Gary Neville has revealed that Mark Noble was not selected to to go to Euro 2016 with England because Ross Barkley was already guaranteed place in Roy Hodgson’s squad.
Mark Noble was one of Slaven Bilic’s key men during a hugely successful final season at the Boleyn Ground, and his form had people tipping him for a late England call up for the tournament in France.
However, as is normally the case when it comes to West Ham players, Noble missed out for someone who was seemingly out of form for his club but still guaranteed consideration.
That player is Ross Barkley, who struggled under Roberto Martinez last season but still found himself in Hodgson’s Euro 2016 squad.
Gary Neville told talkSPORT: “We didn’t pick Mark Noble, even though he might have been in better form than Ross Barkley, because we invested in Ross Barkley.
“He was our man, he was the person who was the most talented player.”
Barkley went on to watch the entire tournament on the bench after failing to play a single minute of football during Euro 2016.
Neville’s comments prove that the England set up has been a joke for some time now. He is effectively admitting that English players are picked on reputation rather than form, which means it’s little wonder we did so badly in France.
You can’t take a squad littered with out of form players to a major tournament and then be surprised when you are humiliated. It’s a complete shambles.
Thankfully, Michail Antonio appears to have broken the mould so far after getting two call-ups to the England side since Hodgson left his post as Disgraceful England Manager.
Let’s hope it continues.
