I agree with most of the above. Whilst our youth is not quite comparable to the likes of Spain, Germany and Brazil, I would say its at least level with the youth of France, Italy, Holland, Argentina, etc.
You don't have to have the best players in every position to win a tournament. You need a manager who can find the right combinations of GOOD players to get the team playing in a certain way, with a few world-class players thrown in there to make the difference.
I don't quite agree with the majority view that players should be picked solely on form. That's not to say I think players should be picked on reputation. I think players should be picked based on how they can compliment one another and fit the playing style.desired. Of course form comes into it to a certain extent but it's not the most important factor for me.
The one thing I don't quite agree with is the strikers. Rooney will go on til at least 2018 in my opinion, and obviously Sturridge a bit longer. Sure, it may not look like we have much coming through beyond them, but strikers don't tend to prove themselves until a bit older.. people's view on this tends to be blurred by the occasional odd case like Rooney or Owen. At the end of the day, you only need one in-form striker at a time to do well, considering top teams rarely play with two out-and-out strikers nowadays.
Looking ahead to the upcoming games though, what do people expect Hodgson to do team wise? Literally the only actual winger in the squad is Townsend. Then of course there'sWelbeck and Milner who tend to play there. Could we perhaps go to a 3-5-2 since its been working so well for Sturridge at club level? Would probably suit Rooney and Baines too.