Source: Daily_Mail
Fabio Capello turns to Bolton's Kevin Davies to bolster England attack
After ignoring Andy Carroll for reasons that appear to point towards a disciplinary issue with Stuart Pearce, and dismissing Michael Owen as an alternative on the grounds he is now past it, Fabio Capello has enlisted the services of a 33-year-old striker who thought he had more chance of playing for Jamaica than England. [LNB]Nobody would have been more surprised to see Kevin Davies named in Capello's squad than Davies himself, a battering ram of a centre forward who has been a wonderful servant for Bolton but not someone who seriously expected to be part of an England set-up slowly being revived in the wake of those woeful World Cup displays. [LNB]Clearly, Capello wanted someone of Davies's ilk because he did try to lure Emile Heskey out of international retirement for next Tuesday's European Championship qualifier against Montenegro. [LNB] Battling ram: Kevin Davies is not afraid to mix it with some of the world's best defenders in the Premier League[LNB]But at a time when tired-looking England are being rejuvenated by the promotion of players like Adam Johnson, Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere, Davies's first call-up to the senior international squad does seem something of a backward step even if it does remain little more than a Band-Aid selection. [LNB]With Jermain Defoe, Bobby Zamora and Gabriel Agbonlahor injured and Carlton Cole suffering a loss of form, Carroll would have represented a more progressive move given his recent performances for Newcastle United. [LNB]Enlarge But he seems to have upset Pearce with the manner of his withdrawal from the last Under 21 squad and Capello has stood by the manager. [LNB]Owen, it could be argued, misses out on the grounds of a lack of first-team football at Manchester United but when a player three years his senior, and nothing like as gifted, gets the nod ahead of him he now has to accept that he will never represent England while Capello is in charge. [LNB]Davies, understandably, was delighted. [LNB]It was only last season that he rejected an invitation to play for Scotland. [LNB]'I spoke to someone about it at the end of last season,' he revealed. [LNB]'They wanted to know if I had any Scottish relatives and to be honest, I wasn't too sure at the time, so I didn't take it any further. [LNB]'You'd think with a name like Davies, I'm more likely to have Welsh blood in me. As far as I'm concerned I'm English, so I didn't really take it on.' [LNB] End of days: Michael Owen's England career looks as good as over as long as Fabio Capello remains in charge[LNB]And yet he never believed England would seriously come calling. [LNB]'I was in the expanded squad a couple of times but even when a few players pulled out and I thought I had a chance, someone else got called up,' he said. [LNB]Enlarge 'From then on I decided never to get my hopes up. You can't let it affect you. You've always wanted to play for England and if he (Capello) has been watching and you've scored you're like, "wow, you never know..." I just didn't want to put myself through that again. My half-brother's Jamaican so I might try for them!' [LNB]Capello spent Monday talking more about how Darren Bent represented 'a very important part of the future' and there were some other old faces in the squad as well as the return of 18-year-old Wilshere. [LNB]Aaron Lennon is also back despite his recent issues with a loss of confidence but with James Milner suspended and Theo Walcott only just returning from injury the Tottenham winger was considered the best option. [LNB]Joe Cole also returns despite the chaos at Liverpool but more significantly so is goalkeeper Rob Green, who makes his first return to the squad since his nightmare in South Africa.[LNB] Kevin Davies handed shock England call-up by Fabio Capello - and blunder keeper Robert Green returnsKenny Dalglish: Capello needs to have a captain who is fit to play England boss Capello fails to tempt striker Heskey out of retirementBOLTON WANDERERS FC
