Roy Hodgson’s been at it again.
We all expected him to ignore Aaron Cresswell and Mark Noble when he selected his squad late last week, but since then he has all but confirmed that there either he or the FA have a serious issue with West Ham.
Danny Rose was called up to replace the injured Luke Shaw (who hadn’t even justified his call up anyway), and then today it was announced Ryan Mason was drafted in to replace the crocked Adam Lallana.
Now, I’m not for one minute saying Mark Noble should’ve been in the England squad in the first place. He’s justified his inclusion on so many occasions in the past and has consistently been overlooked, but there’s something about him not being considered as a back up, while Ryan Mason has, that’s quite insulting.
Ryan Mason has got his call up seemingly because he’s playing for a team that has an extremely outside chance of finishing in the top four, albeit if we all know they won’t. The same goes foe Danny Rose who, quite frankly, hasn’t been fit to lace Aaron Cresswell’s boots all season.
Want the proof? See the player comparisons and see for yourself. Cresswell has been one of the best left-backs in the Premier League this season, while Noble has almost a decade worth of Premier League experience. Instead, two pretty average Spurs players have been preferred to them. The ultimate insult.
At least we’ve got no worries about them getting injured on international duty.
Still, Mark Noble should go and play for Ireland. At least he’ll be recognised and valued there…
Mark Noble v Ryan Mason
Aaron Cresswell v Danny Rose
And former Hammer Matty Etherington feels exactly the same way about England, even if he does’t directly mention West Ham. I think we can guess who he’s referring to…
Like Ryan Mason as a player, good to see him breakthrough at Spurs this year. My issue is and always has been, if he played.. 1/2
— Matthew Etherington (@mattyethers) March 23, 2015
for a so called 'lesser club', would he get a call up for #ENG?? Plenty of similar players who have years of experience in #BPL. No call up.
— Matthew Etherington (@mattyethers) March 23, 2015
It frustrates me so much. It's always been this way and until it changes we will never come close to winning a major tournament. #England
— Matthew Etherington (@mattyethers) March 23, 2015