Fabian Delph, Andros Townsend and Jack Wilshere were all surprise selections in England’s provisional squad.
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“Then I asked if he is the type of player who brings something different to the team, a player we do not have an abundance of”.
Hodgson named a provisional 26-man squad for the European Championship on Monday, which included Jamie Vardy and Danny Drinkwater from the ranks of the newly-crowned Premier League champions.
England prepare for the 24-team tournament with warm-up matches against Turkey, Australia and Portugal before they open their Euro 2016 campaign against Russian Federation in Marseille on June 11.
“We haven’t got those resources at our disposal today, albeit I believe Cahill, Smalling and Stones are good centre-backs”, Hodgson said when the quartet were mentioned.
Yes, Theo Walcott is out and yes, Marcus Rashford has been added to the group to gain experience, but let’s dig a little deeper into what some of Roy Hodgson’s tough decisions mean.
The squad will be trimmed to 23 by May 31, and Rashford is widely expected to be one of the three to miss out, considering he is competing against Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge, and captain Wayne Rooney for a spot.
With Spurs young guns Dele Alli and Eric Dier pushing for starting roles and Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling offering width and pace, even a place in midfield, where he now plays for United, is not certain for Rooney.
Walcott, who sat out Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday with a slight hamstring injury, was also omitted from Hodgson’s squad for the 2014 World Cup.
“I am fresh, I have played 13 games this season”, Townsend said.
On our SAFC Facebook page, George Ledington wrote: “As an England fan yes, as a Sunderland fan no, get a good rest and a proper pre-season and boom gets us off to a flyer”.
In possibly his last throw of the dice, the 68-year-old manager, whose contract expires after the tournament, has taken his biggest gamble yet.
“We’ll definitely be one they have an eye on and rightfully so”, he said.
“I just feel like I’ve done everything that I could do”.
Football is a game of opportunities, and when a chance comes to shine and show what you have got, you have got to take it or end up on the football scrap heap.
“He wants players that are comfortable with the ball to feet with a bit of pace that can score goals and if [Rashford] were to go I wouldn’t have any problems”.
“Wayne Rooney has done a fantastic job for England – 109 games, 51 goals.that’s one terrific record and there aren’t many players in Europe, at worldwide level, who reach that level of success”.
It was a pass Daley Blind-a similarly pass-focused centre-back this season-would have been proud of; a cutting ball between the lines to find James Milner in acres of space on the left.
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“I have to select teams against Turkey, Portugal and Australia”.
