“A bit of fun”, said Allardyce, when asked what he anticipated from his first squad get-together.
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Much debate has surrounded Rooney’s future involvement in the England set-up with former captain Alan Shearer urging Rooney to consider global retirement.
“It’s all about the personality”. You would hope the captain would make a decision on the pitch if he felt he needed to.
Not since Peter Crouch and his robot have England had a player with such fine celebrations in their ranks.
There had been some rumours swirling around that Jordan Henderson, Liverpool captain, might be given the honour but Rooney will remain in place going into the World Cup qualifying campaign.
England boss Sam Allardyce says the career “journey” of Michail Antonio led to the former Sheffield Wednesday winger being handed his first global call-up.
Allardyce, much to his chagrin, is often portrayed as a meat-and-potatoes manager, keen on hard-hitting centre-halves and powerful target men.
No captain has been named, with Allardyce unlikely to nominate his chosen man until after the squad get together at St George’s Park on Monday evening, but the previous incumbent Wayne Rooney is listed among the midfielders.
With Dele Alli included in England’s squad, it appears there was no room for another attacking playmaker.
“We have a department to look at the whole situation at all areas for every global team”.
Rooney’s current tally stands at 53 goals and against Slovakia he will become England’s most capped outfield player on 116 caps, surpassing David Beckham.
Allardyce’s belief that the psychological aspect of football is now as important as the physical side is the reason for his focus on the off-field issues which have for so always been cited as factors that have made England a miserable experience for so many players. We’ve had to make some very hard decisions, none more so than Ross Barkley.
Sam Allardyce admits that omitting Ross Barkley from his first England squad was the toughest decision he had to make.
New United manager Jose Mourinho has returned Rooney to the No. 10 role this season, and Allardyce said “that’s the sort of position I’d be looking for him to be playing in”.
The 26-year-old midfielder joined West Ham from Nottingham Forest for £7 million last year, having played for Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton since starting his career at Tooting & Mitcham.
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They proved tried and trusted performers for the 61-year-old at West Ham and Sunderland, respectively, but did not receive a call for the September 4 meeting in Trnava.
