Charlie Austin To Get England Under 21 Call-up

[DMR]

There are some cracking players at u21 (Rodwell, Smalling, Wilshere) but if you look at the forwards, I don't think Charlie would look out of place. Welbeck for me is the standout striker.

Andy Carroll - Newcastle United
Nathan Delfouneso - Aston Villa
Daniel Sturridge - Chelsea
Danny Welbeck - Preston North End (loan from Manchester United)

How good is it that we've got a homegrown player scoring goals for fun and being talked about as a possible U21? Good times.

Did you just rate Austin in the same bracket as Sturridge and Welbeck? Cos it sounds like you did.

Some people need a bit of a reality check me thinks.

[mexico red]

well he is scoring goals for fun! The thing that stands out for me with austin is when he missed a chance v charlton, everybody was shocked that he had actually missed! When he gets the ball in front of goal you just always feel like he is going to hit the net.always. thats why he should be put in the same bracket as the above players.

[carbonwhite]

Ok

Charlie Austin would look out of place up with those four players

austins scored more pro goals than any of the strikers mentioned. carroll's crap havnt seen much of delfouneso. an sturridge and welbeck both suck

[LucienSanchez]

The only reason any L1 player gets into the England setup is if they're on loan from the Prem/Championship, which seems a bit odd

[Doore]

austins scored more pro goals than any of the strikers mentioned. carroll's crap havnt seen much of delfouneso. an sturridge and welbeck both suck

Different class of opposition though - picking a national team on this basis would mean just taking the four highest English scorers in the country to the World Cup - Rickie Lambert to South Africa?

[nevillew]

Austin's lack of real pace means he's not likely to become one of the very best. He's more than capable of being a high quality goalscorer (Kevin Phillips ?) rather than true international class - that would probably be good enough for most.

[DiV]

Austin is a better finisher than all those strikers.

Some people need to watch us more.

[Power to people]

There are no quotes from Pearce or his coaches so we only have the adver's word that he is keeping an eye on Charlie, I do remain sceptical.

[Foggy]

Austin's lack of real pace means he's not likely to become one of the very best. He's more than capable of being a high quality goalscorer (Kevin Phillips ?) rather than true international class - that would probably be good enough for most.

Sorry Nev, but i dont buy into the lack of pace thing, a certain Edward Sherringham didnt have pace but was one of the best centre forwards in the premiership and for England, i would rather have a slightly less pacey but more intelligent striker than someone with pace to burn but a  headless chicken . Austin has got massive potential but give him time to develope fully before he is judged.

[suttonred]

Anyone who thinks Austin is slow is misjudged, i've not seen many centre backs catch him when he's bearing down on goal.

[Peter Venkman]

Sorry Nev, but i dont buy into the lack of pace thing, a certain Edward Sherringham didnt have pace but was one of the best centre forwards in the premiership and for England, i would rather have a slightly less pacey but more intelligent striker than someone with pace to burn but a  headless chicken . Austin has got massive potential but give him time to develope fully before he is judged.

Fucking hell, you dont need pace all you need is a great footballing brain and positioning, look at Gary Lineker! he was quick as fuck over 2 yards...which made him first to the ball in the box, he had no pace at all outside the box. Matt Le Tissier....how much pace? (yes not the same type of player but he was class) Emile Heskey....pace? I dont think so!

[iffy]

Did you just rate Austin in the same bracket as Sturridge and Welbeck? Cos it sounds like you did.

Some people need a bit of a reality check me thinks.

I think in that company, he would probably be 4th or 5th out of 5, but he wouldn't look out of place.
My order would be Welbeck (by a mile), Sturridge, Carroll, then the other two. But relative to our strength at u21 in midfield and defence, England is a bit light on top-draw strikers.

[nevillew]

Fogster - understood, in fact it was a toss up whether I put Sheringham or Phillips as an example, I feel from what I've seen so far he's more predatory and less creative than Sheringham. I agree it's only been 15 games as well, and defences will start to be prepared for him now.

suttonred - not many of his goals have been from outpacing a centreback have they ? - more from sharp thought and getting a shot away. At higher levels defenders will be faster anyway.

jj  no need to swear . I agree that brain and positioning will get you a long way in the game, as proved by the exapmples you give, but the very best have those things and pace as well.

[reeves4england]

Fogster - understood, in fact it was a toss up whether I put Sheringham or Phillips as an example, I feel from what I've seen so far he's more predatory and less creative than Sheringham. I agree it's only been 15 games as well, and defences will start to be prepared for him now.

suttonred - not many of his goals have been from outpacing a centreback have they ? - more from sharp thought and getting a shot away. At higher levels defenders will be faster anyway.

jj  no need to swear . I agree that brain and positioning will get you a long way in the game, as proved by the exapmples you give, but the very best have those things and pace as well.

There were two occasions against Carlisle where he broke away from the defence with a well timed little burst. That's all you need. I still think it's a bit early for him but if he keeps banging them in then it'd only be a matter of time.

There are no quotes from Pearce or his coaches so we only have the adver's word that he is keeping an eye on Charlie, I do remain sceptical.

Danny Wilson says (on the Adver site) that Austin caught their eye in the Leeds match and they've watched him a few times since. Oh, and also that he's sat down with Pearce and discussed the issue.

[The Professor]

I think we'd agree that strikers should have all the qualities listed but many make a good career from the game without being blessed with pace. With Charlie's current goals per game ratio his record reminds me of that brilliant kraut goal scorer Gerd Muller.  He wasn't fast but like Charlie seemed to have the gift of anticipation & like Charlie used to put his shot on target with precision.  He was however physically very strong with legs like oak trees & very difficult to shake off the ball when in possession.
Of course, Charlie is still young, raw & relatively inexperienced so I'm not suggesting that he is yet and International class player but I cannot think of anyone who's come from a similar level of non-league football so quickly & made the impact that he has.  I know others have come from non-league but in general they have come from Blue Square Premier clubs or the North or South feeder leagues. For example Morrison at Millwall & Novak at Huddersfield have both made the transition this season. In the past we've had Jimmy Quinn from Oswestry Town and he'd surely played at a higher level of non-league football than Charlie before he joined us. We also got David Legg & later Charlie Griffin from Chippenham Town but again they were probably playing at a higher standard than Charlie. The only two who I can think of who made a similar leap were Chris Porter from Bridgewater Town & Colin Gordon from somewhere in the West Midlands (Stourbridge?). Only the latter had a similar impact with his goals during Lou Macari's time in charge at the County Ground. It really is quite incredible that Charlie's come in & adapted so quickly to the demands of League One football. Still, let's savour the moment & support the team in what is proving to be a great season