And in their short careers, these are formative years they can never get back. That, to me, is the real shame.

Boer 11/10
Pellegrini just under 9/2
Emery 21/10

Basically just multiply stake by the figure

Good luck to Barkley and Stones, but I am not even sure the old fart in charge will give them any meaningful game time?

His favourites "Mike" Smalling and Hoof Cahill at CB will start so that's Stones getting splinters.

Wazza will drop into midfield, as Woy must play him somewhere and it won't be in attack; looks like Jack Wheelchair has been sucking Woy off, cos he's gonna get game time, along with the “talented” Henderson, Milner etc, so Ross gets splinters as well?

Having said that, Jack Wheelchair will probably get injured in the hotel bar or nightclub before a ball has been kicked, so Ross may get the nod a little more than I am predicting?

Stones has had a mare of a season, but I understand why he has been picked. Personally I would have taken Jagielka ahead of any of the CBs Woy has opted for.

Ross is also a little lucky to be on the plane, as his second part of the season fell off a cliff, and you could argue others should have been taken ahead of him.

I really feel for the likes of Drinkwater, Noble and Defoe, who have had more than decent seasons, but have been overlooked for the usual bang average favourites, from the so called “big” clubs.

On the whole, it's the squad you would expect from a god awful manager – oh how I miss the days when Woy was over at Mordor!

Gary (31), yes a very good article.

Currently:
FdB 2/1
Pellegrini 5/2
Emery 3/1

Guess that means the bookies have no idea whatsoever!!!

Regarding the England squad, I'd have probably taken both Drinkwater and Townsend and left Wilshere and Ross at home. I'd be delighted if Ross proves me wrong and has a real impact.

We could of course hire a charismatic world class manager. Then everything would change. I'm probably dreaming but I hope it's Emery or Simeone.

As for England – they won't get very far. Too many mediocre players and a mediocre manager will soon get found out.

As usual all the guys from the so called 'big' clubs are in and the likes of Drinkwater and Townsend not. The former has had a belter of a season (can say the same for Mark Noble) but neither plays for a fashionable club.

Just one player from the League Champions in the entire squad yet Spurs who finished 2nd have 5 going and Liverpool after a shite season finishing 8th also have no less than 5 players in.

Just one wide midfielder in the whole squad and only three CBs.

This team will leak goals – this will be fun to watch.

In any event, a few players out of form and others not 100% confirms Hodgson's career is almost over.

Given his talent for running at teams with the ball, I think any opponent would be well chuffed to see him the size and pace he is now. He is unable to now do so successfully the things his opponents most fear, and restoring that to his armoury should be a priority for him and the new manager.

Good for us too as he will know he can still make the national team being with us.. Stones too.

Unless we're waiting for the Euros to finish to sign him up!!

Crikey, just imagine (please don't) Woy as DoF and he who shall not be named back as manager!

I would section myself.

Townsend should have gone because he's in form and raring to go and provides genuine width, but Hodgson ignores form. Indeed he must do as he's selected Ross! I hope Ross does well and sticks it to all the 'experts' on the TV and in the papers who have abandoned him for their new toy boy Delli Ali.

Stones will probably get a game as he's far better than Smalling or Cahill and Roy will select him as he's going to Utd or City anyway! So he passes the Roy test. Ross will only play if half the team are injured (possible) or we're losing 3-0 and he wants a miracle in the last 20 minutes (very possible).

In any case, he is a better player than that jerk Jordan Henderson going forward but I will be happy that he doesn't get injured and comes back ready to play the way we know he can under Everton's new boss.

It all changes for me on the day of a game of course but difficult to get excited by a manager who seems to place blatant favouritism of certain players above players in form, which is absolutely how you need to pick your players for tournament football (please don't come back with Paolo Rossi etc – these are exceptions rather than the rule).

How on earth does Wilshere get in above Drinkwater? Hodgson is a clown and I expect him to be gone within a month. (Err, or he is a footballing genius soon to become Sir Woy.)

My worry would be whether the midfield can dominate possession enough to supply the front players. That's why I think Roy will play Rooney in midfield/the no. 10 role.

On the Everton front, Stones (according to a number of commentators) may well start as he has impressed in the two friendlies.

Barkley likely to be an impact sub. He can make things happen and lets hope he does as it will do wonders for his fragile confidence.

Now ridicule me all you like, and I'm setting meself up, so go 'head, take the piss.

Zidane, Yaya?

