TO YOUR SCHOLES POINT THAT EVERY MANAGER BEFORE HAS ASKED, BUT SURELY THAT IS WHY THERE IS NO POINT OF ASKING

Excellent article, personally, I thinka midfield two of Scholes and Carrick playing behind rooney with Welbeck upfront and Young and AOC would be perfect for international football, but no, Roy Hodgson has shown no bravery.

If you want a better example of a lack of backbone from Hodgson then look no further than avoiding the Terry Rio situation with the poorest excuse of all time for not taking Rio.

If there was ANY truth in the Rio excuse he gave about having only played a few times for England since 2010, then Gerrard certainly wouldnt be going or Captain. He clearly bottled that whole situation IMO.

I don't think Scholes should be considered by England. We should be looking to the future. Good point about Carrick, however Hodgson states he wouldn't want to put him on a standby list? He should be starting ffs.

Good article.

Personally, I wouldn't have taken Scholes anyway despite how good he is. Nor Ferdinand, but that's because I wanted England to oust the old guard entirely and use different players plus young players.

Carrick's omission was typical and stupid. And to not even contact him to enquire if he would be interested shows even more stupidity coupled with a lack of steel.

Maybe Hodgson thought:

Lampard was a vital part of the FA Cup winners and in the team in the final of CL (when squad was announced)

Barry was an integral part of the Premier league winners team.

Carrick: Community Shield??

I would have taken Barry. I can understand Lampard's inclusion, even though personally I wouldn't have taken him for reasons mentioned above. I don't understand Gerrard over Carrick though. The guy is past his best and has gone through two seasons of bad form/decline, whereas Carrick has just had a great season in the best possession team in the league (I think) and tightened up the defence.

Scholes quit international football years ago. He has had numerous chances to come back and turned them down. Why bother again?

Carrick retired because he didn't want to sit on the bench. Why reward this disgracefully arrogant stance by picking him for an international tournement that others worked hard to qualify for?

Ferdinand is a very real injury risk. 2 years ago he and King were picked for the World Cup. 45 minutes into the tournement and both had picked up injuries preventing their participation (luckily Rio was early enough so we could replace him). Would be a mistake to risk him again, imo, even if he did manage 30 games for United this season.

Actually that's a fair comment. Carrick in over Gerrard though I wouldn't have Carrick starting.

Lampard as captain.

Robbie. Carrick was arguably the most important player in our midfield over the course of the season to help us end up level on points. are you.telling me if we had 1 more point or.8 more goals then he would have given that same reason you just gave for Carrick?

Look at it this way.

Both Barry and Carrick were first choice for their respective clubs and City finished higher than United. City also did the league double over United. Therefore it's not too strange to consider Barry over Carrick.

But they finished above on goal difference. Okay then what about Gerrard, Lampard and Parker? By your logic Carrick should be above all of them. We done through double over Tottenham, we beat Liverpool and Chelsea failed to beat us.

You're missing my point. And I said Carrick over Gerrard earlier. And for what it's worth I'd probably have him over Parker as well.

Lampard has the most successful season out of any the English midfielders so it's stupid to try and put Carrick in over him.

Therefore my point is a comparison between Carrick and Barry. This is probably the decision that Roy had to make as well. As I said before, it's fair to assume that Barry's season has been better and, based on the limited amount of playing time that Roy got to see of them, that's probably what the decision has been based on.

How can he say that Scholes is nearing the end of his career so doesn't want to take him, yet picks Gerrard, Lampard and co?

Scholes has consistently been one of the best midfielders since his return, Gerrard hasn't played well full stop in almost 2 years, and Lampard blows hot and cold.

Not forgetting he has the best pass completion for any English midfielder in the PL, you have to worry. Why would Hodgson not realise he leaving behind his to best players when it comes to ball retention?

How can he say that Scholes is nearing the end of his career so doesn't want to take him, yet picks Gerrard, Lampard and co?

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One of those turned his back on his country a long time ago.
That same player has turned down requests to come back in the past.

Why would Roy bother?

I don't see why people are bothered anyway, we're crap either way as it is and I wouldn't bet against us failing to get out of the group.

D'Jeezus Mackaroni ** Laughing at the Shadow Dwellers again... (U1137)
posted 11 minutes ago
How can he say that Scholes is nearing the end of his career so doesn't want to take him, yet picks Gerrard, Lampard and co?

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One of those turned his back on his country a long time ago.
That same player has turned down requests to come back in the past.

Why would Roy bother?
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Scholes said no to the WC purely because he felt the players who qualified the country deserved their place on the plane.

He said he was open to future requests as he regretted not going.

I'm merely making the point, Lamps, Gerrard and probably Terry will not be involved in the WC, they are getting on and are not the players they were. Scholes still controls games and you know what he offers, something no other Englishman can do at the moment.

Carragher did exactly the same thing don't forget.

If Manchester United did beers... Justice 4 Arab (U6827)
posted 10 minutes ago
I don't see why people are bothered anyway, we're crap either way as it is and I wouldn't bet against us failing to get out of the group.


So you wouldn't bother supporting United if we couldn't win anything?

Carragher did exactly the same thing don't forget
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Carragher was a mistake as well.

So you wouldn't bother supporting United if we couldn't win anything?
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That's not what i'm saying. I'll be supporting England, however having Carrick there instead of Gerrard isn't going to make any difference.

TBH i think hodgson has pick the best players for this tournament and so far hes impress me.
I really do have a good feeling about England and we could surprise a few teams.

TBH i think hodgson has pick the best players for this tournament and so far hes impress me.

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Stewart Downing??

comment by TEMPLAR (U5027)
posted 3 minutes ago
TBH i think hodgson has pick the best players for this tournament and so far hes impress me.
I really do have a good feeling about England and we could surprise a few teams.
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I can't tell whether you are being serious or massive sarcasm. Hopefully sarcasm

comment by Tottenham Hotspurns 13 point lead (U1608)
posted 1 second ago
TBH i think hodgson has pick the best players for this tournament and so far hes impress me.

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Stewart Downing??
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I agree. In what world other than Hodgson's is an attacking winger with zero assists and zero goals from his whole season playing in the Prem better than e.g. Adam Johnson?

I also don't believe the squad is too good for Sturridge, Carrick and Rio to be left behind. Should Micah Richards not even make the squad?

Is just 4 strikers sensible given Rooney is suspended for 2 of the only 3 guaranteed games, and one of those strikers is a guy who has struggled hugely to hit the net this season? Haven't we been caught short in the past?

The whole squad is riddled with errors and inconsistencies. The worst of which is the excuse for not taking Rio in comparison to the importance bestowed on Gerrard.

In what world other than Hodgson's is an attacking winger with zero assists and zero goals from his whole season playing in the Prem better than e.g. Adam Johnson?

I also don't believe the squad is too good for Sturridge, Carrick and Rio to be left behind. Should Micah Richards not even make the squad?

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Adam Johnson = Not even in the City squad for the title deciding game.
Micah Richards = When the going got tough, Zabaleta replaced Richards.
Daniel Sturridge = Greedy selfish player who again found himself dropped. Bertrand picked over him last night.
Michael carrick = Asked not to be picked anymore.
Rio Ferdinand = Injury risk. Played a lot for united, but fact remains a tournement such as this is a risk for him.