I don’t enjoy watching England and I don’t like Roy Hodgson as England manager. I think his squad selection is bad, the football we play is poor and the team has done nothing but underachieve under him.
But I have to give it to him; this is probably one of the worst crops of England players in decades. There are precious few Englishman who star in the Premier League, and when there are (see Harry Kane) we tend to wildly overhype them, leading to a bloated contract and a career crash (though Harry Kane’s career certainly hasn’t crashed yet).
It’s a nightmare, an absolute nightmare, and though many of us don’t particularly give a hoot about our national team at the moment, we certainly enjoy seeing an Englishman as one of the best players in the world, and we certainly enjoy it when the team play well.
But the England international set up can help improve this dire situation, within their squad selection.
I’ll explain. It’s an honour to receive an England call, no matter what. We all remember Luke Shaw bursting into tears when he got his World Cup call. It’s just how much it means.
But the problem is, we have a squad that seems to contain plenty of un-droppable players. The likes of Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Kieran Gibbs, James Milner and so on. Some of these are well within their rights to be in the squad, but some aren’t.
You see, for the England regulars, there’s just no fear of being dropped now. They don’t feel they have to be performing at their best when Roy Hodgson’s sniffing around, because they know that no matter what they’re in the squad. I can think of three better alternatives at left back than Kieran Gibbs (Cresswell, Rose, Bertrand), who, even himself, must be wondering how he wonders into the England squad when he doesn’t even get into the Arsenal eleven.
Even though players like Gary Cahill and James Milner provide experience, if they’re in poor form for their club they shouldn’t be given a call.
So now you have a bunch of players who don’t think they need to perform at their best. Side note – I do know there are other factors effecting how well they play, such as being dropped and money bonuses, but this is just one way of getting English players back on track.
This is one side of the coin; the other side is those who don’t get in the England squad. Callum Wilson, Marc Albrighton, Nathan Redmond and Scott Dann. None of them play for top clubs. All of them have had class starts to the season. Have they received an England call up? No.
This is a terrible shame, because all four have starred for their sides and been some of the Premier Leagues top players this season, but they still don’t get a call up. They’ll be looking at the international break going ‘I’ve been in good form, I could get a call up’ raising their expectations, only to receive a bit of a blow when it doesn’t happen.
Not only is this unfair, it’ll lower there morale and make them think, ‘Well I don’t play for Everton, Arsenal, Chelsea, there’s no chance I’ll get a call up.’ When those thoughts enter your head, it hurts your form. So why not reward them? Why not? What’s the worst that can happen? It keeps senior players on their toes, maybe even give them a shock, and it’ll make them more determined to get back into the team.
It gives other English players, who maybe haven’t been in the same form as Wilson, Redmond, etc. renewed hope. ‘Wow, maybe if I raise my game a bit, I can get a call up as well, it looks like it doesn’t matter what club I play for.’
From that, it just gets better. More English players determined to make the big time, playing better for their clubs, which in turn makes the national team better, which makes everyone actually enjoy watching the national team again. Is this not a good idea? And, briefly returning to the ‘What’s the worst that can happen’ question, the worst that can happen is their not ready.
If they’re not ready, then that’s fine. But at least you’ve given it a go, and inspired some other players to raise their form in order to win a call up.
I hope, though I doubt, Roy Hodgson sees these words because I really think it’s the answer. Not only does it improve the quality of English players, which subsequently improves the quality of English clubs, it also helps our national team grow back to former glories. I do hope you listen, Roy.
Source: DSG