Here's my point, that terrible leg break at a crucial age?

Is that the "devil inside"?

He's physically recovered, but DEEPLY scarred?
If that's the case, there's no room to criticise. Having a 90% career for Ross is WAY beyond a 100% career for us lot.

Pray to "The Holy Trinity", that I'm wrong and he just needs a good arm around the shoulder.

I think you right, there is just something missing. I don't see the "phenomenal" player that a lot of Everton fans and the media talk up.

Yes, he is still young but he's got start doing the business. Money is half the problem with young footballers these days, they don't want to get hurt; if they do, it could be millions!

Ross needs to start going forward and not do his usual 180° turning back into trouble... he'll be fine that way.

They'll be lucky to get out of the qualifying round imho.

In football more than most sports, speed is strength, so to let him bulk up like this is just ridiculous. Same with Deulofeu, he's fucked after four/five sprints.

Not a pick on Vardy, but the lad doesn't stop, surely the best way to play football?

Good luck to them both, I hope they do well, even if I think we are probably going to lose Stones.

All built like brick houses!

Ross has an issue with fitness, he has never been the quickest on the field but also not the slowest and I haven't seen that he has slowed at all. When he puts down the burners he gets up a decent speed. It's just his willingness to run and keep it going for 90 minutes. A new manager can solve those issues no problem.. We have a diamond!

Let's wait and see if Roy is right!

Also, Michael (#32), a very good point. Martinez was, in my view, the most damaging influence at the club in fifty years. He and Kenwright could and would have destroyed us. We need someone special in to repair the damage.

And we need to get a manager who can get the best out of Barkley, I understand why some people don't see it but I see a lad who is still learning his trade. He's 22 years of age and every club in our league would have him.

I was hoping Rooney would come back this summer but now Jose is at Man Utd I don't see it, what say you?

Roy's probably going to play Lalana, Sturridge, Milner (wtf?), and Wilshire. It won't work.

Were I English, and were I the English manager, I'd go:

Forster
Bertrand Cahill Stones Rose
Dier
Sterling Rooney Barkley Alli
Vardy

If you're anti-Barkley then put Wilshere in there.

Euros won, you're welcome.

But no... Woy will tota-wee fuck it up. He'll play Hedno, Lalana and Milner somehow.

Cheery rant over!!!

Good luck to both lads. Ross in particular and I echo Chris Wallace earlier in this thread; he's a player who can change things. He won't be 100% perfect for 90 minutes every match but he offers that moment of magic that turns the game...and he's still not the polished article. Kevin Sheedy anyone....dare I say it John Barnes. As I've said before, players who were as infuriating as they were majestic. Very rarely do you get your cake and eat it with players like that.

A work horse will be there for you all year around to prove his worth. A Grand National winner performs once a year to become an idolised legend.

Barkley is lucky to be going, I suppose he's been picked to throw on when we are behind and Woy tells him to go for goal at all cost. He's become very disappointing, he's not going around defenders, passing intelligently or tackling like a midfielder should.

Stones is excellent going forward but his job is to defend and I'm afraid he's a long way off being reliable in that sphere.

It looks certain that him and Lukaku will be off before next season starts, of the two we'll miss Lukaku much more than Stones going off this seasons performances.

From 1970 onwards England have been nothing short of an embarrassment and I'm not expecting much different this time. I'll be recording their matches and skimming though searching for any good bits, I've wasted far too much time in the past watching them live!

We have the makings of a very decent side. Roy's big problem though is this tournament is coming a little early. Roy isn't going to get the benefit of this new crop of players. The next manager at the next tournament will.

Having said that, there is no real excuse to look as ropey defensively as England do, and if that continues they aren't making it out of the group.

As for Ross... he's a footballer, not a body builder, and clearly needs to lay off the weights.

Glad I'm not English!!

GAWA

Time could prove me wrong, but I'm not yet in the Stones fan club.

Why get Drinkwater's hopes up by calling him into the squad and then crushing him much like he has done to Townsend? Hodgson is a prick and expecting this England squad to get past the quarters is pie in the sky.

Lukaku has turned into a lazy bastard, with a terrible attitude.

There's also the small detail of him not wanting to play for our club, and he tells it to anyone that will listen.

His value will never be higher than it is now. Get rid, and make sure the door hits him hard on the back of the head on his way out.

Stones is still very young for his position, and I don't think he is too far off being top quality. Sadly, he doesn't want to play for us either.

