He’s back! Rio is out.
Team unity be damned. Old is gold. We have John Terry back resurrected until proven otherwise in the racism charge against Anton Ferdinand. Fabio Capello was sacked for going rogue on Italian TV but Roy Hodgson brought back Terry to the squad without it raising a cheep out of the FA as he sugar coated it on purely “footballing reasons,”
What is Hodgson building on if you also include Frank Lampard, James Milner, and Gareth Barry? The Ox, Danny Welbeck, Phil Jones are amongst a handful of players as nods to the next generation. Fabio Capello was rightly pilloried for his play safe choices but Hodgson’s selections show a turgid, first let me not be humiliated thinking.
If Hodgson had any chutzpah this England team should have been a combination of Wigan, Swansea and Norwich City. They would score more and probably given up more goals but the matches would be entertaining and high paced. Where is Victor Moses? Nathan Dyer? Anthony Pilkington?
Andy Carroll seemed to have perked up in his last few appearances but 31 year old Grant Holt has been perked up since the start of this as well as last season. If Emile Heskey was a perennial favourite till very recently because he casts a shadow on goal for the quicker players to dart in and score then Holt not only gives you that but he scores too.
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Rob Green (West Ham United), John Ruddy (Norwich City)
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Joleon Lescott (Manchester City), John Terry (Chelsea)
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Manchester United)
Forwards: Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United)
On standby: Jack Butland (Birmingham City), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea).