By Tony Alvarez
Yesterday new England manager Roy Hodgson announced his first England squad, which is an important one as its also the squad that will represent England in this Summers European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine.
Shortly after his squad was announced at 1pm yesterday his decisions were met with much criticism from the general public as well as some of his decisions being questioned by Football pundits.


The squad which Hodgson has named is as follows:
Goalkeepers:
Rob Green, Joe Hart and debutant John Ruddy.
Defenders:
Leighton Baines, Ashley Cole, John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Phil Jones, Glen Johnson, Gary Cahill,
Midfielders:
Frank Lampard, Theo Walcott, Gareth Barry, Stewart Downing, Hodgson’s captain Steven Gerrard, Ashley Young, Scott Parker, Ashley Young and another debutant Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Strikers:
Andy Carroll, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Jermain Defoe.
There are various different things which people have not agreed with and on social networking site Twitter one of the most talked about subjects just minutes after the squad announcement was “Hodgson Out.”
One issue which was leaked the day before the announcement was that Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand would not be including in the squad. It is thought in numerous circles that this is due to personal issues he may have with John Terry due to Terry’s alleged racism against Rio’s brother Anton.
It was long thought that only one of Ferdinand or Terry could be included in the squad and this is the case however Hodgson claims it is purely down to footballing reasons.
Another issue that people have been surprised at/ disagreed with is the non inclusion of Manchester City defender Micah Richards especially with the injury to Kyle Walker who missed out through injury.
Many would argue Richards has been the best right back in the League anyway. The squad only contains one out and out right back in Glen Johnson (who hasn’t had the best season.) Aside from him the only other person who could be considered a right back is Phil Jones who if truth be told would prefer to play at centre back.
Don’t get me wrong I really rate Phil Jones and I think he’s a top talent but Richards would definitely be in my squad and to be honest it would be as first choice right back.
Another selection that people are quick to question, is the omission of Daniel Sturridge to be honest that’s not a view I share. I don’t rate Sturridge to highly and he is yet to learn when to release the ball, although Defoe has struggled for first team Football I think he is a correct selection over Sturridge.
An issue that people have taken particular grievance with is the non inclusion of the second top English striker in the Premier League, Grant Holt. It’s true that he is not an England class striker but England were always going to take one big target man and Carroll has been given that slot however Holt has scored much more and he has had a much more impressive season. I think if the squad was selected on merit Holt would of been included. Even if Holt wasn’t included because his lack of mobility I personally feel Crouch is worthy of his place over Carroll. He may be awkward but he produces the goods regularly.
The main reason that the people I have spoke to disagree with the squad is the inclusion of Stewart Downing who gets picked time and time again no matter how poor he performs. I would agree that he is practically our only left footed winger but I would play any number of right footed wingers on the left rather than play Downing. 0 Premier League goals 0 Premier League assists and goes to the Euro’s I find that ridiculous.
To be honest I think people are being harsh on Hodgson he has got the squad in the majority right. Had Redknapp who to be honest was the peoples choice for the job, picked this exact same squad people would focus on the inclusion of youth in players like Oxlade-Chamberlain rather than the possible negatives.
I would love to see England do well and I think Hodgson has picked a squad capable of doing well I would hope everyone would get behind him and give England the best possible chance this Summer.
What are your thoughts? Has Hodgson got the squad correct? What changes would you make? Do you feel the country are already on Hodgson’s back?

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