Once again on Thursday, Roy Hodgson didn’t include our home grown lad Mark Noble in his England squad, despite his superb club form and the fact that it is a chance to look at some players that are untried.
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A midweek friendly in Sweden may not be ideal timing for club managers, but it was a chance for Hodgson to leave out a few ‘certainty picks’ (Gerrard, Rooney, Hart etc) and give the likes of Mark Noble a go.
The former Liverpool boss does however select Jonjo Shelvey, Raheem Sterling, Leon Osman and Aaron Lennon purely on current form, but the rest, I’m not so sure.
Jack Wilshere has just returned from his year long absence and so Arsene Wenger will clearly be delighted he has to go to Sweden and selecting Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge as two of the three strikers is just laughable.
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Granted Andy Carroll has not looked like scoring, but his game offers so much more than that. Hodgson seems to be wanting to please the public by playing attractive football but a plan B is non-existent with that squad.
The thing that gets to me is the players that are seemingly selected purely because of the club they play for. Prime examples of that are Ashley Young, Glen Johnson, Kyle Walker and Tom Cleverley. If you are telling me that these players have been on form this season and have been amongst the top 20 English players in the Premier League then you may as well stop reading this now.
Noble has been nothing short of immense. Pretty much since Scott Parker left the club 14 months ago, Noble has played like a captain. In partnership with the impressive Mohamed Diame and attacking Kevin Nolan, West Ham surely have one of the best midfields that they have had for at least 10 years.
Hodgson has attended at least three West Ham games so far this season and I can’t remember Noble having a bad game this season. His passion is unbelievably evident, his passing is slick, set pieces deadly and no player will work harder for a cause than him, so why is he being overlooked?
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Is it because he plays for an ‘unattractive club side’?
Is it because he is now 25?
Has Hodgson just missed him?
We have to hope he doesn’t get disheartened by once again missing out.
Southampton’s playmaker Adam Lallana has come in for some criticism from Saints fans in recent weeks for his performances, yet he was in the England squad just a few weeks ago proving Hodgson doesn’t mind throwing the odd player in, just not Noble.
A friendly should be about rotation, finding out new things about your squad, not playing the same XI who are going to go out and put in the same mediocre, defensive performance and probably steal a draw against a half decent Sweden side.
I bet Scott Parker walks back into the squad when he is fit….
COYI
Once again it’s another Manager going on names. The press helped get Parker in the team but doubt they will do the same for Mark. He was under 21 Captain and certainly on his current form deserves to be played. He needs to get mentioned more so lets all try. Join phone in’s ie talk sport etc, Give it a go fans
You are aving a giraffe, Noble has been good by west ham standards, but that is a long way short of England standard, how you could even mention he’s name in the same sentence as cleverly, young, kyle walker and wilshere is laughable. West Ham have lost nearly every midfield battle this season as is evident by the possession stats, he’s passing is often miserable to say the least, half he’s corners dont clear the first man. Take off your claret tinted glasses mate, he’s an average player at best… England quality, that’s the funniest thing i’ve heard in a long time….
Deno, if you think that perhaps you could explain glen johnson’s inclusion. o.k going forward but a terrible defender who gets nearly always gets caught out of position.
“West Ham have lost nearly every midfield battle this season.” Possibly the most ridiculous statement I’ve ever read.
he is not picked because he is not good enough for international football.west ham lost every midfield battle you must be joking what do you watch
No one is a bigger fan of the Irons than I am but this is rubbish . The reason we score so few goals is that we make so few chances . Noble is very loyal and I thank him for that but he is slow ,can’t tackle , has not got a defence splitting pass ( or any other for that matter ) and poor positional awareness.
Any one of the above would be a good reason not to pick him . Hope he gets a move to a Championship club during the summer with a nice pay off . We need much better if we are to progress .