Lukaku's goals will be missed in the short term, but Stones will be a better player. Quite often big centre-forwards struggle with injuries later in their careers, though this may not be an issue due to Rom's selfishness and lack of effort.

A sprint runs at most 200 metres then that's it – game over. It's about explosive power over a short distance and period of time.

A rugby winger gets a blow every time there is a scrum or throw in. Basically they are required to sprint or wrestle in short bursts.

A midfielder requires lower body strength, stamina and lung capacity.

Back on topic – I am really pleased for Ross and hope he has a great tournament.

Huh? Sprints ARE explosive power. Might want to look at Leicester. 200 meters is below the minimum for their players. In training.

"A midfielder requires lower body strength, stamina and lung capacity."

Barkley has lower-body strength to burn. How have you not
noticed him brush defenders off on a run?

His stamina and lung capacity aren't up to snuff because of OFM's disinterest in them as important to an EPL professional.

Ross is good to go as soon as we get an actual professional manager in charge. Not the clown we suffered for 3 years.

There's no doubt in my mind that Ross' gains weren't something he decided to do in his own time. The club will have had him on a program and this is the result.

The only extent to which I blame Ross is that he needs to take ownership of his own career. He should have fucked us off as soon as it was evident that we were ruining him.

The lad can't run 50m without being spent. The way we've conditioned him has been borderline criminal.

I agree re Stones. A defender is supposed to do what it says on the tin, ie, defend.

If he didn't have the undoubted ability he has on the ball, he would not be called world class or compared to icons such as Booby Moore. udged purely on his defensive capability, he would be a poor defender. The Cruyff turns and nutmegs kid people.

Nothing wrong with playing the ball out from the back. Some of my all time favourites could do both. Bottom line? You MUST be able to defend as well.

Baresi... Thuram as good as Stones on the ball... as good as Stam defending.

John Stones had his career stunted in a different way, but he will shine this summer. The offers will come in and we will accept the highest one.

The knowledgeable who were insisting that Martinez was the messiah will get their wish. The footballer will be sold and replaced by a dependable "stopper".

Free from the confusing, contradictory messages sent out by Martinez. John Stones will go on to become a champion.

Lukaku, is more valuable to the team than Stones? Another of those contradictions, that football regularly throws up, Raymond. How ironic that a selfish cunt is more valuable to the team, than the team player!

The Martinez, style of football, had nearly everything going through Barry, and he was probably our best player last season.

He was definately our most consistent player, but I wonder how good he will be, if a new manager comes in and gets us playing at a much quicker tempo?

The stupidest decision of the lot, for me, was leaving out Defoe. I hate the little blighter, but he's bang in form and knows where the net is. He's the very epitome of the kind of player we should be taking to a tournament.

Wilshire is a gamble but one I'm not averse to. He's a truly wonderful footballer and I hope he can get himself sharp enough to make an impact.

Similarly rugby wingers while they need stamina get more opportunity to recover from a burst of activity than a footballer playing in midfield.

"Barkley has lower-body strength to burn. How have you not noticed him brush defenders"

Yes I have and I agree with you - he is very strong on the ball. But I have also noticed after a burst of activity quite often he is blowing for tugs - like a sprinter after running his race.

I think he is carrying too much muscle in his upper body for the position he plays - if he was a centre half I wouldn't.

Hopefully Ross is getting himself refreshed and ready to play again, now Martinez, is no longer the man he has to listen to.

Hope the penny drops soon, because I'm sure most people would agree that the only thing really holding Ross Barkley, back, is himself.

Barry resign distances for us. I think he was covering now ground than any others.

Martinez isn't exactly wrong with his approach. Horses for courses is the expression that comes to mind. I just think he set the wrong course.

Leicester keep getting used as an example but do you think Morgan and Huth we're having their arses trained off? It's not as simple as saying that everyone needs to be lean and ready to run marathons... You'd get overpowered.

Leicester's players were put together in a very specific way. We'll never recreate that and if we somehow did we'd find ourselves behind them.

Good luck to John Stones as well, although I don't think we will ever see him as an Everton player again.

Pass, pass, pass, is fine for Barry and McCarthy, but a player like Barkley, was really being affected by this regime, because he's stopped doing things off the cuff.

Training should be hard, but training should also be varied and enjoyable.

I get the feeling that this wasn't the case at Everton, and just because training wasn't meant to be physically hard, this doesn't mean that the players weren't over-trained?

