I've not taken much notice of the England squad for tomorrow nights friendly with Holland but I've just had a look. Fraizer Campbel!!?

Six Premiership goals in his life and in the fooking England squad. Six games in two seasons and his 'best' season in the Premiership was 2009-2010...wait for it..... 4 goals in 31 games. When you think of previous strikers like Kevin Phillips who was a proven scorer and in the top flight and barely got a look in with England this selection highlights the dearth of talent at the moment. Or does it? Are certain players just not in the loop?

Is he really the best option? What happened to picking people on merit or form. Danny Graham and Grant Holt both have double figures in the Premiership this season. I reckon even Ricky Lambert and Jordan Rhodes deserve a shout before Campbell. Peter Crouch has scored more goals in the Premiership this season than Campbell has in his life and 22 for England.

Things are far too easy for young English players these days it's all on plate, loads of money, big reputation, cheap England caps when you've actually done fuck all. No wonder they lack hunger when everything is handed on a plate.

442?

Jordan Rhodes plays for Scotland....

I dont see any harm in it, Pearce has worked with campbell before for the U21's and its giving the lad a bit of confidence after coming back from a big injury. For friendlies I think its pointless picking the likes of Rooney, gerrard, barry, milner etc... The usual lot as they are pretty much nailed on to go to the Euros. I think Grant Holt does deserve a go, 2nd top english goalscorer this season i believe after Rooney.

Just scored 2 belters in 2 games after not playing for over a year with a serious injury, it`s only a friendly and Pierce knows him from the under 21s, no harm in giving him a run out!

Exactly

I've heard him on the radio he sounds like Mick Wadsworth and Wallace from Wallace and Gromit's son, he's about as Scottish as Don Hutchison.... oh yeah

He still deserves an England cap before Fraizer Campbell.

Through his grandparents for Scotland I think

2 Goals and he should be in the England squad!? Belters!!? One of them was against the Boro for FFS. Tidy finishes yes. That's it though.

We've got a tournament in four months it's hardly time for sentiment.

Any Rochdale players been picked????

He isnt going to play just in squad Wellbeck and Sturridge will start.

Jordan Mellish has

How many belters has 17 year old Luke James scored? Why isn't he in the England squad?

We need answers.

As long as Pearce plays a 4-4-2 I'm not bothered who starts.......

Meeow!

So the goal he scored from 25 yards that he teed up and put in the top corner wasn`t a belter then

Forget I was a red and focus on the facts, it was a belter and stop being a bitch!

I think Kevin Phillips has done more this season to get selected than Frazor Campbell - it is a joke selection.

Surely Paul Murray was worthy of a call up as well....

if scott sinclair was still at chelsea he would have been in.

Him and that other winger at swansea this season, dyer, have been top notch, then again i think we have a lot of wingers so they have probably emerged at the wrong time.

Everyones been crying out to give youth a go, the media, the tv, so now we have the most youthful squad thats been picked in a while and it's been described as a "striker crisis".

You just cant win.

It's hardly a crisis picking a few uncapped players n giving them a try.

If pearce had picked crouch, lampard, rio etc he'd be accused of picking people who we already know about.

Cant win.

Scotty Parker named captain for tonight. Fair choice I think.

Good choice

too much is made over the England Captain in football. The only sport I think its really vital is in cricket.

He's a grafter though thats why I like him, will run his heart out for the full 90 minutes no matter what. Thats what england need to be like as we don't have the flair, it's got to be all about graft.

got a nice side parten too.

The whole situation is absolutely farcical. From Cappello going to Pearce's handling of this friendly.

What is Pearce doing upsetting the apple cart, he's caretaker manager for one game. Gerrard was Vice Captain he should be captain for this game. No doubt Gerrard will be royally pissed off and he's mates in the squad will be. Nothing against Scott Parker he's a good player but he's not captain of Spurs and wasn't even captain of West Ham. If the new permanent manager wants to make him captain then great but Pearce should not be touching the captaincy when a vice captain was in place.

