F365's Famous World Cup Ladder

1 - Wayne Rooney (1)
England's key man, Man United's key man, Coleen's key man and soon-to-be Wayne Jnr's key man. Just look after your metatarsals between now and June 2010, fella.


2 - Steven Gerrard (6)
Fabio Capello has to build his England team around his two most gifted players and while Gerrard might not be happy playing nominally on the left, his link-up play with Rooney can be phenomenal. Essentially they want to play in the same role, but Capello has come up with the next best thing - a job-share.


3 - Rio Ferdinand (2)
Simply the best defender England has produced over the last ten years.


4 - John Terry (3)
We still think he's too slow for international football but he's England captain and other options are limited to say the least. If only Ledley King wasn't so bloody broken.


5 - Emile Heskey (5)
The striker everybody loves to play alongside and Capello plainly just loves. Despite Peter Crouch's decent form, Heskey is clearly Big Man I.


6 - Ashley Cole (4)
Very, very careless again against Ukraine but he's so ridiculously far ahead of any opposition, only losing a leg in a bizarre clubbing incident would see anyone else line up at left-back in the World Cup.


7 - David James (7)
Pretty much every England fan moans about David James, but he's yet to really let down Capello so he's unlikely to lose his spot until Ben Foster does the sensible thing and goes out on loan.


8 - Owen Hargreaves (8)
In absentia, his stock continues to rise with both club and country. We can't help thinking that Gareth Barry is merely keeping his shirt warm as we really don't fancy him in a holding role against truly dangerous opposition. If you look poor against Belarus, what will happen against Brazil?


9 - Frank Lampard (9)
Playing a rather more withdrawn role than suits him, but at least Capello has found a way to play both him and Gerrard without the two treading on each others' toes.


10 - David Beckham (14)
Not a starter, but as long as he's happy to play a cameo role - and credit to him for doing just that - he's a squad certainty. And we're happy with anything that winds up Jeff Powell.


11 - Gareth Barry (10)
See No. 8.


12 - Glen Johnson (22)
It remains to be seen what will happen when Wes Brown returns to fitness, but at the moment Johnson is the right-back of choice. Worryingly, there's little hope on the immediate horizon for any real competition.


13 - Theo Walcott (13)
There's quite a battle on for the 'nippy right-winger who will play for 65 minutes before giving way to David Beckham' spot, but we fancy that Walcott's performance against Croatia still gives him a starter for ten.


14 - Wes Brown (11)
We still expect him to be in the squad when fit - offering options at right-back and in the centre of defence. Not brilliant options, but options nonetheless.


15 - Matthew Upson (15)
Still apparently England's third-choice centre-half. Looks little more than a decent Premier League defender to us, but Capello has showed extraordinary faith in the West Ham man.


16 - Joe Cole (12)
The longer England play well without Cole, the further he drops down this list. We'd like to see him play just to keep him off our TV screens, to be perfectly honest.


17 - Aaron Lennon (NE)
It's a sign of just how far Lennon's stock had fallen that he was nowhere near this list six months ago. But decent if patchy performances against Slovakia and Ukraine put him right back in the right-wing frame.


18 - Peter Crouch (19)
Found himself behind even Carlton Cole in the pecking order (that must hurt) but responded against Ukraine with a goal and a 'work your bollocks off' performance that made the loss of Emile Heskey easier to bear.


19 - Robert Green (28)
Featured in four of Capello's last five squads to suggest that he's very much in Capello's plans. Unfortunately for him, those plans don't actually seem to involve him actually playing.


20 - Phil Jagielka (45)
Edged ahead of Joleon Lescott and could prove a very handy utility man as an option all the way across the back four and even in midfield if about 17 other players lose their legs.


21 - Jermain Defoe (17)
There's a real lack of striker options and nobody has made a case while Defoe has been injured, with Gabriel Agbonlahor losing ground quicker than Gary Neville chasing in his stead.


22 - Wayne Bridge (20)
At No. 22 but disconcertingly as sure of his place as anyone in the top five while fit.


23 - Ben Foster (49)
Capello made an exception to his 'must be actually playing football' rule to call up Foster, but we would like to think that sitting on the United bench will not be enough to earn him a trip to South Africa. But we're probably being unrealistic.


24 - Shaun Wright-Phillips (16)
The resurgence of Lennon has left Wright-Phillips somewhat on the edge of the England squad, with Theo Walcott yet to return. There are simply loads of little, quick right-wingers available. Remember when David Bentley was seen as the best and only option? Crazy times.


25 - Joleon Lescott (24)
Must have mixed emotions when watching Jagielka rise off the bench instead of him, but he's still paying the price for a poor start to his domestic season.


26 - Stewart Downing (25)
Still on the fringes of the England squad despite Middlesbrough's woes. Expect a climb with the summer's inevitable switch to Tottenham, and then expect Harry Redknapp to complain when Capello has the nerve to call him up.


27 - Michael Carrick (35)
Capello is clearly less than convinced and will not have changed his mind after watching him against Porto. There's increasingly a feeling that he's only effective in games where his team is dominating play - not a good look in major international competition.


28 - Jermaine Jenas (23)
Dropping down the rankings, he seems to have stagnated somewhat at Spurs and is expected to exit in the summer. Might need a new start to re-establish himself in Capello's England plans, but there are a fair few central midfielders a fair bit ahead of him.


29 - Ashley Young (27)
Given the call for the Spain friendly but had dropped right out of the reckoning again by the time the games against Slovakia and Ukraine came around. We still remember Capello bollocking him in the West Indies, and we suspect he does too.


30 - Gaby Agbonlahor (32)
At one point he seemed like a credible England striking alternative, but he's gone off the boil and Defoe stays way ahead of him in the 'nippy striker' list that, at the moment, features two names. Do you need more than two for a list?


31 - Joe Hart (30)
Shay Given's arrival may well have cost him a World Cup place. Poor fella.


32 - Leighton Baines (NE)
Regular football has seen him become third-choice left-back ahead of Stephen Warnock and, erm, Nicky Shorey.


33 - Carlton Cole (48)
It was a bit of a joke when we sneaked him into the Top 50 at the back end of last year. Is anyone scared that he's actually now a viable option?


34 - Ledley King (NE)
We retain lingering hopes of some kind of miracle.


35 - Paul Robinson (21)
Still just about in the mix.


36 - Darren Bent (NE)
Just not good enough for international football but there's such a dearth of strikers that he found himself called up ahead of the Ukraine game. Are we the only ones worried a about this?


37 - James Milner (NE)
Called up for the Spain game and then promptly dropped again as Capello's love affair for all things Villa waned. The oldest Under-21 in town.


38 - Scott Carson (18)
Still thinks that he's in with a chance of reaching the world Cup. Hmmmmm.


39 - Michael Owen (29)
So that makes him about eighth-choice England striker, then? And we still suspect we might be being generous.


40 - Michael Mancienne (NE)
Clearly now ahead of the likes of David Wheater, despite never having started a Premier League game. Will need another loan (perhaps to a promoted Wolves) to move up further.


41 - David Bentley (26)
42 - Chris Kirkland (34)
43 - Titus Bramble (NE)
44 - Luke Young (41)
45 - Mark Noble (NE)
46 - Jonathan Woodgate (31)
47 - Micah Richards (37)
48 - Stephen Warnock (39)
49 - Curtis Davies (43)
50 - Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (NE)



Sarah Winterburn