After new England boss Roy Hodgson revealed his 23-man squad for this summer’s European Championships, Will Ridgard looks at the selections made.

The Championships, jointly hosted by Poland and Ukraine, kick-off in little under a month and Hodgson has certainly made some very contentious and interesting decisions.

Players that missed out

The main exclusion has been that of 33-year-old Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand. There has been much talk of Ferdinand not being able to cope with the physical and mental requirements of international tournament football and Hodgson might have felt this was a decisive factor.

Add to that the inclusion of controversial ex-skipper John Terry, who is still to be trialled for racially abusing Rio’s brother Anton, and you can see why he was left out.

Ferdinand will probably seem to think that there is a vendetta against him from ever playing at a European Championship. He missed out back in 2000 when Kevin Keegan was in charge and was banned in 2004 for missing a drugs test. Add to this England’s pitiful failure to even qualify in 2008 and you can see just how strong this vendetta is.

Ferdinand’s England career does look to have come to a stop, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he announced his international retirement shortly. Upon hearing the outcome, he even tweeted “Absolutely loved playing for England… To say I am gutted is an understatement of the highest order.”

Another surprise omission is Micah Richards. Considering that Richards has just won a Premier League medal with Manchester City and one of his main rivals for the right-back spot in Kyle Walker, ruled out with a toe injury, surely he would have been assured a place in the squad.

But Hodgson opted to go with Glen Johnson and the versatile Phil Jones. Richards started the season like a house on fire but was slowly replaced by the impressively consistent Pablo Zabaleta throughout the season.

In fact, Richards was limited to just three substitute appearances in the last month of the season. Ultimately missing out on time on the pitch cost him a place in the squad.

Michael Carrick also missed out. After a solid season in the centre of the park for Manchester United, many thought he would at least be in the squad. Despite being a valued club player, Carrick has largely been overlooked for England (amassing just 22 caps in a 10 year period). Hodgson settled for Scott Parker (providing he recovers from an Achilles injury in time) and Gareth Barry as holding midfielders but I personally thought Carrick and his passing range could have been an asset to England’s chances.

Another player who many thought may go is Aaron Lennon. Lennon possesses all the attributes to be a very dangerous player at international level but has found himself behind Theo Walcott, Ashley Young and the uncapped youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the pecking order. Like these attacking players, Lennon has a frightening amount of pace but his season faded away after Christmas following a hamstring injury. It may seem as not much of a surprise to some but he is another player with quite a big reputation who has missed out.

Upfront and Hodgson has decided to leave out Peter Crouch. Love or hate him, you can’t argue with Crouch’s goal record for England (22 goals in 42 matches). And although a lot of you will be saying – yes but look at the opposition he played – I feel he would have really offered something in the tournament. After all, he has a host of attributes: his 6”7 presence mean he is a handful for defenders, he holds the ball up well, he has experience, he can finish and he is not afraid to have a shot (as you saw with his wonderful volley against Manchester City).

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