Kevin Davies has finally made an England squad. An honour he has deserved for a number of years now after spear-heading Boltons attacking line for numerous seasons. He is a typically English striker too; a bruiser rather than a technical genius but still a different sort of striker to those England currently po ses.He may have deserved this call-up but surely now is not the time. Davies is 33 and his career will soon be coming to an end. Its unlikely that hell be anywhere near the England squad in 2012, the next time a major championship is on the horizon, and its almost guaranteed that he will be
Frank Mason III Jersey nearer the Match of the Day studio rather than the Reebok Stadium pitch in 2014; the year of the next World Cup.England have tried this short-term strategy for too long now and Capellos squad looks alarmingly familiar to the tried and tested team that has failed on
Bryn Forbes Jersey numerous occasions before. Yes, Beckham isnt coming back but Beckham, as a player, wasnt at this World Cup either and The Three Lions failed miserably there. For too long we have looked towards this golden-generation that havent even turned out to be a bronze generation; lets face it third place would have been a national achievement after some of the more recent championship performances.For some reason this current England team cannot perform on the big stage. They have had too many opportunities and we must now look at the long-term ambition of winning a World Cup. This means that English youngsters must have a chance on the International stage. For all Kevin Davies offers there is
Brian Winters Jersey now a younger version of him in Andy Carroll who has been omitted from the squad. Yes, hes inexperienced and Davies track record is far greater but there is only one way in which the tag of inexperienced can disappear and that is by him playing matches on an International level. Unsurprisingly there doesnt seem to be a wealth of young English talent breaking through the ranks at Premier League level but Carroll has impre sed this season and will be, almost certainly, in Capellos squad for the World Cup in 2014; he has an outside chance of making the European Championships in 2012.We have an injury crisis in the attacking positions at the moment with Defoe, Zamora and Agbonlahor
Oscar Robertson Jersey all out which if effectively the reason why Davies was picked. The question is why is striker, who is clearly a last resort for Capello, picked ahead of a player who could lead the England attacking line for a considerable time in the future? Carroll needs experience at this level, his selection would not be at the expense of a big-name striker and he has been in good form this season for Newcastle. We cannot match the talent of the Spanish, Brazilians, Argentineans or the Germans in the short-term future. As a nation we need to build for the future we simply are not good enough to compete in the present.The full England squad to play Montenegro:Goalkeepers: Ben Foster (Birmingham City), Robert Green (West Ham United), Joe Hart (Manchester City)Defenders: Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Joleon Lescott (Manchester City), John Terry (Chelsea), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa)Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Joe Cole (Liverpool), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham Hotspur), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)Strikers: Darren Bent (Sunderland), Peter Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur), Kevin
Bob Lanier Jersey Davies (Bolton Wanderers), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
