Who will be in the GB Olympic football team?

Lots of Premier League managers have been stating their opinion on football in the Olympics recently.

A number of managers seem to be against their players taking part in the competition.

However I don’t think it should be up to the club managers who goes to the Olympics.

I know the clubs pay the players wages but the Olympics will give the players valuable experience of a tournament.

Sense

The English FA have released a statement saying that they will handle the Olympic selection with common sense. Well that would be a first the English FA doing anything with common sense. It will be a landmark moment.

I just wonder why it always seems to be the English FA who are getting involved and not the football associations of the other home nations.

Britain

I think most British people would accept that majority of players for the Olympic squad will be English. The other home nations do have some good players though and they have to be considered. I would rather have a team which has a good selection from the home nations considering it is the Great Britain team and not the English team.

Older

As I understand it the team can have three players over 23. For this I would choose Craig Bellamy from Wales, Darren Fletcher from Scotland and maybe David Beckham from England of course. They are all experienced players who would bring know-how to the squad.

Bellamy and Beckham might be in their thirties but I believe they would be useful players to have around the squad. I know Bellamy is a proud Welshman but I’m sure he would take some satisfaction from going to the Olympics, he is also a winner.

These selections wouldn’t be nailed on though and I’m sure Stuart Pearce has his own ideas of which three over aged players he will pick.

Wales

Welsh football is starting to see the spouts of recovery after years in the doldrums. At the head of that is midfielder duo Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale. These two are playing for big clubs in the Premier League and team GB boss Stuart Pearce must be considering the pair for the squad.

I think Bale is a no-brainer really. He is one of the hottest up and coming young players in the Premier League and I think a lot of English football fans would give their right arm for him to be English.

Scotland

Scotland have a decent amount of talent emerging with the likes of Barry Bannan and James Forrest recent introduction into the national team. These two are probably the brightest young talents in the Scottish team, along with Liverpool defender Danny Wilson. All three must be considered for the squad.

Ireland

Northern Ireland haven’t produced many top class players in recent years. The players they have produced the likes of Manchester United’s Jonny Evans and Rangers Steve Davis could only get in if they were selected as over aged players. For this reason I would consider leaving either Bellamy or Beckham out of the squad and include one of the pair.

Goalkeeper

The goalkeeping position would be a real conundrum. Every home nation seems to have a good keepers but they are all over 23. This could be the hardest job of all for Stuart Pearce. Every decent British goalkeeper I can think of is over 23.

You would have to start looking at the likes of Norwich’s Declan Rudd and Manchester United’s Ben Amos. These are young promising goalkeepers currently in the England under-21 team. However these are keepers who lack experience at any sort of level, although Amos has actually played in the Champions League for Manchester United.

Tough

It really is a tough job for Stuart Pearce to pick a team. Here is my attempt for all its worth. Goalkeeper Ben Amos. My defence would be Kyle Naughton, Chris Gunter, Danny Wilson and Craig Dawson.

I would set up with a five man midfield of Gareth Bale, Steven Davis (excluding Beckham)Jack Rodwell, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Depending on who goes to the European Championship with England, either Daniel Sturridge or Danny Welbeck up front.

My team GB was off the top of my head but I‘m sure Stuart Pearce will be putting far more scouting in than I have. There is a plethora of other players that the GB boss could select but I believe that my team is a good mix of all the home nations and that’s how a Great British team should be.

Who would be in your GB Olympic team?