Eng-er-land

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.