I didn’t realise the squad was announced so late today, I thought it was a morning announcement, but hey ho, they kept us waiting; built up the suspense, and…….
-all respect at this point that it was correctly announced following Sir Tom Finney's funeral-
4 goalkeepers? At least we’ll know two of the bench warmers in Brazil, who won’t even be needed for that because it will be so hot…
Just two (and a half) centre backs, which I guess is fair enough; Cahill and Jagielka are the partnership unless one - or both - gets injured, so this is just a trial for the back up.
Goodness know why out of 12 midfielders he needs seven central midfielders, and why he’s called Jermain Defoe over from Toronto for a game he probably won’t feature in I don’t know…
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| PHOTO: Taken from the 2011 FA Cup final, by myself |
It’s easy to criticise Hodgson’s squad decisions, and in my honest opinion I think there is no point in playing just the one friendly, so there isn’t much point in thinking too much about it, but if 22 of Hodgson’s 23 players in mind are in there it will be a nervous day when the actually squads are announced.
This will probably seem like an attack on Manchester United, but I can’t see what Chris Smalling, Tom Cleverley and Michael Carrick are doing there. They might be good at times, but Cleverley and Smalling this season have been not far off woeful, whereas Carrick I don’t think will feature and is along for the ride.
The basis for this game has got to be for Hodgson to see who is up to the task of pulling an England shirt on and performing; step forward Jordan Henderson, Steven Caulker, Andros Townsend, Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Jay Rodriguez.
All have had outstanding seasons thus far, or performances for England over the last several months, and this is the decider to see who can earn themselves a place on the plane:
Steven Caulker - England are short of centre-backs, apparently, but Caulker has impressed and show maturity since jointing Cardiff and it is good to see him playing regularly. I can’t see him staying with Cardiff if they get relegated; he is Premier League quality and perhaps a future England regular alongside Phil Jones at centre back.
Jordan Henderson - People wrote him off when he first joined Liverpool, but Brendan Rodgers has shown his faith in the midfielder and he has flourished this season. Liverpool’s formation draws comparisons with England, so perhaps he will slot nicely in around his teammates Gerrard, Sturridge, and Sterling.
Andros Townsend - Hailed a hero after an emphatic England debut, but we’ve seen it plenty of times before that it can get to players. Injury has hampered him and he hasn’t featured regularly for Spurs since, but this is his opportunity to show Hodgson that he is worth a gamble in place of Theo Walcott.
Adam Lallana - Same as Townsend, he impressed on his debut, but needs a bit more pitch time to convince me that he can transfer his club form to the international stage.
Raheem Sterling - He was given an opportunity before, but fell off the rails. Since though, Rodgers has nurtured him and he has a re-found confidence. I’m not overly keen on him because of his antics which won Liverpool a game at Stoke, but I would be more than happy for him to prove me wrong.
Daniel Sturridge - Perhaps among the most in-form players in Europe at the moment, Sturridge has seized his chance at Liverpool and is almost unstoppable. But his performances for England last time didn’t match his club form, so he too needs to convince us.
Jay Rodriguez - On less of a scale than Sturridge, Rodriguez has done well, but it will take something really special, a flawless end of the season, and even injury to fellow strikers - God forbid - for him to become number one. But all he can give is his best; what’s the worst that it could do for him?
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is another who needs to catch Hodgson’s eye, but he has always performed well for England, and I would hope the manager has noted that and The Ox is already in his plans…
I read an interesting article by Jonathan Liew of The Telegraph earlier about how to weight a tournament squad, which reads along the lines of “you need attacking options, not defensive security”.
With that in mind we can already see that by looking at the breakdown of 4 GKs, 3 LBs, 7 CMs, and 6 FWDs it is obvious what Hodgson hopes to get out of this match…
He has to be considerate about it, but realistically Ashley Cole will be playing his last World Cup, so morally can he leave one of England’s greatest servants out with the difference between himself and Leighton Baines so tight? The same is true for Jermain Defoe, Frank Lampard, and the hero that is our captain Stevie G.
While the latter is a dead cert to be the first name on the plane, I think the others need to fight for their swan song at a major tournament instead of in a friendly or qualifier as a mark of respect. This is their audition, and unfortunately for them it is likely to be from the sidelines.
I would be surprised if any of them were left out in the summer, but their appearances are likely to be decided by injuries and England’s need for experience in the closing stages of games as substitutions, rather than starting players.
What to watch out for
1 - The four way battle: Ross Barkley vs Jack Wilshere vs Adam Lallana vs Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
In the 4-3-3 I expect Hodgson to go with (or 4-1-2-3 for the OCD-ers), there is space for two attacking midfielders. One of those could be Gerrard too, just to make the battle even more intense, although The Ox has a trump card with his ability to play on the wing.
2 - Chris Smalling vs Steven Caulker
Who will be the bench warmer assuming Cahill and Jagielka stay fit? I imagine they will play a half each at CB, although like The Ox, Smalling can slot in at FB if required, although I can’t say I’d be comfortable with him there… There is also the question of how Jones fits into Hodgson’s plans; a CB or CDM?
3 - Jordan Henderson vs Michael Carrick vs Frank Lampard
It is almost inevitable that Hodgson will at some point use 4-2-3-1 to see a game out (perhaps even as the great Mike Bassett cited, 4-4-f****** 2), so who is the trusted player who can start and last 90 minutes, or come in as the solid pair of legs to support the team in the closing stages? Youth could win this one, I feel…
Full Squad
Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Celtic), Ben Foster (West Brom), Joe Hart (Manchester City), John Ruddy (Norwich City).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Steven Caulker (Cardiff City), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Luke Shaw (Southampton), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur).
Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Andros Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).
Forwards: Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC), Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Jay Rodriguez (Southampton), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United).
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