Ranieri, gave his players a week off, with less than ten league games left to play, whilst Roberto, probably bored our's stiff, with his warm winter training camps.

Barkley and Lukaku both need de-bulking and up stamina-ing (yes I know these aren't proper words but you get the point) This de-bulking won't harm either as mentally they lack the mongrel to put themselves about anyway

The methods are out there and not top secret - it's fitness 101 in the AFL and those guys cover some ground AND get stuck in.

The truth is we know eff all about what went on with Martinez and the players, except that Coleman and Howard have been supportive in their comments of the manager.

If there have been other players' comments, I'm sorry but I've missed them.

With regards to who will have the better career, that's all relative really, but I think they will both do well.

Rom for himself, wherever the selfish turd and his gobby father end up! He may win a few pots elsewhere, especially if he stays in France after the Euros.

Stones could be an all-time great at CB, once he actually starts to defend properly (the “calm down” spat with the park end was when my feelings towards him soured – defend first mate, it's what you are paid to do!)

I'm hoping the stellar appointment of the next Everton manager gives both pause as to them leaving us, and they both stay and have long and trophy laden Everton careers, becoming the Goodison greats that we know they could and should be!

Tony#84 – you are spot on about Barkley being the one limiting himself, as his ability is up there with the best, and hopefully our new manager can knock some kind of self-belief into him.

I hope his self limiting has nothing to do with the terrible injury he had to get over, and it's more to do with Senor Martinez's time at the club.

I believe (not sure though) that Stones won the award for youngsters and was subsequently pictured with Ross watching a La Liga match, that being his prize.

Supposition? ... Which bit?

You know for a fact that I was shouted down because you were one of those doing it "just admit you were wrong" you told me about Martinez – on numerous occasions.

We know that Barkley, Deulofeu and Lukaku can't manage 90 minutes between them... although they are only in their early twenties. Wanna contest that?

We know that the relationship between the players and the manager was broken and that the Chemistry was non-existent, because – despite your denials – Lukaku and Baines told us so. Ossie and Browning both gave us a good insight as to the amateurish way we prepared for games.

You haven't missed the other players' comments, Raymond. You just chose to ignore them.

These players should in a professional environment have their own personal fitness plans set out by whoever the fitness coach is.

As professionals they should not just be hitting their targets but smashing through them. I don't know the regime that Everton have in place but to be questioning fitness is unbelievable in a pro environment.

I'm thinking maybe the sports science team at Everton need a good looking at especially with the amount of hamstring injuries we suffer, that's if we have one!

These players are paid thousands of pounds a week the least they can do is get fit and put a shift in, the fact this is being talked about is shocking. I also think these players need looking at mentally as well as physically.

The very least you should be if you are a professional sportsman is fit. No matter what your manager does or make you do, you should know your own body and should be in tip top condition (barring injuries or illness) for the whole season.

The sprinter who is massively built isn't a comparison at all.

He runs 100/200 meters a couple of times every few months competitively, not running/jogging for an hour and a half once or twice a week.

I don't hear of many hammy's either, knees and other contact type injuries, but not too many hammy's

As I stated it's not top secret it was in the local papers, takes some nouse, dedication and work. but at 70K per week....

He walked around, broke into the occasional jog and waited for his moment to show a burst of pace and strength. That was exactly was required of him, demonstrated by the fact he kept on getting picked. Unfortunately we could all see it was a waste of his talent.

Lukaku and Baines didn't mention the manager in their utterances did they, if my memory serves me right they said that there wasn't the chemistry between the players.
We are talking about spoiled young men are we not, who if they don't get all their own way will no doubt go into a sulk.

As far as fitness is concerned, have you asked the players about lasting 90 mins, no I thought not, your believing what you want to.

So what about Colemans and Howards comments, are you calling them liars too.
Let's stick to facts not opinions shall we.
Show me anything where players criticised Martinez directly and will hold my hands up.

As far as Martinez's ability is concerned you spotted flaws in his management far in advance of myself, so fair play to you on that.
I will put in a small proviso though Darren, contained in what both Colemam and Howard said about he was also let down by the form of most of the players.

Derek, that's interesting because players must be super fit to play AFL, when you consider the side of the pitch.

"show me anywhere where players criticise Martinez directly and I will hold my hands up" - Ray Fox 1/6/16

Get em up Raymond .

Toms saying get back on the thread topic, so we better leave it for now Darren no doubt we'll speak again.