Sport
The poorest England squad in recent memory?
The poorest England squad in recent memory?
The dust has settled and we’ve all had a few days to reflect on the bombshell dropped by Roy Hodgson; I’m not talking about his decision to declare Rooney as England captain – although we’ll get to that – but rather the announcement that Danny Rose is now seen as an international quality defender. Just let that sink in; Danny Rose, a player that most Spurs fans would be happy to see leave White Hart Lane, could soon be representing England. The national team has surely reached a new low.
Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh on the lad but, on the other hand, I’m definitely not. There is absolutely no place in the national team for players of his calibre. Fabian Delph, who was also called up on Thursday, is another fine example of why England have no chance of winning anything in the near future. I’m sure that both Rose and Delph are nice enough blokes, but do I want them to be starters if we’re facing Germany, Netherlands or Argentina, for example? Not a chance.
I understand that these friendlies are the perfect opportunity to blood youngsters and give them some experience of playing for the national side at a time when the result isn’t all that important, but why include players that don’t have a hope of featuring for England on a regular basis? Why not bring in players like Tom Huddlestone or Nathaniel Clyne, both of whom were outstanding last season and could certainly become England mainstays given the opportunity?
I will say this in defence of Roy, though; well done on calling up Jack Colback. He’s exactly the sort of player England need at the moment – he’s far more talented than people give him credit for, will run his heart out for 90 minutes, never backs out of a tackle, and will undoubtedly prove to be an outstanding acquisition for Newcastle. Unfortunately for Hodgson, that’s one positive among a sea of negatives, and that brings me on to his decision to name Rooney as captain.
Why does Rooney, someone that is still struggling to adapt to being the captain of his club, deserve the position? Not only that, what is the benefit of having a striker in the role? Surely the captain needs to be someone that is able to read the game constantly, someone that already incorporates the organising of teammates while on the pitch; put simply, why has Gary Cahill been overlooked?
If England go out and win Euro 2016 then I’ll happily eat my words and congratulate Roy on his genius. I’ll even buy him a card to say sorry. But I think I’m safe in assuming that England will not win, nor come close to winning, that particular tournament, and it will just turn out to be the latest in a long line of disappointing moments for our national team.
