Teams are out for the Euro 2016 tournament and with sides such as England, Italy and Germany announcing their preliminary squads, there have been a few surprise announcements made by the managers.
England certainly did pull off a few surprises by putting Jack Wilshere’s name in the probable list. The Arsenal midfielder has played just 141 minutes this season and naming the English star does not really make a lot of sense.
Roy Hodgson had earlier stated that he would be looking to not only bring players who are in form but those who are fit as well. Not taking Theo Walcott to the Euros does make sense to an extent but tagging along Wilshere when he has barely played for his club this season reeks of desperation.
It isn’t that England do not have options in midfield, they could have picked out Mark Noble who had a great season for West Ham but was inexplicably not chosen by Roy Hodgson. For all the good talk that the English manager has done recently this decision does not make one iota of sense.
Wilshere might be a good player on his day but he has barely figured for Arsenal this season. He still is only 24-years old but that should not be the reason for him travelling for the Euros. Roy Hodgson probably won’t even play him in the starting XI or even in the games at the Euros.
Wilshere is still looking to get back to full match fitness after an injury plagued season for the Gunners. The midfield already has players such as Dele Alli, Ross Barkley, Eric Dier, James Milner and Danny Drinkwater, who have all had exceptional seasons for their respective club sides.
The Arsenal midfielder should be allowed to rest during the summer and come back stronger next season as Arsenal prepare for a proper title charge. Taking him to this tournament would only add more miles to his body without any proper end product.
He does not have the stats to support the decision or even the playing time for it. Mark Noble should feel gutted with this decision and it shows just how much the name of a player or club affects the decision of the English manager. England should have gone with the best players for the Euros and not those who have a big tag attached to their back.
Andros Townsend and even Jordan Henderson and Fabian Delph’s names in the side should raise more questions about the selection process. England have a lot of players who are going to France who don’t deserve to and this will end with England getting knocked out pretty soon from the competition.
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