Roy Hodgson now has just over two months to submit his England squad for the summer’s European Championship, with UEFA implementing a May 31st deadline.
Later this month, the Three Lions boss will have a final chance to run the rule over potential inclusions during friendlies against tournament favourites Germany and noteworthy absentees Holland – the squad for which was announced earlier today.
But Hodgson has already suggested that recent form won’t necessarily take precedent over players he trusts at international level when deciding who makes the final cut; in other words, certain ‘favourites’ are already nailed on for places at Euro 2016, barring serious injury, regardless of how they perform for the remainder of the season.
Perhaps that’s understandable, considering every team, be it domestic or national, needs a level of continuity to achieve success. But certain Hodgson cronies simply don’t deserve a ticket on the plane to France as fellow Englishmen outperform them on a weekly basis in the Premier League.
Here are FIVE of them…
FABIAN DELPH
During his competitive debut for England, Fabian Delph played an instrumental role in a 2-0 win over Switzerland that essentially assured the Three Lions top spot in Group B.
Roy Hodgson has issued the industrious midfielder another eight outings at international level and in regards to balance throughout the squad, you can understand why the England boss might want him at the Euros – providing a more defensive option to the likes of Ross Barkley and Dele Alli in the engine room.
But Delph has never been a world-beater and having managed just five Premier League starts this season amid an injury-stricken debut campaign at Manchester City, the likes of Eric Dier, Danny Drinkwater and Mark Noble have emerged as viable alternatives enjoying superior fitness and form.
Hodgson will struggle to justify selecting the 26-year-old over them and overall, his absence would hardly impact on England’s chances of progressing to the tournament’s latter stages.
ANDROS TOWNSEND
Andros Townsend is one of the few players to have impacted significantly greater at international than club level over the last few years, bagging three goals in 10 outings for England compared to four strikes in his last 48 league outings for Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.
The January move to Tyneside gives the 24-year-old a chance of making it into Roy Hodgson’s squad, after finding himself completely frozen out of first team affairs at White Hart Lane, and he does offer England something a little different through directness, width and penetration.
But the flying winger lacks consistency and Hodgson has better options at his disposal that can perform a similar task, such as Raheem Sterling, Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott.
Townsend was dubbed English football’s latest darling when he netted past Montenegro to help secure our place at the 2014 World Cup, but two years later he now seems very much besides the point.
PHIL JONES
Roy Hodgson has fielded Phil Jones and Chris Smalling at the heart of England’s defence on many occasions but not even partnering regularly for Manchester United these days amid continued injury problems, the former has no real justification for making it to the Euros.
Indeed, whilst Smalling has emerged as arguably the best English centre-half around at the minute, seemingly reaching his footballing peak, Jones – once tipped for world-class levels of greatness – has only regressed in recent years.
He’s now 24 years of age and some way shy of the levels once heralded, so England should be concentrating on more promising prospects such as Everton’s John Stones. Even the likes of Ryan Shawcross and Scott Dann present a stronger argument of being selected for the tournament in France, with the United defender managing just six Premier League starts so far this term.
But Jones was included in the England squad that faced France and Spain in November, and something tells me Hodgson could give him the nod if he’s fit for the Euros.
ADAM LALLANA
Adam Lallana’s versatility makes him a useful member of England’s squad and players with the technical quality of the Liverpool midfielder tend to find some joy at international level where physicality isn’t quite so important.
But in 19 outings for England, the 27-year-old has rarely made a difference; lacking the pace to impact out wide, the ability to orchestrate games consistently from No.10 and the robustness to assert authority over the middle of the park.
Indeed, Lallana’s England performances can be collectively described as decent if unspectacular and quite frankly, the Three Lions have a number of players who fill that underwhelming bracket already.
Now at his footballing peak, which is hardly worth writing home about anyway, and not exactly producing the goods on a weekly basis at Anfield, Roy Hodgson should be giving chances to younger alternatives.
JACK WILSHERE
Jack Wilshere may well be the most talented Englishman of his generation. But any evidence of that is now confined to the memory of the Arsenal fan base and Match of the Day highlight reels, having failed to feature in any competition so far this season and managed just 14 Premier League outings last term amid seemingly never-ending injury problems.
Roy Hodgson has already suggested Wilshere will be included in his squad as long as he’s fit by the time England make the short trip across the channel. But now 24 years of age and facing considerable competition for a place in the engine room, he’s by no means England’s only great hope in the same way as three or four years ago.
Indeed, Dele Alli and Ross Barkley have both emerged as equal if not greater talents and they’re proving it every week in the run up to Euro 2016, rather than hoping to claim a place on reputation alone. Perhaps more importantly, with Mark Noble and Danny Drinkwater also impressing this season, selecting Wilshere would send out a very dangerous message of big-club bias and favouritism within the England camp.
Likewise, can Wilshere really be expected to perform anywhere near to his best after missing an entire season? Surely a summer’s rest will benefit him more in the long run.
