Lampard and Terry included in England B team

Bobby Zamora takes a break from pretending he's a footballer

Fabio Capello decided to tackle a couple of bottles of wine whilst naming his latest England B team squad to face Hungary next week. The inclusions of Ben Foster, whose career highlight is being Edwin van der Sar’s number two for several years, Paul Robinson, who subsequently retired from international football having got the call-up, Bobby Zamora, England’s answer to Nicklas Bendtner, and those two world-class Chelsea legends Frank Lampard and John Terry, has got England fans drooling at the prospect of watching our beloved national team battle it out against that footballing superpower, Hungary, 3 days before the Premier League season kicks off. Oh, what joy!

What Fabio Capello has done is everything the nation wanted him to do, but with the wrong players. We wanted him to drop the drivel and engage with the exciting young talents that England has at its disposal. Having had a good rummage around, Capello felt that Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Kieran Gibbs were the answer. He also felt that the performances of Gareth Barry, Wayne Rooney, Lamps and JT merited a recall. I couldn’t agree more Fab. Afterall, we did reach the 2ND ROUND of the World Cup! Moreover, the exclusion of Joe Cole has got me thinking; What was going through the mind of Fabio Capello when he chose this latest crop of ‘stars’?

Way back at the start of the Italian’s reign as England manager, he stated that he would only be picking players based on form and game-time. To my knowledge he hasn’t verbally abandoned that strategy, but you do wonder whether he’s had a change of heart and resorted to choosing proverbial benchwarmers and mediocre performers. Wes Brown? Phil Jagielka? Darren Bent? Carlton Cole? Oh, and not to mention there’s a recall for Theo Walcott, who has clearly impressed Fabio more whilst lying on a beach in a beautiful European/South American country, than he did when ‘trialling’ and convincing everybody else in the world that he should be on the plane to South Africa.

I go back to Joe Cole’s emission from the 22-man squad. The only plausible motive for Capello to drop Cole is due to a falling out. If that’s the case, why the bleeding heck are John Terry and Frank Lampard still given reason to call themselves ‘world-class’ players? Terry couldn’t resist spouting his mouth off in South Africa, an incident that everybody thought would lead to his dropping post-World Cup. Lampard himself thought it’d be a great idea to criticise the timing of the match against the side ranked 62nd in the world. I read the response to his comments in the Daily Telegraph recently, and one fan got it spot on; “You need all the practice you can get you overpaid prat”. It’s what we’re all thinking, apart from the man that matters unfortunately. Lampard and Terry shouldn’t be anywhere near the England team.

Jermain Defoe is another player who has bizarrely been left out in the cold. What on earth did he do wrong in SA? He scored the goal that saved us from ultimate humiliation at the hands of Slovenia. Well, the other side of the argument is he scored the goal that dropped us right into the s*** against Germany, and perhaps that’s why Capello showed him the door. Surely there’s no other reason for doing such a thing? Defoe is a proven goalscorer, and he was one of 3 players in SA that wore the shirt with pride and looked like making things happen. Joe Cole was another, and James Milner makes up the trio. With Defoe and Cole dropped, Milner is the only outfield player in that squad, arguably along with Ashley Cole, who deserves the call. Everyone knows Wayne Rooney was abysmal so why is he still there? Gerrard was below-par, Glen Johnson looked a complete shadow of the player that earned him so much praise in his early days as an England player, and Gareth Barry is another prime example of an overpaid wotsit who has more of a place on the scrapheap than he does in an England team. Looking back, it was embarrassing how people were praying Gareth Barry would be fit and ready for the opening game of the World Cup against U.S.A. If we can’t do without Gareth Barry, what hope have we got?

There aren’t many in this current squad that I can say, yes, that’s a good call Fabio. Joe Hart is a superb goalkeeper and he was always a stick-on. I still don’t have a clue why he didn’t get a shout this summer, but that’s another strange Capello decision. He’s definitely in line to nail down the no.1 jersey now that David James and Robert Green are out the picture. Ashley Cole has done no wrong, as much as I severely dislike the bloke. Michael Dawson is a decent player who will give his all. It’s also nice to see Ashley Young getting another chance, although I’m still not convinced that he’s of an international standard. Time will tell there. Finally, Arsenal’s exciting prodigy Jack Wilshere has an opportunity to put his name on the footballing map and display his talents to the world. He looks a wonderful prospect for England. Lets hope he’s not half Welsh, ain’t that right Giggsy?

Finally, I’d like to wish good luck to all those hearty souls who have bought an overpriced ticket to watch an overpriced team play on the once hallowed turf of Wembley. I admire you for your committment. I certainly wouldn’t waste my wages on watching England B struggle to overcome the Hungarians. I think… No, I know I’d get more for my money spending an afternoon on the touchline at Ludlow Town FC.