England's EURO 2012 squad - A few questionable selections

Just ten days to go for the Euros, and things are already hotting up. From controversy hitting the Italian camp to fears of racism in Ukraine, Euro 12 is already trending worldwide. In this article, I take a look at the rather questionable selections by the new England manager Roy Hodgson.

1. Glen Johnson

Although he has been England’s first-choice since Gary Neville, his performances this season have been less than impressive. With Kyle Walker, Premier League’s Young Player of the year, and Micah Richards making the right kind of noises, Roy Hodgson clearly went for experience over youth. However, even with Johnson on-board, England needed another genuine right-back, with Phil Jones not really a natural in that position. Kyle Walker should have been a must on that plane to Poland-Ukraine.

2. John Terry

Terry is an England legend in his own right and there should be no doubt about his defending abilities. However, Terry’s game has recently deteriorated by a long way, and at a faster rate than his contemporary Rio Ferdinand. Rio has his own back problems and there have been doubts over his ability to play 2 games in 4 days. However, the eagerness he had shown to represent his country, and his form over the last 3 months definitely pressed his case. Moreover, what is more concerning for England fans is about the racism row hanging over Terry’s head and his familiarity to scandalous affairs. John Terry’s inclusion was definitely a surprise to many football fans all over the world, and his performances will be keenly scrutinized no doubt.

3. Andy Carroll

The long-haired English striker has had a torrid time at Anfield after his big-money move from Tyneside. He had hardly had a sight of goal and what is most concerning is that he has been generally poor. Although the Liverpool #9 showed signs of improvement towards the end of the season, most prominently with the goal in the FA Cup final, few would agree with his inclusion specially when he had failed to impress for most of the season. If physicality was a parameter, Grant Holt surely gets the nod ahead of Carroll, given his prolific form for Norwich City this season.

4. Stewart Downing

It’s difficult to find a consistently performing winger in England except Young, and Walcott, and Oxlade-Chamberlain (in the limited time that he got), but Stewart Downing is certainly not the guy to take to Poland-Ukraine given his poor performances through-out the season. A worthy replacement that comes to mind is Adam Johnson. Pacy, hard-working and goal-scoring, he would be ideal, one would think. But, someone I really like is Matt Jarvis. Yes, he got relegated this season, but he was the engine that kept the Wolves running. He was the source of spark the Wolves players looked to. Plus he came up with some very important goals – some of them beauties. For me, Jarvis should have been on the bench vs France.

5. Phil Jones

While his selection is undoubtable, he doesn’t have a designated place in the team really. One would think he is one of the central defenders, but the inclusion of Phil Jagielka in place of Barry makes you think that Jones is actually a defensive midfielder. But think again, England do not have a second right-back and it is quite obvious that Jones, playing primarily right-back all season for Manchester United, would be deputy to Johnson. Sometimes it actually is a nice thing to have a versatile player in the team. In my guess, he would be playing different roles as substitutes in different games, something you do not really appreciate as a player.