So Rio Ferdinand who's been bleating on for the last two years about being overlooked for England, and has now been selected for the squad, has decided that he doesn't want to play! He's citing a special medical condition that needs special treatment that ONLY Man Utd can supply and deal with. That's a fair smack in the mouth for the England set up and medical team, are they incapable of reading notes, listening to advice and dealing with Rio's "special needs" in a professional way? I'm glad he's not playing as I think he's a vastly overrated ball watcher. I see this as Rio and Fergie throwing their toys about and getting their own back on England for the last two years, it's so typical of Man Utd. This of course is my own opinion, I'm interested in your's!
Not a fan of Rio, undoubtedly a great player but personally think he's a bit of a arse and I remember seeing him tweet something about Roy (refererring to him as "Woy") when he was first dropped and I thought it made Rio look like the petulant little **** that he really is. He's never been a great role model with his various incidents throughout his career and although he has been playing well he is on his last legs and we should be looking to the future and Roy rightly has been doing this, I was disappointed to see him bactrack slightly and call up Rio again but I think Rio has shown his true colours and written himself out of all contention now which is what he should have been anyway.
Agree with all that, should never play for England again, I'd rather have Terry in defense, a far better defender... (and yes, I know that he's retired from International football)
England need to look forward not back. Picking Ferdinand would have sent out a demoralising message to younger players. If we can look past his poor back header last Saturday Turner for England anyone?
Rather a shame that Terry was rather hounded out of his position by the media and his treatment by the FA. Whatever you say about the person, one of the best defenders of his generation.
Terry would be a much better shout, especially with all the rest he's been given recently. But, that would still be papering over the cracks, what we really need is a brave manager who is ready to start a proper re-build, rather than just letting all the big name big club players call the shots. Sadly, Roy has proven that he is very much the same as what we have had for a number of years now. Never have I been so disinterested in the National team, & that saddens me somewhat.
what a big girls blouse, basically i'm sure Rio is loving all the media attention, he's usually all over twitter
I thought he was withdrawn due to England not being able to facilitate his training regime due to him having a dodgy back? Or have I missed something? He could be about to win another Premier League title and is on very good form, the last thing you'd want is an injury due to the FA (who treated him badly) not being able to match you're specific training regime. Personally I don't get all the hype about it, I think he is probably our best defender available and the "footballing reasons" that were the reason for his omission were frankly bollocks.
I unfortunately have to disagree wholeheartedly with this Yellow, if you were to chose between Rio and Terry then John Terry wins on every count. I agree with Roy in dismantling this aging duo and Rio spent a large spell of the past few years on the treatment table so it was an obvious choice to 'faze him out' and introduce a replacement alongside an experienced player. The way Rio has reacted to his omission could hardly be said to have been dignified and he may well have genuine reason to not be included this time out but I don't believe he should have been added anyway, he isn't the answer to our problems going forward and quite frankly this 'golden generation' nonsense has got us nowhere so now it's worth giving the youngsters a shot and the chance to prove themselves.
Terry isn't available to us, I agree I would rather have Terry, but as said above he is retired. I think Caulker playing along someone like Ferdinand against San Marino would have been a good thing, we need to balance the old and new. Golden generation was a tabloid title given to hype up average players, I completely agree with that but I think Ferdinand is a top defender. Saying all that though the best defender to come out of England in that "Golden Generation" era was Ledley King who had horrendous luck with injury.
Sorry YL but I think you are using the wrong tense! Ferdinand WAS a good defender but is now a liability, I'd rather see Leon Barnett than Rio!
I disagree, played very well just this weekend against Reading. Also been fairly consistent all year, plus he can keep the ball on the deck rather than hammer it up the pitch.
What I don't understand with the whole Ferdinand situation is why Roy Hodgson is constantly pestered into giving an explanation as to why he won't pick him. Anyone gets dropped and its a non event, but for some reason, because it's Ferdinand, there has to be a valid reason. Personally I think he should never play for England again after this. He's pulled out of the squad to make a point and I wouldn't mind betting if Hodgson quit today and the caretaker manager gave him a call his injury would miraculously vanish.
I think Ferdinand has been one of the very few genuinely talented players this country has produced over the last 20 years. He's got lovely control, can run with the ball out of defence and can play a pass comfortably. He's the best footballer to play centre back for England that I've ever seen by some distance. He's a far better footballer than the one dimensional John Terry. He's still light years ahead of the likes of Lescott, Jagielka, Cahill and whoever else plays there (I don't think I could even tell you who the regular centre backs are). Footballers like Ferdinand are a rarity for this country to produce and I don't see why Gerrard can have his own training regime and he can't.
