Rodwell insisted that the squad were less obsessed with who possessed the armband. “Whoever the manager picks will do a good job,’’ Rodwell said.

“We will support whoever it is.” The Everton midfielder added that opposing nations were “fearful” of the sort of resilience that England showed in recovering to draw with Spain.

“We’ve shown when our backs are against the wall we’ll come out fighting,’’ Rodwell said. “We’ll always do that; that goes through all English teams, club level as well.’’

Rodwell disputed the notion that the English were vastly inferior to the Spanish.

“We have technical ability throughout the Under-21 squad. And look at our senior side, there are some of the best players in the world.

"If Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney were in the Barcelona squad I’m sure all of them would start.’’

England will expect to defeat Ukraine, particularly as their star turn, Taras Stepanenko, is out with a thigh problem.

Rodwell believes that the camaraderie amongst Pearce’s players eclipses the upbeat mood amongst those who reached the finals in 2009.

“The team spirit is better here,’’ Rodwell said. “I think we could definitely go all the way.”

che wrote:can't tell if trolling...

though probably not, this seemed to be the opinion of a lot of english people...

che wrote:i think they just call it "english"

seriously though, it was so embarrassing to listen to people talking about how rooney is "one of the top 3 players in the world with ronaldo and messi" everytime i watched a game...

VibeTribe wrote:Very nice way of paying respect to players he looks up to IMO.

And if you kids remembered any football from beyond one year radius,you would remember all of those players were beasts and some still are.

VibeTribe wrote:That's not the point.This guy who made the thread makes it look like Barca player are miles better...

Both of Rio and Terry were considered worlds best CB's at one point,and they deserved it..

Here's some Lampard stats

04/05 - 19 goals 16 assists
05/06 - 20 goals 9 assists
06/07 - 21 goals 15 assists
07/08 - 20 goals 11 assists
08/09 - 20 goals 19 assists
09/10 - 27 goals 20 assists
10/11 - 13 goals 6 assists

This is a massively overlooked midfielder,Xaviesta toghether don't have stats this good.Just look at that consistency...

Here's some Gerrard...

04/05 - 13 goals 5 assists
05/06 - 22 goals 11 assists
06/07 - 14 goals 10 assists
07/08 - 14 goals 10 assists
08/09 - 29 goals 13 assists
09/10 - 13 goals 12 assists
10/11 - 10 goals 7 assists

I'm not taking anything from Barcelona,but players Rodwell mentioned are right up there with them.

joksa wrote:

VibeTribe wrote:That's not the point.This guy who made the thread makes it look like Barca player are miles better...

Both of Rio and Terry were considered worlds best CB's at one point,and they deserved it..

Here's some Lampard stats

04/05 - 19 goals 16 assists
05/06 - 20 goals 9 assists
06/07 - 21 goals 15 assists
07/08 - 20 goals 11 assists
08/09 - 20 goals 19 assists
09/10 - 27 goals 20 assists
10/11 - 13 goals 6 assists

This is a massively overlooked midfielder,Xaviesta toghether don't have stats this good.Just look at that consistency...

Here's some Gerrard...

04/05 - 13 goals 5 assists
05/06 - 22 goals 11 assists
06/07 - 14 goals 10 assists
07/08 - 14 goals 10 assists
08/09 - 29 goals 13 assists
09/10 - 13 goals 12 assists
10/11 - 10 goals 7 assists

I'm not taking anything from Barcelona,but players Rodwell mentioned are right up there with them.

He's not talking about the past, he's talking about them right now...

Neither Lampard or Gerrard would replace Xavi or Iniesta. Once again their connection plays a big part here.

Btw Xavi's and Iniesta's performances can't be measured by goals and assists. Show up some passing stats instead