Why create a potential split in the camp when you are in charge for one game? Ironically Pearce talked yesterday about his captain being 'unselfish' and someone who 'puts the team first' (how is Gerrard meant to take those comments by the way??) I think Pearce sees this whole process as his big chance almost like a job interview. That's not putting the team first, it's putting himself first. This is not a normal situation were a manager has left it's four months (three friendlies) before a major tournament.

I hope we get absolutely dicked and Pearce is nowhere near Euro 2012.

slight over reaction pj.

Word is parker got given the captains armband as pearce wasnt sure if gerrard could do 90 minutes after playing for 120 on sunday, makes sense too me to give it to someone else.

Gerrard was vice captain in the capello era, that means squat now, he's no longer vice captain.

A new gaffer could come in next week n name joe hart captain with ashley cole second in command, will that be farcicle?

Most countires give the captains armband to the most capped player, i'd go along with that to help try n difuse this stupid captainly situation, give it to ashley cole, tell everyone to shurrrup about it n get on with some frigging football for a change.

Pearce said he'd picked the captain two weeks ago when the squad was announced, yesterday, so that's nonsense.

A 'new gaffer' has every right to give whoever wants the captaincy, Stuart Pearce hasn't. This is nothing against Scott Parker but it's just something that Pearce has done, totally unnecessarily, to put his stamp on the job. It could have future ramifications and theirs totally no need for it.

As Mad John said earlier captain in football isn't a crucial job you toss a coin and swap pedants, absolutely no need for Pearce to do this.

It doesn't really make any difference who is captain. Its not as if they pick the team or tactics etc.. So i don't see the big fuss

No it's not an issue at all.

It's not the sort of thing you'd see a manager resign over or anything.

I reckon if you were captain of England, you'd probably see it as a big deal.

It's about man management, I'd say someone who is in charge for one game and has the best interests of the team at heart should just tick things over not make wholesale change. Especially so close to Euro 2012. This will have split an already split dressing room!

Pretty sure Parker has captained west ham and Pearce has already said he doesnt want the job full time.

I think the main reason Capello resigned was that the FA interfered and made the decision when it should have been made by the manager. Im talking in terms of the actual player it doesnt make a huge difference

It's a friendly. It means fook all.

As an aside we won't win the Euro's, we'll do OK but we simply aren't good enough or at the top of our game.

Get used to it.

like peter taylor when he give beckham the armband?

i dont think that caused many splits.

if gerrard gets his nickers in a twist over not being given a red bit of felt for when game then that says more about him than it does pearce.

Absolutely nothing like that really, Tony Adams had been captain for the previous game Keegan's last against Germany it was also Adams last game for England. He retired from international football.

The England team that night featured 6 U21's in the starting line up. Nobodies nose was being put out of joint and it wasn't a few games before a major tournament.

Blooding young English talent in a friendly is a great decision. Wayne Rooney is our best striker and a must in the team but he's going to miss 3 games and the rest of our strikers who are generally selected under preform in an England shirt bar Peter crouch. We havnt had a prolific striker since Michael Owen. Look at recent games and you will see Kevin Davies on the pitch. Now ask yourself who would you rather see?? Campbell was a shock selection and myself included could pick others but let's just see what happens. Pearce has been a huge success with the under 21s and worked with Campbell and has obviously seen something. Give him a chance.

As for Parker being made captain, that isn't a kick in the face to gerrard or hart or anybody else. He has been a Model professional his entire career, missed out on tourney after tourney but through hard work stuck to his task and thoroughly deserves the honour.

Also this is just a 1 off game. Friendlies are there to try things out. Give the boys a chance to prove to the nation what Pearce already believes they can do.

Christ...is it the Stuart Pearce love-in or an England game, the way they're bulling him up we're bound to get beat.

Absolutely!

Him, Lampard et al have failed time after time.

What a brilliant goal