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By TERRY VENABLES
Last Updated: 17th May 2012
JUST two weeks into his tenure as England manager, Roy Hodgson has already shown he is not afraid to make big calls.
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And they do not come much bigger than leaving out Rio Ferdinand from the squad for Euro 2012.
News of the Manchester United star’s omission may have leaked out the night before but I am still surprised he is not included.
The squad looks a bit naked without him.
Hodgson insists his decision not to name Ferdinand alongside John Terry was made purely on footballing grounds and had nothing to do with the fact JT is due to stand trial in July on a charge of racially abusing Rio’s younger brother Anton.
That was good to hear.
Regardless of whether I agree with Hodgson’s decision or not, I am pleased he made it in the name of the game and not politics.
A manager must be able to select the players he wants to, even if sometimes those choices are unpopular with some members of the footballing establishment and the public.
If Hodgson feels Ferdinand’s inclusion was not right on a footballing basis that is, of course, his prerogative.
He is paid to make those calls and must be allowed to make them free of outside influence or duress.
But football is all about opinions and I probably would have reserved the right to have named both Ferdinand and Terry in my group.
I know this would have raised questions about the impact their inclusion would have had on the rest of the squad.
But, by all accounts, both players have stated they would be willing to play with the other.
And when you are heading into a major tournament with the England side, football is the only concern.
Without wishing to sound callous, there is no time to consider private feelings.
You are professional people, you are going on an important job and you need the best men for it.
Sentiment or politics do not come into it.
Now Ferdinand may not have had his best season for Manchester United and there are question marks over his fitness.
But he is still a class act with the experience and ability to do a job for his country at a major tournament.
And his inclusion would have evened out an imbalanced squad that I feel is too heavy in the middle.
Hodgson, who it should be remembered has been thrust into the job at the 11th hour, has named NINE midfielders — while Phil Jones, who has also played in midfield, is listed among the defenders, of which there are just seven.
Jones could also be forced to double up as Glen Johnson is the only recognised right-back in the group. That’s despite the fact many United fans will question his ability to play that role.
I’m delighted to see the old guard of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry, along with Scott Parker, retained in midfield.
But the overloaded section includes FOUR wingers in Stewart Downing, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
That could prove significant if we intend to go 4-3-3, but I wonder if four widemen is a bit excessive, especially as only four strikers have been named. And one of them, Wayne Rooney, is suspended for the first two matches of the tournament.
Now I know the likes of Walcott, Young or Oxlade-Chamberlain could push forward, as could new captain Gerrard.
But in reality we are left with one or two from just Jermain Defoe, Danny Welbeck and Andy Carroll as our attacking threat in our opening games against France and Sweden.
We must pray one of them does not get injured or sent off.
Oxlade-Chamberlain’s call-up has the potential to be inspired and I can see the logic in Carroll’s inclusion. To say he is ‘in-form’ is stretching it but he has finished the season strongly.
As a manager, sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling.
Hodgson has not had much time to assemble his squad but we must take comfort from the fact he has always been a great student of the game.
He would have known about the players he has picked long before the FA came calling.
He has made some big calls but he is the one who has rolled the dice and now we must wait to see where they land
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