Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
The latest England Squad has been announced and the main headline to come from it is that uncapped Leicester Midfielder Danny Drinkwater has been rewarded for his performances at club level with a first ever call up by Roy Hodgson.
Hodgson has opted for a 24 man squad for friendlies against Germany and Holland at the end of the month with only other real headlines being that Danny Rose and Daniel Sturridge make returns after long absences.
For Rose it’s been nothing short of deserved after his efforts at Left Back for Tottenham this season and it now it looks like he has moved ahead of Kieran Gibbs in the Left Back pecking order but will have to try and displace one of either Ryan Bertrand or Leighton Baines to get a seat on the EURO 2016 plane.
Captain Wayne Rooney misses out through injury but is expected to win the race to be fit for the start of the tournament while in Midfield there is no room for Michael Carrick after Drinkwater’s inclusion and Jack Wilshere who is still sidelined through injury and is looking to win his own fitness battle to make it to France.
Young Spurs Midfield duo Dele Alli and Eric Dier keep their places in the squad and you would have to feel with Dier’s versatility that he will be able to bag himself a seat while if Dele Alli doesn’t make it then there could be a near riot.
It looks like it’s going to 5 strikers from 6 with Captain Rooney talking one slot it’s going to be a fight for the last four places. You would imagine those 4 will come from the 5 forwards selected in this squad. With Theo Walcott being able to play on the wings and both Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane in hot goalscoring form you would imagine that the last place will be a straight fight between Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck.
Here is the full squad
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke City), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Manchester City).
Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur).
Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Danny Drinkwater (Leicester City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City).
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)
