Alan Thompson

**BRM** · 03-10-2003, 12:51 PM

With the England squad for the crucial euro qualifier with Turkey set to be annonced sometime over this weekend i would like to think that alan thompson willl be included however unlikely it is.

Not being able to see the SPL down here in England i'm not overly sure what his league form is like but from the 2 champions league games that i have seen against Bayern and Lyon i have found him apart from his penalty miss against Lyon. Surely one of the many central midfielders who seem to be included in every England squad could make way for a naturally left sided midfielder who is in the form of his life.

If you play a central midfieder like hargreaves down the left you see him tending to drift into the middle which causes alsorts of problems for Ashley Cole especiallyconsidering that he likes to get up himself, you would'nt get that with Thompson as the left hand flank is his natral position. Not only does he play down the left but he delivers great craft balls and can play great one touch football, how sven has totally overlooked him is beyond me.

If you see Celtics goals in the game against Lyon from tuesday both came from indirect actions from thompson.

The game against Turkey may not be the right one to dump Thompson in but in the long run and if we do qualify for Portugal next summer England just have to try out Thompson in the frendlies before the summer as in all honesty i think that with Thompson in the team England have a far better chance of sucess in Portugal next summer.

Go on Sven you know you want to

Kandiman · 03-10-2003, 01:05 PM

The trouble with inluding Thompson in the England squad, simply, is that he just isn't good or experienced enough. Sure, he's played in the champions league, and the premier league, but he's never played for a big club. (And no, Celtic are not a big club)

**BRM** · 03-10-2003, 01:19 PM

No Celtic are a huge club if you want proof of that seek tapes of the game against liverpool at celtic park the UEFA cup final against porto in seville or watch the old firm game tommorow.

Could you imagine what both Rangers and Celtic could do if they had the exposure that english premiership teams get, its not there fault that other tems in scotland have not progressed as much as rangers and celtic. Celtic get attendences up there with the likes of newcastle and chelsea. Out of the old firm attendences are more like english first division crowds but can you really blame the old firm?

Russ · 03-10-2003, 01:44 PM

Thompson deserves a chance. Even if it's just 45 minutes in a friendly, putting in performances like he does every week should get you some recognition. Let's face it, England only have Cole and Bridges that are able to play comfortably on the left. Bringing in someone like Thompson will give them that extra option, should one of the guys ahead of him get injured/suspended. I don't think there's much of an arguement that he isn't playing in big games often enough. Through UEFA cup and Champions League games, he's played against teams that no one can doubt have quality. And remember, as Graeme Souness pointed out when people questioned buying Barry Ferguson, every time Rangers or Celtic play a domestic game, it's the other team's cup final. Their opponents up their game and try their very hardest to get some points from the Old Firm, so if you're not giving them respect and expect an easy walkover, you're going to get a shock.

If I was Sven/Tord, I'd also keep an eye on Michael Ball. His perfomances for Rangers this season have been outstanding, and it was no surprise that he won player of the month for August. I'd give him a whole season to get back to 100%, then I would put Thompson and Ball in the England squad for a few friendlies, to get them used to the international set up.

Of course, I don't want England to do well, so hopefully Sven will play the Nevilles as full backs.

**BRM** · 03-10-2003, 01:59 PM

I don't mind Gary aslong as he keeps that gob of his shut, he seems to have a good understanding with beckham, just wish david would buy him a decent razor for his birthday. Phil however well i just don't think he has it at international level unlike thompson he's been tried and always seems to dissapoint. I actully saw him in sainsburys lastnight you should of seen the junk he was buying, i mean who buys quorn?

The Crippler · 03-10-2003, 02:30 PM

WEW, I assume you don't know very much about Celtic Football Club if you don't think they are a big club.

Thompson should be in the England squad and Russ is spot on about Michael Ball. His form has been fantastic this season.

I can't see either of them getting near the squad cause Eriksson probably looks down his nose at Scotland like most English people do.

Kandiman · 03-10-2003, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Crippler
WEW, I assume you don't know very much about Celtic Football Club if you don't think they are a big club.

I know a lot about celtic. But they are merely a bg club in the context of the SPL, which I'll remind you, is among the weakest leagues in Europe. Celtic are no bigger than an average first division club, and attendances don't mean shit, they just mean the club has a big following. 10 years go, Newcastle weren't a big club, but they still got 35,000 fans every week.

K.J · 03-10-2003, 02:46 PM

I never actually realised that Thompson was English until a few months back, when I found out I was miffed as to why he hasn't even been called up for the squad. You always hear, England have no left sided players, that's rubbish, although Thompson may not be David Beckham or Ryan Giggs, he is competent enough to play at international level and would certainly give a more balanced look to the team.

On the subject of "the left", if Sven has to ignore Thompson, why not play Bridge at LB and Cole on the wing. Cole is useless at the back, he's always caught too far up the pitch and a tricky winger will turn him inside out for fun all day, so why not take the defensive duty away from him and play him on the wing?

Kandiman · 03-10-2003, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by K.J
...although Thompson may not be David Beckham or Ryan Giggs, he is competent enough to play at international level

Thompson may well be competent enough for international football. Shame Beckham will never be. Beckham is just an attention seeking publicity *****, but unfortunately he has less footballing talent than most Jewson League players.

K.J · 03-10-2003, 03:21 PM

Speaking of attention seeking *****s...............Nope not saying a word.

