Bullard Named In England Squad

Don Capello will realize that the recent English success was due in large part to Jimmy's presence in the squad. Maybe some others in the team caught some of his passion for the shirt. I think he'll get another shot, if not next month, sometime this season.

Gotta say I would've never guessed a 4-1 woodshedding, and in Croatia's, until today, invincible backyard.

 

Jimmy played well enough for Fulham to earn a call-up when Capello needed to go deeper for midfield cover. Capello has now seen Jimmy on the training ground. Unfortunately, central midfield is a wealth of riches for England (unlike some other positions). Jimmy is competing against Gerard, Barry, Lampard, Carrick, and Hargreaves, all of whom play European football (and can therefore have their play pre-judged against different international styles of play). IMO, the fact that he was called up at all was incredible and a credit to Jimmy.

It would, however, in normal circumstances, take a combination of multiple injuries among those listed above and Jimmy really impressing on the England training ground for him to get a cap. That said, if England does clinch the group with a game or so to spare, I could see Capello playing a team of "fringe" players like Jimmy, to see what they can do.

Don't get me wrong, I love Jimmy, but I have to be realistic.

 

That's true, and if we were talking about matches during South Africa 2010 I'd certainly agree, but doesn't it seem to make sense to give some international game experience to guys like Bullard, Huddlestone or Warnock in friendlies or matches against minnows like Andorra, so that if 2010 rolls around (or their qualifier in Kiev next October) and through some fluke Lampard and Gerrard and Hargreaves are all hurt or suspended, you don't have to throw in replacements who are inexperienced on that level?

 

http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsA ... allUp.aspx

Jimmy got another call-up, for England's friendly against Germany in Berlin on Wednesday. A number of established players (Lampard, Gerrard, Hargreaves) are out due to injury. Also on the call-up list was Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne (currently on loan at Wolves), who's been linked with a move to Fulham in the past if I recall correctly. Bullard, Mancienne, and Villans Curtis Davies and Gabriel Agbonlahor are the only uncapped players in the squad.

 

Good for Jimmy. Hopefully he'll get a chance to play.

 

Do you get officially capped for playing in a friendly?

 

Bullard could have played for Germany!

Lets hope Jimmy gets some playing time today and his first England cap.

Here are some wacky facts you may not know about the great man:

1. He became star of YouTube wen he was filmed naked in a dirty laundry bin being pushed around the Wigan dressing room.The 44sec clip has attracted nearly 160,000 views.

2 Jimmy was an apprentice painter and decorator 10 years ago and played for Gravesend.

3 Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger labelled Bullard the “marathon man” after watching him play for the first time in November 2005.

4 When lights failed in tie v Arsenal, he pulled down Freddie Ljungberg’s shorts to see if the Swede wore the underwear he was endorsing.

5 Relaxes off the pitch by fishing but is a superb golfer and has played off scratch.

6 He is also qualified to play for Germany through his German-born grandmother Rose.

 

RE: Bullard could have played for Germany!

Bullard is (shock) not in the starting XI for England, which features Stewart Downing, Michael Carrick, Gareth Barry and Shaun Wright-Phillips in the midfield. (Downing's inclusion instead of Ashley Young appears to be a point of some contention.) I believe all players who are part of the squad are available as substitutes in friendlies, so I think it's conceivable that he could appear off the bench.

(Baird is starting for Northern Ireland in their friendly against Hungary; Andreasen is on the bench for Denmark in theirs against Wales.)

 

Re: Bullard could have played for Germany!

Great stuff, really enjoyed that.

 

RE: Re: Bullard could have played for Germany!

I'm following the game-cast on espnsoccernet and there's 15 minutes left ... no sign of Jimmy yet.
I hope, for his sake, that he at least gets onto the pitch. He deserves it.

 

RE: Re: Bullard could have played for Germany!

No dice. Ashley Young and Peter Crouch got late cameos but Bulldog will have to wait for another day.

 

RE: Re: Bullard could have played for Germany!

England wins 2-1 in Berlin ... and Bully doesn't get on.
I'm wondering if Capello isn't just using Jimmy as a motivational tool for those who might think that they "belong" in the national team. Not really any intention to play him ...
Maybe I'm just a little frustrated for Jimmy ... lol ...

 

Even someone w/as sunny a disposition as Jimmy has to be gutted. What better place than Anfield to take out his frustration. Come On Jimmy time for a wink and a goal Saturday!!

 

Tactically, bringing on Crouch makes sense in that spot for defending corners. That being said, if you're going to give Ashley Young 20 mins, why not give Jimmy 20 mins in place of Carrick or SWP while you're at it?

Unfortunately, I think ohio4fulham is onto something, and I said the same thing when Jimmy got his first callup a few months back. Maybe he's there to light a fire under the usual suspects (Lampard, Gerrard, Hargreaves, Barry) and be a possible stick if they get complacent.

If anyone remembers the movie Miracle (or, of course, the real-life events), Herb Brooks did something similar, bringing a guy (whose name eludes me, unfortunately) into camp who'd been playing really well in the NCAA over that whole 1979-80 season not long before final cuts to compete for a spot on the team, which was taken as a slap in the face by the guys who'd been in camp with Herbie for a number of grueling months, and who then rallied around each other. (I'm not sure whether the guy was brought in to seriously compete for a roster spot or whether it was purely a motivational tactic, but that's really besides the point, which is the effect it had on the other guys.)

In any case, reports are that Carrick and Barry played well together, and England just became the first team to beat Germany in Berlin in like 35 years (even if it was only a friendly), so it's tough to argue with Capello's plan, I guess.

Still, if Bulldog decides he's not getting a fair shake with England (I don't know if that's true, but I suppose it's possible) and he wants to go play for Germany (can he play goal? sounds like England's first goal was a bad gaffe by Adler), I'd buy a Bullard Germany shirt just as happily as I'd buy a Bullard England one. (Maybe even more so; I think Germany's shirts look nicer.)

 

It's a coach's job to motivate his players and get the most from them, and I really don't have a problem with Capello calling up a hard worker like Jimmy to show some spoiled babies that their spot is never safe. There is a line a hundred miles long with people who would kill to take the spot of an England "regular" and I think showing them that hunger first hand is a good motivator. It just seems almost cruel to not reward Jimmy with at least a few minutes on the pitch wearing his country's colors.
Hopefully he'll get another call up and get some playing time, because being that close to your dream and not being able to have it would drive a lot of people crazy.