Baines gets England nod ahead of Cole

Jags had a very easy game but did everything tidily and well. Coleman had a torrid night as did all the Irish team against a top class German team who hit them for six. The accuracy of the German passing and shooting was phenomenal.

Hopefully Jags can pick up a few coaching or training tips to help him along.

This great experience that he's gaining must start making him more eligible to become our next captain???

But, in my opinion, for what that's worth, LB is not skipper material. He is without any shadow of a doubt one of our top three players; someone we must never let go. But Baines on the pitch is lack Timmy trying to run the rule over his box/back 4. In a nutshell, he ain't up to it.

LB is down to earth, it seems to me, and a nice all-round fella. If I had daughters, and you ought to be glad that I don't, I would want them to tie the knot with Bainsey or, failing that, his ilk. Look, LB is modest, self-deprecating, self-questioning, and, it can seem at times, riddled with doubt. That all, by the way, is the mark of the man and who he is and no bad thing at all.

My hunch: he wouldn't ever want to be skipper and is as happy as a pig in shit running up and down the left side and doing his thing with his mates and listening whenever or if ever Pip barks something in his direction.

Leave him be to do his stuff so well, week-in and week-out, until the sad sad day when he hangs his boots up, secure in the knowledge that he is an Everton great... listening to 34-year-old Wayne Rooney, his club skipper, bossing the pitch.

It'll be detrimental if he wants to stay with us beyond next summer because full back isn't a key role and we're broke. Baines is only important to us because our Dear Leader doesn't do wingers. I can't wait for Moyes' contract to run down....he bought one winger in 10 glorious years (AVDM) ...so depressing to have a manager who hates smiling...

Andrew Presly makes a valid point. If an offer you can't refuse comes in for Baines, not in January in my opinion, but in July, then Oviedo et al have to be prepared. Who will make this offer of how much? In England I have no idea. MU? MCFC? Splashing the cash? Attractive to big money Euro clubs? I doubt.

But to say the coaching staff at EFC are incapable of producing attacking wing backs.

Andrew - isn't Leighton Baines as good as it gets?

By the way, I heard some Sky TV arsehole near the start of the game refer to Baines as the England man who had played so well for Wigan and then recently at Everton. Every time he put a perfect pass in he was never name checked, because Rooney or another Sky player was on the script.

Do some of you pay good money for this rubbish?

I disagree Andrew, I think fullbacks are ever more important in the game and I think we have one of the best in the world and I think he's our best player overall and has been for a few seasons.

Here is a crazy suggestion. Maybe this should be on a different thread but would it kill us to try Osman at RB? I think maybe he could do a job, maybe in the mold of Phillip Lahm?? If I were Moyes I'd give him a look in practice.

Derek, I think the England 'Guy' was Rory Underwood although I think Lomu may also have crunched his brother Tony Underfoot a couple of times?

If Jelly would have been playing for England last night, he'd have scored 5 or 6. Some of the balls Baines put in last night were screaming to be hit first time.

I'm not even going to entertain the Osman thing because its quite obvious the lad is a technical, tidy midfielder - rather than a right-back.

Andrew Presly - What on earth are you on about?! Full-backs aren't important?! They're every bit as important as any other player. I can't believe you think the only reason Baines is key to us is due to the ineptitude of our manager. We have the best left side in the Premier League, you raving clown, and that is down to partnership. Two great players working in tandem to create space and opportunities.

I'm at a loss. Full-backs aren't important?! Have you watched a football match in the last 15 years?

I expect Cole to play against Poland, and I think that's the obvious way to have approached these two games.

As for wanting to get rid of Baines and play Osman at right back, this thread has definitely entered the surreal. Baines is one of the most important players in the Premier League. He creates more chances than anyone else according to one stat I saw last week. More chances than anyone else in the Premier League. Think of all the players in the Premier League, those big, world renowned names on their £100-200k a week, and Baines creates more chances than them. Come to think of it, I think I followed the link from this website, here it is again:

http://www.eplindex.com/19874/dark-horses-everton-lead-stats-comparison.html

If you really think selling the most creative player in the Premier League because he's "not important" is a good idea, I'm happy to call you an idiot.

We'd rather have a manager who smiles than one who knows how to pick and prepare a football team?! And have you not noticed Kevin Mirallas playing on the wing recently? He may be happy playing down the middle, he may even prefer it, but he's definitely playing like a winger.

I'm going to have to stop, my head's going to explode.

Letting players go happens everywhere, sometimes players make it, more often than not they don't.

England wise, really don't give a shit about them, never will, even less so when you get wiggy which his ridiculous thatched lid giving interviews and Woy giving Uncle Fester a call up and having that 80s kickback Kid n' Play leading the line.

The Ireland Germany game was an example of a superior side at a canter.

And Phil, I'm not sure Moyes has watched a match either in the past 15 years as we've been an absolute shithouse down the right for the past 10 years, probably longer.

As for Baines he worked damned hard largely to be ignore by Oxlade-Chamberlain and the quality of some of his crosses and corners was excellent, not all I would agree but nobody's perfect outside of Toffeeweb posters surely?

As for Left Back not being important and Baines as a player rather than a position, I think others have covered that ground very well.

Now smile Moysey it's the key to success, has no one told you?

I reckon overall we are pretty average at bringing through top youngsters. Rooney is the only one who is top notch. Rodders and Vaughan are not up to top standard and neither is big Vic. Perhaps Vic can improve???

Rodwell was disappointing to my mind at Everton.

In a perfect world he would be on the bench as back up to Gibson and Mirallas in midfield, with us signing a midfield tank to play with Gibbo.

Osman is a good player, who incorrectly gets stick when shunted out on the right as he has never had the pace for the job – neither did Scholes, etc. He should've played a lot more games in the middle than he has, particularly in Cahill's later years. Moyes has never sorted out the right until now, and perhaps it's cost Ossie a shot at England. Put it this way: if Osman would have gone to a Blackburn or a Wigan, he would have been the big fish.

A bench player, yes! And a good one at that. A starting midfielder in a top 4 team? I'm afraid not IMO.

Doesn't it say something that you never hear speculation about another team coming in for him?? Maybe it's happened but never made the news. But I can't recall a whisper of him leaving from what I can remember.