On Tuesday afternoon, the England squad was announced for the forthcoming qualifiers, and to no surprise of any West Ham United supporter, there were no call ups for any of our players.
From a selfish point of view, I’m not too fussed about our players and their International careers, especially after the luck we’ve had in the past ten years with injuries our players have picked up whilst on England duty. David James picked up a serious injury, meaning his debut season didn’t even start for months after he first signed for us. And Dean Ashton broke his ankle after a challenge by Shaun Wright-Phillips – an injury which cut Ashtons career short altogether, as he was forced to retire.
I have no doubt that once Andy Carroll is fit, he will be pushing for a return to the International setup, and then Stewart Downing has a good chance of getting into the squad, as long as he impresses in Claret and Blue. In fact, if Downing and Carroll combine well, then what’s stopping them from being part of the starting 11 in Rio?
Matt Jarvis is still looking to add to his one and only England cap, but if he can continue his promising start to the season, then I don’t see why Hodgson will overlook him. However, its concerning that Jarvis has started the season well, yet someone like Raheem Sterling, who is not a regular for Liverpool, is ahead of him.
Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble are still yet to receive a call up. Noble has been one of the best goalscoring midfielders in recent Premier League history. By his own admission, he’s had Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes ahead of him for the last ten years. Noble, for me, is not good enough. Is he better than Carrick? Well if he was, Manchester United would have signed him by now wouldn’t they?
What concerns me, is that if English players come to West Ham, and don’t get picked for England, its going to be hard for us to attract quality players in the future. This means it is key that Carroll and Downing do get picked, as it shows playing for us, won’t effect your chances of representing your country.
There is also the fact that everyone knows that you’ve got to have 3 West Ham players in the England team to stand a chance of winning the World Cup!
COME ON YOU IRONS!!