From Miami Roy Hodgsons glass was half-empty when he responded to widespread enthusiasm and excitement about Ross Barkley with public dissection of the England prodigys faults. Instead of outlining the Everton youngsters capacity to add unpredictable brilliance to Englands World Cup campaign in Brazil, manager Hodgson was deadpan as he listed Barkleys poor decision-making and occasional careless in possession. If it was a ploy designed to cool the Barkley debate, the end result was exactly the opposite. Frank Lampard, Englands captain against Ecuador, was only too happy to offer the praise that Hodgson was so reluctant to deliver. If the managers glass was half- empty, Lampards was overflowing. For the sake of balance, Hodgson was absolutely right with much of his analysis. These are flaws in Barkleys game but few 20-year-olds pitch up at a World Cup as the finished article. Hodgsons reaction to Barkley - claiming there was now an obsession with him only 24 hours after saying exactly the same about Wayne Rooney - provoked two schools of thought as the debate continued here in Miami. The first school suggested Hodgson was simply showing his years of experience by reducing the hype around Barkley and removing any possibility of him being painted as Englands latest saviour - while privately preparing to play him against Italy in Manaus on 14 June. The other is the sense that Hodgson may just feel Barkleys natural feel for the ball, running power and ability to produce something out of the ordinary may just be outweighed by the failings he highlighted against Ecuador, when he faces quality such as Andrea Pirlo and Italy. Is Hodgson actually bluffing? The truth may currently reside somewhere in between and Hodgson still has time, and another friendly against Honduras here on Saturday, before having to make up his mind. The great former manager Sir Bobby Robson used the same tactics with Paul Gascoigne before accepting he could no longer keep him on the sidelines at Italia 90. Hodgson expanded on his thoughts on Barkley as he said: I suppose youve got to understand that at my stage in life and with my experience, Im quite keen to have to dampen that down. So youll have to excuse me. I dont mind you building him up and I dont mind what you write. All Im saying is dont put it in my mouth because I want to keep a more even keel on it. Hodgson added: Hes got drive. Hes got energy. But he has also got a lot to learn as well, not least of all when he needs to release the ball, when he can turn with it, when he just needs to secure it because for every good turn there was a time when he lost the ball and put us on the back foot defensively. But hell be happy with his performance and I think he justified the fact Ive taken him with us on this adventure were embarking on because a player of his type, with confidence and who is prepared to take an awful lot of risks with the ball, means there are times in games when we will need him. Hes a talented boy. Im not criticising him. Im just making certain people dont get too carried away because we know its too easy to concentrate on the good things. You would need to watch the game for 90 minutes through my eyes and see the performance as a whole and not the cameo moments where he did brilliantly. It was the cold, clinical dissection of a trained eye but just occasionally there may be a time to celebrate a players talent rather than hurl a bucket of ice cold water over those wishing to do the celebrating.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 01:24:02 +0000
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