Martin Kelly’s call up to the England squad for the European Championships has been the catalyst for an explosion of debate about the exclusion of Rio Ferdinand.
Should Ferdinand have been picked?
When Roy Hodgson didn’t select him for the England squad citing ‘football reasons’, everyone was a bit shocked. As time has gone by and Hodgson’s first choice England team has been struck down by injury, the calls for elaboration on these reasons have increased. Ferdinand’s agent, Jamie Moralee, has gone on record saying that for the FA and Hodgson to treat him this way is ‘disrespectful’.
When Martin Kelly got the call, Rio tweeted simply “What reasons?????!!!”, something a large part of the population would have agreed with.
What reasons?????!!!
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) June 3, 2012
It is not possible, however, to compare Kelly to Ferdinand. Ferdinand was playing professional football when Kelly was a youngster.
Ferdinand has 81 England caps, over 630 club games, and is on the downward slope to the end of his career. Kelly has 1 cap and just over 50 club games, although he featured regularly in England’s U20s and U21s line-ups, scoring a few goals for the latter.
He’s a good solid player for the future, one who will surely be appearing regularly in England squad’s throughout his career. In kinder circumstances his addition would have been welcomed, if it weren’t in the shadow of the Ferdinand issue.
It now comes down to Hodgson to explain these ‘footballing reasons’ and give a specific excuse for missing out on Ferdinand. Will it be because of the issue with John Terry? As we all know he’s on a racism charge for abuse towards Ferdinand’s brother – a charge which he has denied.
To cite this reason though, would make the elder Ferdinand a victim of his brother’s circumstances. Terry is still innocent until proven guilty and it would be very disturbing to think that Hodgson didn’t pick Rio because of something which isn’t yet proven to have happened.
Although the fact is, it would be an issue. Rio will stand by his brother, naturally, and there’s no suggesting that Terry and he would do nothing but bicker around football equipment, which could bring the whole tournament crashing down around Hodgson’s head.
The simplest answer Hodgson could give, and one in which he would be correct in giving, would be to say that nobody is guaranteed a place in the England squad. Hodgson may have just thought Ferdinand wouldn’t fit in with the kind of football he wanted to play. Or maybe he’s thinking ahead. Rio may not last another World Cup and a couple of Euros. Maybe this is the foundation for a squad for the future.
Maybe the England team needs shaking up, like the rugby union team did. There’s an element of complacency around certain players which, if removed, could inject some much needed humility before a tournament where, frankly, England expects nothing.
Image Rights: TashaNR7, cap_gundamgirl
