The England squad announcement initially did little to
surprise me when it was published shortly after 1300 local time (for the
millions reading this worldwide). As soon as the names ‘Paul Konchesky’ and ‘Bobby
Zamora’ were not mentioned, I relaxed and foolishly concluded that there were
no major surprises. Premature thought. A text from my mate expressing his
disappointment at Stewart Downing’s inclusion set alarm bells ringing in my
head. The fact I hadn’t noticed Downing somewhat reflects his season. He also went
unnoticed by many right backs in the recently climaxed Premier League. More of
that later.
The goalkeeping selection discussion is a little futile. If
Joe Hart does what he has managed to do for the past few years (stay fit) then we
could stick Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell as our reserve keepers, ‘cause they
simply are not going to play. *rain check on the Louis Walsh idea – he’s
Irish*. That said, it’s good to see John Ruddy get the nod because he has had a
strong season and done his time in the lower leagues.
Defence wise, the big discussion was around John Terry or
Rio Ferdinand. Sadly the days of them two playing together are over for reasons
that the courts are going to deal with in July, despite Hodgson insisting
Ferdinand’s exclusion was purely on footballing reasons. John Terry is a divisive
character that makes up for his lack of world class quality with a bags of
commitment. For what it’s worth, I think he probably pips Ferdinand. Where I
disagree with Hodgson is choosing Glen Johnson over Micah Richards. I do not
see the sense in this. Micah Richards has played well for a title winning team,
whereas Glen Johnson has performed in a typically Glen Johnson fashion (decent
going forward, not so good at defending) in a Liverpool team that has been
poor. Had Kyle Walker been fit, he would have been ahead of both of them, so it’s
a shame he’s injured.
In midfield, there are little surprises, apart from our man
Stewey D. The poor lad can’t help being picked, but really, he has done little
to deserve it. 0 goals, 0 assists, including 3 missed penalties. Perhaps his
inclusion is to be sure we go out heroically in a penalty shoot-out against
Portugal again? The constant selection of Downing reminds me of the days under
Sven where a relatively unknown Owen Hargreaves kept getting selected. English
ignorance meant his selection was ridiculous. “We don’t know owt about that Hargreaves
chap so why on earth is he playing?” Ignorance, they say, is bliss, because we
do know about Stewart Downing, and we know that he is not worthy of his place.
Owen Hargreaves turned out to be a great, yet injury ravaged player. Downing
probably won’t ever be that good. His saving grace is that he is left footed.
Elsewhere in midfield, a midfield duo of Gerrard and Parker
should start; Gareth Barry being the fall guy for Hodgson’s desire to play
4-4-2. It would have been nice to see Paul Scholes come out of international
retirement because he is quality. Perhaps Hodgson needed me to do the
persuading? “Don’t worry Paul, you aren’t going to play on the left wing this
time round, we’ve got Stewey Downing for that”.
Up front, we have Rooney, Defoe, Welbeck and Carroll. It’s surprising
there are only 4 strikers, particularly with Rooney’s 2 game ban, but then
again Walcott can do a stint up front (and some would argue that is his best
position). Andy Carroll had a good FA Cup final, so he’s on the plane. Many are
surprised by a somewhat knee-jerk move regarding the Geordie striker, but I don’t
know why. Afterall, it’s not as if he
got a rushed £35million move on the back of a promising start to his career is
it? It wouldn’t surprise me if Andy Carroll’s kitchen was awarded a Michelin
star on the back of a good, solid spaghetti Bolognese. I joke, of course I do.
Andy Carroll is the type of striker that on his day is unplayable. Let us just
hope he has a few of them days in the Ukraine. Many wanted Grant Holt to go. He’d
try hard for sure, but he isn’t international quality (although I guess that
didn’t stop Stewart Downing getting a call up)
Regarding the back-up players, let’s just hope we don’t get
too many injuries. Jordan Henderson’s inclusion can only be Roy Hodgson trying
to kiss and make up with the population of Liverpool. Henderson has been
distinctly average this season and unworthy of a call up (although I guess that
didn’t stop Stewart Downing getting a call up; that’s the last one, I promise).
Young goalkeeper Jack Butland has a big future by the looks of it, but the fact
he is even in consideration for the Euro’s is a bit daft. It’s equivalent to
judges on talent shows putting young children through, even though they are
rubbish, just because it’s a nice and sentimental thing to do. A young
goalkeeper that has been plying his trade in League 2 should not be in contention
to face Karim Benzema and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
So overall, the squad does have some surprising aspects
(Stewart Downing – couldn’t help myself), but at least we don’t have to worry
about Paul Konchesky bombing up the flank, or Bobby Zamora hitting you on the
head when you’re sat in row z. Come on England, and here’s to hoping Hodgson
proves people wrong with his selections.