03-10-2003, 12:51 PM	#1
BRM Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Costa Del Colne Age: 27 Posts: 7,938	Alan Thompson With the England squad for the crucial euro qualifier with Turkey set to be annonced sometime over this weekend i would like to think that alan thompson willl be included however unlikely it is. Not being able to see the SPL down here in England i'm not overly sure what his league form is like but from the 2 champions league games that i have seen against Bayern and Lyon i have found him apart from his penalty miss against Lyon. Surely one of the many central midfielders who seem to be included in every England squad could make way for a naturally left sided midfielder who is in the form of his life. If you play a central midfieder like hargreaves down the left you see him tending to drift into the middle which causes alsorts of problems for Ashley Cole especiallyconsidering that he likes to get up himself, you would'nt get that with Thompson as the left hand flank is his natral position. Not only does he play down the left but he delivers great craft balls and can play great one touch football, how sven has totally overlooked him is beyond me. If you see Celtics goals in the game against Lyon from tuesday both came from indirect actions from thompson. The game against Turkey may not be the right one to dump Thompson in but in the long run and if we do qualify for Portugal next summer England just have to try out Thompson in the frendlies before the summer as in all honesty i think that with Thompson in the team England have a far better chance of sucess in Portugal next summer. Go on Sven you know you want to __________________ Other Sports Forum Leader: Other Sports Forum

03-10-2003, 01:05 PM	#2
Kandiman Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Blackpool Age: 25 Posts: 390	The trouble with inluding Thompson in the England squad, simply, is that he just isn't good or experienced enough. Sure, he's played in the champions league, and the premier league, but he's never played for a big club. (And no, Celtic are not a big club) __________________ The Wrestling Times British Wrestling in Black & White

03-10-2003, 01:19 PM	#3
BRM Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Costa Del Colne Age: 27 Posts: 7,938	No Celtic are a huge club if you want proof of that seek tapes of the game against liverpool at celtic park the UEFA cup final against porto in seville or watch the old firm game tommorow. Could you imagine what both Rangers and Celtic could do if they had the exposure that english premiership teams get, its not there fault that other tems in scotland have not progressed as much as rangers and celtic. Celtic get attendences up there with the likes of newcastle and chelsea. Out of the old firm attendences are more like english first division crowds but can you really blame the old firm? __________________ Other Sports Forum Leader: Other Sports Forum Last edited by BRM; 03-10-2003 at 01:24 PM.

03-10-2003, 01:59 PM	#5
BRM Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Costa Del Colne Age: 27 Posts: 7,938	I don't mind Gary aslong as he keeps that gob of his shut, he seems to have a good understanding with beckham, just wish david would buy him a decent razor for his birthday. Phil however well i just don't think he has it at international level unlike thompson he's been tried and always seems to dissapoint. I actully saw him in sainsburys lastnight you should of seen the junk he was buying, i mean who buys quorn? __________________ Other Sports Forum Leader: Other Sports Forum

03-10-2003, 02:30 PM	#6
The Crippler Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Northern Ireland Age: 26 Posts: 6,017	WEW, I assume you don't know very much about Celtic Football Club if you don't think they are a big club. Thompson should be in the England squad and Russ is spot on about Michael Ball. His form has been fantastic this season. I can't see either of them getting near the squad cause Eriksson probably looks down his nose at Scotland like most English people do. __________________ *"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction."*

03-10-2003, 01:44 PM	#4
Russ TWO Hall of Fame Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,352	Thompson deserves a chance. Even if it's just 45 minutes in a friendly, putting in performances like he does every week should get you some recognition. Let's face it, England only have Cole and Bridges that are able to play comfortably on the left. Bringing in someone like Thompson will give them that extra option, should one of the guys ahead of him get injured/suspended. I don't think there's much of an arguement that he isn't playing in big games often enough. Through UEFA cup and Champions League games, he's played against teams that no one can doubt have quality. And remember, as Graeme Souness pointed out when people questioned buying Barry Ferguson, every time Rangers or Celtic play a domestic game, it's the other team's cup final. Their opponents up their game and try their very hardest to get some points from the Old Firm, so if you're not giving them respect and expect an easy walkover, you're going to get a shock. If I was Sven/Tord, I'd also keep an eye on Michael Ball. His perfomances for Rangers this season have been outstanding, and it was no surprise that he won player of the month for August. I'd give him a whole season to get back to 100%, then I would put Thompson and Ball in the England squad for a few friendlies, to get them used to the international set up. Of course, I don't want England to do well, so hopefully Sven will play the Nevilles as full backs.

03-10-2003, 02:46 PM	#8
K.J TWO Hall of Fame Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: b Age: 32 Posts: 4,095	I never actually realised that Thompson was English until a few months back, when I found out I was miffed as to why he hasn't even been called up for the squad. You always hear, England have no left sided players, that's rubbish, although Thompson may not be David Beckham or Ryan Giggs, he is competent enough to play at international level and would certainly give a more balanced look to the team. On the subject of "the left", if Sven has to ignore Thompson, why not play Bridge at LB and Cole on the wing. Cole is useless at the back, he's always caught too far up the pitch and a tricky winger will turn him inside out for fun all day, so why not take the defensive duty away from him and play him on the wing?

03-10-2003, 03:21 PM	#10
K.J TWO Hall of Fame Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: b Age: 32 Posts: 4,095	Speaking of attention seeking *****s...............Nope not saying a word.

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