da poker： I was always going to do this article, but I didn’t envisage myself writing it quite this early. But without further ado, here is a player by player breakdown of Roy Hodgson’s EURO 2016 England squad:
da betcris： Joe Hart – Error prone. He has bailed out by Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy against Wales, but had no such luck against Iceland. There will be calls for him to be dropped when the new manager takes charge, but you get the feeling he will still be No.1 come September.
Fraser Forster – Didn’t feature due to Hodgson’s undying loyalty to Hart.
Tom Heaton – If Forster had no chance, then we may as well have just taken two goalkeepers to France.
Kyle Walker – I thought he was excellent against Wales, at times playing as an auxiliary winger, but that was about as good as it got for the Tottenham full-back. He was, at least partly, at fault for the first Icelandic goal and that mistake wipes out any credit he built up previously.
Danny Rose – Another of the Tottenham players who really failed to impress in this tournament. He had the perfect opportunity to make the left-back slot his own, but you get the feeling that the door could be left wide open for Luke Shaw once back from injury.
Chris Smalling – He was hardly even tested in the first three games, but was an anonymous figure in the Iceland game. The fact he is young and there are so few centre-backs who could even lay a claim to taking his spot means he’ll start again come September.
Gary Cahill – Almost the same as Smalling, the only thing that differs is the fact he is 30. I don’t think he’s quite on the international scrapheap, but when we’re going from the likes of John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell to Cahill, you can see the drop off in quality.
Nathaniel Clyne – The Liverpool man only had one game to show what he was worth. He did a decent job, but Slovakia didn’t want to attack that night. He could be given the chance to show his wares in the first World Cup qualifier.
Ryan Betrand – He also had one game to show what he was all about and was poor. Bertrand almost ran the risk of getting a red card due to flailing arms. There are many options at left-back and you get the feeling that his place in the squad is in danger.
John Stones – On the periphery, but he surely has to be starting for England alongside Smalling going forward. England need to build a centre-back partnership that can be a platform for years to come, and, like it or not, it will involve Stones.
Eric Dier – Arguably one of the only few players to come out the tournament with any credit in the bank – certainly the only Tottenham one. His free kick against Russia was one of the very few highlights for England.
Dele Alli – Alli has so much promise, but offered so little. You can’t blame it on fatigue as he had a month off at the end of the season through suspension. He, like Dier, will be in the England team for years to come and we will certainly see more of his talents on the world stage.
Adam Lallana – Usually a solid six out of 10 player and hauled off after 65 minutes, but I thought he was one of if not the best in the England squad. That may be damning him with faint praise but he was hardworking and industrious and you wonder why he can’t do that more for Liverpool.
Raheem Sterling – Where to start. Again blind loyalty by Hodgson has been his undoing here. The Manchester City winger’s confidence is shot to pieces. He has no end product and you get the feeling that Pep Guardiola is going to have to put an arm round him.
Wayne Rooney – How do you solve a problem like Wayne? Put him in midfield and create another one. The captain was shoehorned into midfield and the experiment didn’t work. More importantly where was the leadership when it was required against Iceland?
Jack Wilshire – Unfit and how he played not once but twice for England in this tournament is absolutely unfathomable. He should be nowhere near an England squad until he has a long run of games under his belt.
Jordan Henderson – Once again he failed to impress in an England squad. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him have a decent game with the Three Lions on his chest. If you can remember then please let me know.
Ross Barkley – Didn’t even get a minute, so what was the point of taking him when we had so many similar players to the Everton midfielder? How often was a game crying out for the width and pace of Andros Townsend? The answer is too often.
James Milner – Came on as one of the ill-fated substitutes in the draw against Russia. Mr Utility for England could now be looking for another job as you would imagine his time in the England fold is coming to an end.
Harry Kane – Once again you can file under Tottenham disappointments. The poor bloke looked knackered, but that doesn’t excuse his poor set piece taking. Then again you do have to ask why he was on set pieces in the first place.
Jamie Vardy – Had to play second fiddle to Kane for the majority of the time but still managed to do what Kane didn’t… score. The fact that the opposition sat so deep didn’t allow Vardy to utilise his pace over the top.
Daniel Sturridge – The hero against Wale,s but absolutely useless against Slovakia and Iceland. Why take one touch when you can take four? Everything he did was telegraphed as he looked devoid of ideas, but then again so did the whole team.
Marcus Rashford – Two fleeting substitute appearances when a goal was needed but after that three minute cameo against Iceland, when he did more than the rest of the side put together, you had to wonder why he wasn’t chucked on earlier. Hopefully we’ll see a lot more of him in the years to come.
Roy Hodgson – A tactical dinosaur that needs to be made extinct.
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