Roy Hodgson will name his squad for England’s Euro 2012 bid on Wednesday and he is likely to face several dilemmas, particularly in defence and attack, before being able to identify the players he feels will fire the Three Lions to glory (10/1 Outright) in Poland and Ukraine.
Starting at the back and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart is the only man for the job between the sticks, while Robert Green and Scott Carson have been the only other back-ups due to the dearth of talent available and Ben Foster’s steadfast refusal to come out of retirement.
However, Norwich City’s John Ruddy has been in inspirational form this past season and we feel he deserves a chance ahead of Carson, who Hodgson allowed to leave the Hawthorns for a move to Turkey 12 months ago.
Hodgson’s first big job will be selecting the right men to shut out foreign opposition, starting with a huge game against France on June 11 (England 11/8, France 13/8, Draw 11/5 90 Minutes).
The first names on the squad list in previous years have been former skipper John Terry and Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand, who have struck up a strong central defensive partnership for past managers and have over 150 caps between them.
But with the duo at odds over Terry’s upcoming summer trial for allegedly racially abusing the latter’s brother, Hodgson might feel an alternative selection will be the safer option.
If he goes with Terry, who is younger and is arguably more reliable in terms of fitness than Ferdinand, then the obvious choice of partner would be his Chelsea team-mate Gary Cahill.
The duo have played well together in the heart of the Blues’ defence and Cahill has already shown he has the capabilities to be a success against top opposition after helping shut-out Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final first leg at Stamford Bridge last month.
If Hodgson feels Terry’s involvement could divide the squad, then Ferdinand could be the man he pins his hopes on for the finals.
With his Manchester United team-mate Chris Smalling ruled out due to injury, Hodgson could see Manchester City stopper Joleon Lescott as the man who would be ideally suited to Ferdinand.
The duo would complement each other well being a right-foot and left-foot combination and that could work well in the finals.
We expect Ferdinand’s United team-mate Phil Jones to be involved given the youngster’s impressive first season at Old Trafford and his ability to operate at right-back, centre-back or in a defensive midfield role.
However, Jones is more likely to watch from the sidelines as Tottenham’s Kyle Walker is the man to get the nod at right-back with Liverpool’s more experienced Glen Johnson breathing down his neck.
But the fact Johnson has been moved to a left-back role by Reds boss Kenny Dalglish means PFA Young Player of the Year, Walker, has been the best player in that position over the past season and deserves his chance.
Hodgson’s other problem centres on which strikers he will take to the finals given that his options have been depleted due to injury and suspension.
He has already intimated that Wayne Rooney (40/1 Top Goalscorer) will travel despite being banned for the opening two matches against France and Sweden.
Darren Bent is adamant that he will be fit despite being ruled out of Aston Villa’s season with ruptured ankle ligaments since February.
However, we feels it would be too risky to take the forward as a lack of match fitness will work against him when England need their players firing on all cylinders.
Therefore Danny Welbeck is the man who Hodgson will almost certainly give the nod to given the fact he has played the majority of the season alongside Rooney at United which will work in his favour when looking towards the knockout stage (England 13/8 Group D Winner).
Another alternative to Bent would be Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe, who has struggled for game time under Harry Redknapp this season, but always manages to get goals whenever he is pitched into the Three Lions’ team.
Chelsea’s Darren Sturridge is another possibility, but he seemed to drift off the radar in the closing months of the campaign and might well miss the boat.
The fourth striker berth will be a straight fight between three target men – Liverpool’s Andy Carroll, Stoke’s Peter Crouch and Norwich City hitman Grant Holt.
Holt’s 17 goals for the Canaries this past season have led to calls for his inclusion, while Crouch has a fantastic scoring record for England and his presence terrifies continental defenders which is why he would have been a definite selection.
However, £35million hitman Carroll has forced his way to the front of the queue having finished the season strongly, in particular with his recent goalscoring substitute performance in the FA Cup final.
The former Newcastle man has struggled since making the move to Anfield in January 2011, but the signs are he is rediscovering his best form again and that could be timed to perfection for England.
A wildcard pick would be to take Arsenal youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to the finals.
He is an unknown quantity to opposition managers and players and could have a big impact in the finals akin to Paul Gascoigne in the 1990 World Cup and Rooney in Euro 2004.
Although Hodgson could be put off by the fact Theo Walcott was surprisingly taken to the 2006 World Cup by Sven Goran-Eriksson but then did not play a single minute with many feeling he wasted a squad place.
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