http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19527517 Liverpool's 17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling has been called into the England squad for Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine. Proves once again,Big club players get the call first. What chance have Pilks,Bennett,Howson got??
5 appearances! 5 and he gets the nod! For what? He won't play and won't come on. Is Pilks able to play for England. He has a Republic U21 cap? How many of the England non defenders are 1st choice for their club?
I'm quite happy that they're not called up, players get injured even just training! At least ours won't! You have to feel for them though, it must hurt to get overlooked in favour of a 17 year old nobody!
My point exactly Dave. They probably will not play,but what a boost to your ego for just getting a call up. It seems that Hodgson is no more aware of Norwich than his foreign predecessors were (JR excluded) Makes me F***ing angry
woops phone malfunction...anyway as I was saying, Pilks not good enough for england. Premier league? Yes but England... No chance. Im not saying Sterling should be in there though. Iv not seen much of him but end of the day he is 17 and playing first team at liverpool so cant be too bad a player. Iv heard he is destined for big things for last couple of years from my liverpool fan mates. Bennett doesnt seem to play enough to show what he can do. Howson I think could genuinely push for a place in the England squad though.
To be honest, I don't think Ruddy getting a call-up shows much awareness of Norwich. Last season he was 1 of only 2 English 'keepers in the PL who hadn't retired themselves from international football, and were playing regularly. And he still gets dropped behind League 2 Butland in the pecking order, who I still don't understand the choice of. Didn't Steer have a blinder against a Hodgson managed WBA last season? And Rudd save an Odemwingie penalty last year? By way of wikipedia stats, Butland has still only made 4 appearances for a championship side, and most of his young career has been spent in League 2.
I just think this is a joke shouldnt these players have to earn their caps? I think it undermines everything that playing for England should be about. Also, dependant on which way you look at it its either a positive that our players arent getting a call up as it will prevent injuries but negative if they think they will have to be in with a chance of playing for England.
A meaningless friendly where both teams are trying out new players is very different from a WC qualifier, also in that game Ruddy looked far more confident and played better (to the point that some paper called him MOTM). Trying Butland out in a friendly is fine but i bet he's not second choice were Hart to get injured.
adam banana has been called up i see as well.. could Ryan Bennett get a start tonight for the U21s vs norway as Craig Dawson is suspended?
There's a reason why sterling has been called up, and dont be suprised to see him play! It something to do with him being eligible for england and Jamaica and they want to get him capped. Im more angry at the fact Livermore has been called up ahead of Johnson or howson!
Does playing for Liverpool mean you are a good player and get an international call up? I'm not naive to think all City players should be internationals. But I am concerned that a manager can pick a player for WC qualifier when he has only played 5 league games.
Relax, this is a sensible move, the lad is clearly a talent. He gets 1 cap for England coming on in the 89th minute and he is no longer eligible for Jamaica at international level. If it was anything but, I would be outraged!
Thing is, because Raheem Sterling has a call up it just puts heaps of pressure on him because he is the next English Golden boy. Not fair on a 17 year old, and I think it'll hinder his development. I think Pilks is good enough for England, in my opinion he is better than Downing. He has a final ball which many English wingers do not have.
As much as I love our players, we have so far been spanked by Fulham, failed to beat QPR at home and been unlucky not to win away at Spurs. Now with the exception of the last match, its hardly England call up form. As iv said I think Howson should get a shot, Johnson will only ever get a chance if he continues his form (rather than dip like last season), Pilks is better than Downing but neither should be in the England squad, Sterling was picked for the reasons above (to get capped) which is a good move. Unfortunately I cant see any of our players getting a chance for England unless we repeat last seasons form.
Playing devils advocate here, whilst I agree about the previous posts, our achilles heel has always been a lack of undrestanding between players on the pitch. Surely, it's better to have the qualifiers, so teh squad can get used to playing with each other?
while agreeing with the above posters about being overlooked, at my count we have 8 players away on international duty at this time. have we ever had a greater international representation? i would venture that we have not.
Im not saying ur wrong eadie but who are the 8? Iv got : Snoddy, r.martin (injured), jackson, ruddy, morison...
