England squad...

[Whore Jackie]

Phil Neville and Tracey Neville IN.
Neville Neville STANDBY.

[winchester_royal]

Meh, could have been worse.

Pleased Ox, Carroll, and Welbeck are in. at Downing, Defoe and Milner...but willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

#bringonxaviandiniesta

[cmonurz]

Any enlightenment as to why Rio was not included?

[LWJ]

Any enlightenment as to why Rio was not included?

Last night, twitter was saying injured, though I expect because of JT

[Whore Jackie]

Fcuk sake, choice of three strikers for the first two games. Madness.

[TBM]

tbh who else could he have picked from what is available.

Downing is the only left footed winger we have
Rio can't handle the amount of games
We have Walcott for pace, so no need for Lennon
We will only play 1 up front anyway, so no need for more than 3½ strikers

[JimmytheJim]

Downing in.

Where have you heard this?

It's been released..

It hadn't then.

But thanks anyway.

[Pepe the Horseman]

tbh who else could he have picked from what is available.

Downing is the only left footed winger we have
Rio can't handle the amount of games
We have Walcott for pace, so no need for Lennon
We will only play 1 up front anyway, so no need for more than 3½ strikers

Zakly. Hodgson will get a load of stick, but truth is, we just don't have enough quality players to pick from. Other than Richards and Sturridge, can't think of anyone else who should have been included.

[JimmytheJim]

Bring on the Olympics...

[Hoop Blah]

Interesting that he's gone with 7 defenders, 9 midfielders and 4 recognised forwards. That indicates that we'll be playing with 5 in midfield and probably 1 up front (obviously a few of those midfielders can play upfront as well though).

I'm amazed that Henderson is on the standby list though. I know we're a bit short of midfielders but I'm not sure how he gets the nod in front of a few others.

[Pepe the Horseman]

When's the Olympics squad announced?

[Whore Jackie]

Fully accept that he'll start (at least the first two games) with 1 up front and 1 behind, but I would always take 5 strikers.

[cmonurz]

Fully accept that he'll start (at least the first two games) with 1 up front and 1 behind, but I would always take 5 strikers.

We should, really, only need 4 strikers for a maximum of 6 games. What are the rules on calling-up standbys?

[Ginger Ninjas]

Henderson > Carrick is just about the most bizarre decision i've seen in relation to an England squad, espeically based on their respective seasons...

Downing (not A Johnson), Johnson (not Richards), Carroll (not Crouch/Holt), Henderson (not Carrick) - is Hodgson trying to placate Liverpool fans/players??

[who are ya?]

Glen Johnson should do the decent thing and give up his place for Richards

[No Fixed Abode]

Unbelievable Downing is in!

Tony Cottee "I predicted 21 out of the 23" "I can't believe Downing has been picked if I'm honest".

[Hoop Blah]

tbh who else could he have picked from what is available.

Downing is the only left footed winger we have
Rio can't handle the amount of games
We have Walcott for pace, so no need for Lennon
We will only play 1 up front anyway, so no need for more than 3½ strikers

Agreed. I think it came down to a few A vs B decisions for him. I imagine that it was Jones v Richards, Johnson v Downing and Lennon v Walcott v Oxlade-Chamberlain.

I quite like the make up of the squad, even if I might've gone the other way on a few of the decisions.

[muddyfeet]

Henderson > Carrick is just about the most bizarre decision i've seen in relation to an England squad, espeically based on their respective seasons...

Downing (not A Johnson), Johnson (not Richards), Carroll (not Crouch/Holt), Henderson (not Carrick) - is Hodgson trying to placate Liverpool fans/players??

def would have liked to see Johnson in there

and would have been nice to see Holt given a chance but that's prob wishful thinking!

[LWJ]

Time check. It's 13:21

[southbank1871]

Err both Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain could play as a second striker if necessary.