Warnock is in the England squad!

[WeAreTheBest]

Well in lad. Johnson and James have been booted out aswell which is great.

[Stouffer]

Pleased for the lad. He deserves it.

[Moschops II]

Made up for him - hope he gets on in at least one of the games.

[Strontium]

Excellent stuff. I guess maybe our academy have actually been doing at least something right for the last 5 years after all ;)

[Red Nick]

Kirkland's in as well, so Liverpool's third choice might be first choice come the world cup

[MLB]

Great news for the lad. I didn't think he'd make it so soon, but I suppose the lack of options down the left means he has a good chance of being involved in future. Hope he does well.

[ali]

Warnock 'speechless' after summons

 

Stephen Warnock has hailed his England call-up as the perfect antidote to the painful memories of last season's Champions League heartbreak.

 

The joy of seeing Liverpool lift their fifth European Cup was tempered by the boyhood Reds fan missing out on a place in the squad and being denied a subsequent winners' medal.

 

The defender's agony was exacerbated when he was left stranded at the club's Melwood training ground while the rest of Rafael Benitez's triumphant squad toured the city in an open-top bus parade upon their return from Istanbul.

 

Warnock's pain was all the more acute given that he had already been left out of the squad to face Chelsea in the Carling Cup final earlier in the season, despite playing in every round prior to the final.

 

Following a quiet summer of reflection, however, the 23-year-old has enjoyed a significant upturn in fortune.

 

The Ormskirk-born talent married his childhood sweetheart Laura before establishing himself as Liverpool's number one left back and signing a new, improved two-year contract last week.

 

The England call-up to Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad to face Wales and Northern Ireland in the imminent World Cup qualifying games has put the icing on the cake for Warnock, who has bounced back from three serious leg fractures during his career.

 

He said: "I can't quite believe it and am speechless, to be honest. I've been reading the papers during the past week and they have been saying I could get a call-up, but I wasn't so sure.

 

"And then I got a text message at around 7.15pm from the FA telling me I'm in the squad. Roy Evans rang me straight away to wish me all the best, which was nice, and Chris Kirkland has also been on the phone.

 

"He's one of my best mates and it's great to see him back in the squad as well. For me personally, it's brilliant and certainly goes some way towards making up for the disappointment of last season.

 

"Istanbul was a strange experience because I love the club so much but then it hurt me badly to miss out on it all.

 

"Of course, I was made up that we won but also really upset to miss out on the final because that's what I've grown up dreaming about. I've thought long and hard this summer about where I needed to improve and luckily the manager has put his faith in me from the start of the season.

 

"I've just got to establish myself as the first-choice Liverpool left-back before anything else, but this England call-up is certainly a massive boost to my confidence."

 

Arsenal defender Ashley Cole will almost certainly start for England at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

 

But Warnock insists he will have no qualms about making his debut in front of what is expected to be a hostile Welsh crowd and is aiming to use the experience with Eriksson's squad this week as an opportunity to showcase his blossoming skills.

 

He added: "I'm looking forward to showing what I can do. Ashley Cole is obviously the first-choice left-back, but apart from maybe Wayne Bridge and Paul Konchesky, there are perhaps not that many other English left-backs around.

 

"I'm confident in my own ability and would love the opportunity to show what I can do.

 

"Really, it will be a chance to try and establish myself in the squad and get to know the other players.

 

"Apart from the Liverpool players, there is only really Joe Cole who I know. I played with him for England Under-15s and it would be great to play alongside him again."

 

 

Another one to worry about, but chuffed for the lad all the same

[Nick Leeson]

I know he's a red and all that but come on! Are they selling England Caps on e-bay now caused I'm fucked if I know how some of them are getting them and Warnock isn't excluded.

[Big Ig]

Aw shurrup... Is Warnock the new 'local boy can't do no right', a la Carra's earlier days??

[Nick Leeson]

Yep, you've got me.

[captainharris]

I think its quite funny that the FA inform players by text msg, they're too busy shagging PA's they cant even be arsed picking up the phone!

[Paul]

Although I'm pleased for him, I think this has come way too early and is a bit of an indictment of the other available options for left back. I don't think he knows how to play the position properly for Liverpool yet, let alone England. The last thing he needs is to come on after an Ashley Cole injury, get caught out of position leading to the concession of a goal and then get villified by the shitty tabloid press with their pro-London, anti-Red agenda.

 

I hope he doesn't get anywhere near the team, to be honest. The last thing I want to see is Ste Warnock's confidence shot to pieces because of shitty England.

[Kopite]

Well the England team need a scapegoat with James being dropped. ;)

[Rashid]

He is a good left back and deserves this, one thing England will get is commitment. The comments about the final and the bus make me want to shoot Josemi in the eye.

[Kopite]

He is a good left back and deserves this, one thing England will get is commitment. The comments about the final and the bus make me want to shoot Josemi in the eye.

 

Blame the bizzies not the club.

[Paul]

He is a good left back and deserves this, one thing England will get is commitment. The comments about the final and the bus make me want to shoot Josemi in the eye.

Christ Rash, don't start calling Josemi a cunt now you've managed to stop calling Djimi and (I'm still not convinced you'll keep it up) Crouch. He is shit, but that doesn't make him a bad human being.

[Guest FrankH]

I think its quite funny that the FA inform players by text msg, they're too busy shagging PA's they cant even be arsed picking up the phone!

 

My thoughts exactly. Why cant they just ring the player?

[Strontium]

Cos the player might think it's random drug testers, and just ignore the phone call :whistle: