Gary Cahill has been forced to withdraw from the England Squad for Euro 2012 with a fractured jaw suffered against Belgium on Saturday. His replacement is Liverpool’s one cap right-back Martin Kelly. He becomes the sixth Liverpool player in the 23-man squad.
To include so many Liverpool players seems baffling given how abysmal the Anfield club were this season. Perhaps Roy Hodgson’s mind is slipping and he is forgetting that he is no longer Liverpool manager as that seems the only explanation for packing the England Squad with so many below par Premier League footballers from Liverpool.
There is no questioning the inclusion of Steven Gerrard in the England Squad. While the Liverpool skipper has never performed as well for England as he has for his club, there was never any doubt over his selection. However it is very difficult to make a case as to why any of the other six Liverpool players are in the squad.
Glen Johnson: Johnson seems to be the first choice England right back although it is difficult to understand why. His main strength is often said to be attacking but on so many occasions is forays forward end with him bundling into the opposition and conceding possession. His major weakness is in defence where he wanders around like a child who has lost its parent. His place may have been under greater threat had Tottenham’s Kyle Walker not missed out through injury, but Johnson’s selection ahead of Manchester City’s Micah Richards is at best bemusing.
Stewart Downing: So often the subject of derision from all supporters even his own and it is not hard to understand why. Downing has always been around England squads largely thanks to his former Middlesbrough manager Steve McLaren being around the set-up for far too long. He has however never showed an ounce of quality and has been dismal since joining Liverpool last summer, not contributing a goal or an assist to repay his hefty price tag. His inclusion is thoroughly laughable, especially ahead of the likes of Adam Johnson.
Jordan Henderson: Henderson, like Downing, joined Liverpool last summer for a large fee and has been a massive disappointment. He has looked like a rabbit in the headlights who has lost all sense of how to play football for large chunks of the season. The fact he remained in Liverpool’s first team all season was mystifying enough but the decision to name him as Frank Lampard’s replacement for England at Euro 2012 really was a staggering choice.
Andy Carroll: What can you say about the inclusion of Andy Carroll? The £35 million pound flop has had possibly three ok games this season all at the back end of the campaign. That would seem to have been enough to earn him a place in the squad. Carroll who possesses all the skill and grace of a donkey on rollerblades has edged out the consistent international performer Peter Crouch as England’s target man. His inclusion also sees the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Grant Holt, both of whom scored far more goals than the Liverpool striker this season, miss out on the tournament. Carroll, a greasy haired version of Emile Heskey, has been chosen by Hodgson to the derision of the nation and needs to start to show some form pretty quick.
Martin Kelly: The latest Liverpool addition to the squad in place of Gary Cahill. Kelly has been picked ahead of Micah Richards and Rio Ferdinand despite only playing 18 games in total this season, only 10 in the Premier League. Hodgson said Ferdinand was left out for not having played enough for England in the last year, which makes the inclusion of the untested and inexperienced Kelly seem inexplicable.
It would have been entirely possible that the only Liverpool representative in the England squad was Steven Gerrard and nobody would have argued. Liverpool had a pitiful league campaign and many of those in this England squad are largely responsible for the abject performances we saw during the last campaign. It would seem that such flops are good enough to represent their country this summer which is a sad, sad state of affairs.
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The england team has been picked like it or nt stand by your side:)
Downing, Henderson and Johnson are unfit for Liverpool and therefore England!
Some Liverpool players maybe ok to be on team list because of injuries. Gerrard is ok but always injured would pick Lampard if not injured because of scoring strength! Carrol is a ok sub but at most and Johnson a sub aswell the rest def not good enough! End of story!
stevie- obvious choice for captain
johnson- proven international rb
carrol- great in the back end of the season. a big presence and as seen in FA Cup semi and final, a big game player
downing- not sure why he’s in the squad. saw a stat about most crosses in the league. but a cross has to be a good cross to a player, not to space.
hendo- played shite all season, shouldnt be there
kelly- hodgson said that he picked the squad on international experience. kelly has 1 cap. rio shouldve been selected instead
Whoever wrote this article is a bastard, and all those saying liverpool players don’t deserve to be in the national team, should go sulk somewhere.
I think all these players would still have been in the squad even if Capello was still the manager. As Browny has stated others didn’t put up their hands when asked to be on standby. Kelly and Hendo got picked because they made themselves available for selection plain and simple. Adam Johnson did not feature much for MC so how does he deserve to be ahead of Downing? Carroll over Sturridge is debatable but you could also argue Jermaine Defoe’s inclusion, Crouch has been out of the England set up for quite some time now. I’m sure the Liverpool players are gonna be under heavy scrutiny in the Euro’s it won’t come as a surprise to me if they take the brunt of the blame if they don’t make it past the group stages.
CRAP ARTICLE!!!! You suck as a journalist, you don´t have any proper evidence for your accusations! You propably never saw a Liverpool game this season, cuz´ if you did, you would have seen that Carroll has been playing great, Henderson has showed progress, Johnson is the best right back in the league with walker and Richards not far behind, and Kelly can play at CB better than old Rio who is as washed up s Terry who also should´nt have been selected to the squad, so if you look away from Liverpool you SCUM you will see other major mistakes besides those players!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Come on people. Micah ruled himself out and Roy wants only 1 experienced CB in team, so who should have gone instead of the Reds youngsters? How many English play for our top 6? Even Newcastle don’t have them.
Why so much heat on Henderson, Carrol etc.? They’ve had to adjust to different style and pressures. Carroll had a great time before he was injured at Magpies. Getting better and better with fitness. Hendersons opta stats are super and he has great touch. Johnson has been first choice RB since Neville retired. Downing has been an international for years.
Suggestions – still not seen any, but seen plenty moaning.
The only reason why Liverpool have so many players in the English squad is because Liverpool is the only club that is based on English players from the top clubs in England.
Well, Micah Richards didn’t want to be held on stand-by and Terry is in court with Rio Ferdinand’s brother which makes Kelly’s choice pretty explainable.
As to Carroll being compared to Crouch, I don’t see much of a difference between the two, but I do think that Sturridge should have been named in the squad.
As to Downing being preferred ahead of Adam Johnson, I think it was predictable since Johnson barely played this season.
And about Hendo, I don’t know what’s the fuss all about, since I don’t exactly know who else could have replaced Lamps and I don’t think he’ll be included so often in the matches.
Why don’t people think before repeating the media bile? Hodgson had to pick a squad without the benefit of a single training session or a game. He’s had virtually no time to prepare – so what has he done? He’s picked of core of lads from Liverpool and Chelsea as the chemistry is already there and between them they’ve reached four cup finals. The Euros is a cup competition and both Liverpool and Chelsea were hard to beat in a knockout competition. What he hasn’t done (and is getting slated for) is picked players that retired from England duty (scholes) or those that selfishly refused to be on standby (Carrick, Richards). Why on earth should he pick players that aren’t committed to the cause? Those moaning about Rio should direct their ire towards SIr Alex, who specifically asked Roy not to take him due to fitness concerns. Kelly is a really fine right back and is being blooded to become a CB just like Carragher did. Support the team!
Because they are worth it.
jealous