ROY HODGSON has insisted John Terry will not prove a divisive influence in the England dressingroom at Euro 2012 after selecting the Chelsea captain in his 23-man party for the tournament, and stressed Rio Ferdinand had been omitted purely for “footballing reasons”.
Terry, who denies wrongdoing, is due in court on July 9th charged with racially abusing Ferdinand’s younger brother, Anton, during Chelsea’s defeat at Queens Park Rangers last October and there had been fears the furore surrounding that issue might fracture the squad. Ferdinand is understood to be angered by his omission and is convinced he has been sacrificed in the belief he could not be picked alongside Terry at the risk of splits developing.
Hodgson preferred to point to the fact Ferdinand has not featured regularly for his country since before the 2010 World Cup – due to injury – and stressed that although he is acutely aware of the impending court case, it had not influenced his decision.
The manager has picked Andy Carroll as well as the uncapped Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and John Ruddy, and all but the Chelsea contingent and Wayne Rooney, who is banned for the first two games, will convene for a training camp in Manchester next Wednesday.
The team will be captained by Steven Gerrard, a player who has been restricted by injury to only 33 minutes for his country since November 2010, but it was the inclusion of Terry, the former skipper, that inevitably drew the focus. Asked whether the Chelsea player’s selection risked being divisive, Hodgson said: “No, I didn’t have any reason to think that. I chose John Terry, and excluded Rio Ferdinand for purely footballing reasons. Other issues were not significant in my thinking.
“Everyone knows a situation has arisen, but I have tried to put it as far from my mind as possible. If I honestly believed the two of them were right to take, or that neither were right, I’d have done that. I’ve picked a squad in good faith who will go to this tournament to do a job for England. No one tried to convince me it would be better with or without any player, so I’ll stand by my decision and accept any criticism that comes my way.”
Ferdinand tweeted last night: “Absolutely loved playing for england . . . to say I’m gutted is an understatement of the highest order . . .”
The inclusion of Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has made only six league starts for Arsenal since last summer’s €15 million move from Southampton, represented the most eye-catching selection, while Carroll benefited from his performances for Liverpool over the final few weeks of an otherwise disappointing season.
Norwich City’s Ruddy, who is due to get married on June 2nd when England play Belgium at Wembley and will be excused from that friendly, is third-choice goalkeeper.
Hodgson will continue to monitor Scott Parker’s recovery from an Achilles problem. “I may still have a call to make on that one if it’s looking dubious,” he said.
Another potential option, Michael Carrick, was not considered after the 30-year-old asked not to be included if he was to play only a bit-part role. However, Carrick would be available in extremis in future if required.
ENGLAND SQUAD –Goalkeepers: Green (West Ham), Hart (Manchester City) Ruddy (Norwich). Defenders: Baines (Everton), Cahill (Chelsea), Cole (Chelsea), Johnson (Liverpool), Jones (Manchester Utd), Lescott (Manchester City), Terry (Chelsea). Midfielders: Barry (Manchester City), Downing (Liverpool), Gerrard (Liverpool), Lampard (Chelsea), Milner (Manchester City), Parker (Tottenham), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Walcott (Arsenal), Young (Manchester Utd). Forwards: Carroll (Liverpool), Rooney (Man Utd), Welbeck (Manchester Utd), Defoe (Tottenham).
