An England for the future

No. I'm not talking about the WC14 team. I'm talking about the team
beyond that. What happens when the likes of Gerrard, Lampard, Terry,
Cole and co. retire. Can the young ones step up and fill their shoes
or will they achieve what the old generation couldn't do in years?
Lets have a look at them individually.



Note : All players mentioned below are aged 25 years or less.








 England XI:


Joe Hart: He is here to stay for the future. The problem is there is
no competition for his place. With no rivalry, his performance may
drop down. That is the only worry. He is good at one-on-ones and
penalties. His distribution and shot stopping is world class. A
commanding presence in the box.

Kyle Walker: With his strength and pace, Walker has made the right
back place his own for Spurs. He perfectly compliments Lennon on the
right side of the flank and adds to the attack well. Defensively, he
has to work hard. He is still young and can learn very much from his
senior compatriots and become one of the fiercest England right backs emulating the
likes of Alf Ramsey, Gary Neville and Glen Johnson.


Chris Smalling: Hailed as a future successor to Rio Ferdinand,
Smalling shares many of his qualities, including calmness on the ball,
accurate distribution and solid aerial ability. Tall and rangy,
Smalling is a physically imposing centre-back who is equally adept in
the air and with the ball at his feet. Though his positional sense
and concentration have been called in to question at times, the
quality in him cannot be denied.

Phil Jones: Jones boasts of great positioning and quick reflexes. His
courage is also one of his prized assets. He reads the game very well
and has great pace. His biggest strength is his good ball control and
good passing ability which makes him double up as a defensive
midfielder. He has kept the likes of Fellaini and Gareth Bale in his pocket in recent matches. Also, his leadership skills were visible on the pitch as
he was often seen organizing the defence for Blackburn and Manchester
United.

Kieran Gibbs: Gibbs is the archetype of the modern full back and his
positioning sense and defensive abilities are improving all the time.
Gibbs still lacks experience at the top level and is not yet a master
of the defensive arts. Dynamic and a promising full back, he can be an
ideal replacement for Ashley Cole.

Tom Cleverley: Cleverley physically isn't the strongest player but he
is wily and has a great idea of the game. He has been tipped to be the
replacement of Scholes for all the right reasons. His strengths are
his passing and defensive contribution. He possesses a great counter
attacking threat and likes to play short passes. He though has to work on
his aerial duels and crossing.

Jack Wilshere: The Arsenal talisman. Wilshere's technique is superb
and for a youngster he possesses very impressive vision and a keen
football brain, allowing him to take control of a game. Whether
dribbling or passing, he has the ability to prise open a defence. On
occasion he has demonstrated a fiery temper which could be exploited
by senior pros. Wilshere also still needs to develop physically as he
is a bit fragile.

Theo Walcott: Walcott boasts of great pace and his off the ball
movement is superb. He can make a real impact as a substitute and
strike fear into an opposition defence with his speed, movement and
dribbling, either on the wing or as a striker.He has been accused of
lacking intelligence on the pitch and his  final product can be
frustratingly inconsistent, whether crossing, finishing or passing and
he has to work hard on that. Having said that, he was a major influence in England's recent 2-1 win over Brazil in February and performances like that will only do him a world of good.

Danny Welbeck: Welbeck boasts of pace and strength and is tough to
deal with in the box. He is very good at playing one-twos and holds the
ball quite well because of his strength. His positioning is a bit naive and he needs to learn when to make runs at the
right time. His finishing is also something he needs to work on. But under the constant mentorship of countryman Wayne Rooney, he is definitely improving leaps and bounds.

 
Raheem Sterling: Sterling is a very good young player with the
potential to become top class but he needs to be nurtured properly and
in Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool have the right man to do this. He is
amazingly fast and can go past players with ease. However sometimes he can become too selfish. Due to his slight build, he is also  nudged off the ball quite easily by opposition defenders, but his pace and trickery can prove to be a handful for any defender out there.

Daniel Sturridge: His strengths are dribbling, finishing, weaker foot
and long Shots. All attributes that are very hard to learn. Under the
right manager he can improve on his teamwork, passing, decision making,
defensive contribution and hold up play. He can exchange positions
with Walcott when required as he can be equally good as a wide man.

Other players that will be good additions are Jack Butland, Aaron Lennon, Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ryan Bertrand, Jack Rodwell, Ross Barkley, Ryan Shawcross, Steven Caulker,
Martin Kelly, Adam Lallana, Jordan Henderson, Jonjo Shelvey, Tom Ince, Wilfried Zaha, Nick Powell, Connor Wickham and Andy
Carroll.
 

These players are more than promising and I believe there is no other
national team boasting of young talents in such abundance.

 - Abhishek