England v Denmark At the last World Cup, Englands ageing golden generation were left to look leaden footed by Germanys emerging young team. Roy Hodgson has resolved that wont happen again but has to balance youthful exuberance with big- game experience. That will leave him with some stark choices when it comes down to whittling his squad to 23. When pushed, he was forced to concede that his selection against Denmark made it appear he is determined to give youth its head and he was rewarded with encouraging performances from Luke Shaw and Raheem Sterling. The contrasting fortunes of, say, Andros Townsend and Adam Lallana since qualification also highlights how quickly things can change. Form matters to Hodgson more than some of his predecessors. Yet he continues to be careful to insist that the likes of Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard remain model professionals and very much in his thoughts. Some tough choices await, but many England fans would give Hodgson more latitude if they saw a youthful, fearless, flowing complexion to the team that lines up against Italy in Manaus on 14 June. Owen Gibson
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 17:44:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015