Earlier in the week FourFourTwo.com was able to exclusively reveal the deciding factor in Fabio CapelloâÂÂs decision to include Jimmy Bullard in his squad for SaturdayâÂÂs game with Andorra and Wednesday nightâÂÂs crucial clash in Croatia.
However, on further inspection, it seems that Don Fabio probably didnâÂÂt use our Talentspotter site to pick his squad after all, because if he had his 23 would have had an altogether different look to it.
WeâÂÂve put together our own England side using the ratings provided by our Top Spotters, picking the best players in each position (along with suitable back up), bearing in mind injuries to Steven Gerrard and Micah Richards, the international retirement of Paul Scholes and Jamie Carragher and the fact that players based outside Britain donâÂÂt yet feature on our database (in any case, Mr Hollywood being in the squad is probably an argument for another day, say Thursday after weâÂÂve lost to Croatia).
"Boot it into the crowd? I've had the practice..."
So, without further ado, hereâÂÂs our very own England 23...
Goalkeepers:
David James (Portsmouth), Chris Kirkland (Wigan Athletic), Robert Green (West Ham United)
Defenders:
Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Joleon Lescott (Everton), John Terry (Chelsea), Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur), Billy Jones (Preston North End), Joe Mattock (Leicester City), Richard Rose (Hereford United), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielders:
Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Lewis McGugan (Nottingham Forest), Jimmy Bullard (Fulham), Anthony McNamee (Swindon Town), David Bentley (Tottenham Hotspur), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Michael Johnson (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Strikers:
Simon Cox (Swindon Town), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Michael Owen (Newcastle United)
Just going to give you a few moments to ponder that... you done? Lovely.
The three keepers probably arenâÂÂt a massive shock. All three have been involved in senior England squads under the current regime and two (James and Green) have been given the nod by Capello this time round.
Paul Robinson, who is the third keeper in the real squad ahead of Kirkland, is waaaaay down the Talentspotter list with a meagre rating of 6.3 compared to the Wigan manâÂÂs 7.6.
GreenâÂÂs 7.7 rating would see him christened EnglandâÂÂs âÂÂnumber oneâÂÂ, ahead of Kirkland and David James (7.5).
Richard Rose: Better than Pele? Better than Radford?
ItâÂÂs in defence that we start to see one or two new names putting themselves in contention. While Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate are all mainstays of the senior side (although the Spurs duo have been omitted by Capello this time round), Billy Jones, Joe Mattock and Richard Rose are most certainly not.
While the inclusion of Rose (7.5) might be surprising to some, we like to think that his high rating is due to his sterling performances in the Bullsâ backline since he joined the newly promoted League One outfit from Gillinghm in 2006.
The defnceâÂÂs other League One star, Mattock (7.5), is perhaps a more familiar name, having been linked with a host of Premier League sides in the summer and receiving a late call-up to Stuart PearceâÂÂs U21 side this week.
Preston defender Billy Jones (7.5) has been touted as a potential Premier League defender since his Crewe days and his versatility would make him a very useful addition to the England set-up.
No place then for Ashley Cole (6.7) then. Such a tragic shame, that...
The surprises come thick and fast in the midfield too, with inclusions for Forest youngster Lewis McGugan (7.5), Swindon winger Anthony McNamee (8.0) and... errrrrm... Frank Lampard (7.6).
Simon Cox: Never lets his country down...
Another Swindon star, Simon Cox (7.9), is the stand-out name among the strikers and interestingly it seems our Spotters deem Michael Owen worthy of an inclusion, even if his 40 goals in 89 international matches mean nothing to Capello.
Furthermore, while Theo Walcott (7.4) is goalless for England, itâÂÂs worth pointing out that Cox has never failed to score when selected for the senior side, for what that's worth.
Using the tried and tested system adopted by England managers for generations, weâÂÂve opted to throw together the 11 best players then cobble together a half-workable formation rather than picking a decent, tried and tested system before fitting suitable players into it.
Thusly our line-up for the Andorra match on Saturday would be as follows:
GK Robert Green
CB John Terry
CB Rio Ferdinand
CB Joleon Lescott
RM David Bentley
CM Jimmy Bullard
CM Michael Johnson
CM Lewis McGugan
LM Ashley Young
CF Gabriel Agbonlahor
CF Simon Cox
Substitutes: Chris Kirkland, Billy Jones, Ledley King, Joe Cole, Anthony McNamee, Jermain Defoe, Michael Owen.
Roll on South Africa... right?
