Upon first glance I was very much in support of Roy Hodgson’s squad named for the upcoming games against Lithuania and Italy. However, I was disappointed by a few of his picks. It is a bit bewildering as to why Andre Townsend is in the 29-man squad. He does not often enough get a game never the less a start under his Argentine manager at Tottenham. A couple of other question marks that arose were quite obvious for many. Why no Ashley Young? Why no Ryan Bertrand? If in fact Roy is going for what I think he is by initiating a phoenix like rise from the ashes then it would have been nice to see Bertrand in the squad. After all, he chose Kane, Clyne, Sterling (obviously) etc. And, furthermore, I know he is trying to play phoenix because for the injured Adam Lallana he picked breakthrough Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason and this is what really let me down.
I suspect, and feel adamant, that Hodgson is aiming to sure things up in possession by picking Carrick. But he has completely overlooked Mark Noble, once again. Harry Kane, new to the scene as well, has been an absolute revelation this season. However, I just cannot see how Mason, coming out of literally nowhere, replaces Lallana over Noble. I really feel for the West Ham servant because he has been so unrelenting in not only keeping his Hammers together but also in trying to represent his country. Few players would do it better too. So what could it be about him that makes him unpickable? Certainly not that he plays for West Ham. Fabian Delph plays for Villa, Clyne for Southampton. Is it that his work, somewhat uninspiring in nature, like James Milner’s, goes unappreciated? Yes, Noble seems a simple man and is in many ways a simple player. But, he does simplicity better than most in the league and has done for the better part of a decade.
I think that what is more important for England as they go forward is that they finally learn to keep the ball. They need to make the right passes, not the most rewarding ones and they need to do everything they can to get the ball back when they make the wrong ones. Mark Noble does not only fit this bill but he can get others to play his way as well. I am not saying that if he were picked that he would be in the squad forever. I am only saying that I would hate to see England’s future be an ashes-to-ashes dust-to-dust situation instead of the opposite that Hodgson has, do not get me wrong, shown that he wants.
Source: DSG
