And that’s your lot from me. For all your England squad needs, here’s the news story on the squad...
...and here is that 26-man provisional squad, player-by-player:
Some piping hot reaction from the jilted (again) Theo Walcott. Hopefully Mr Roy didn’t tell him via a crackling phone line while on a golf course:
“I am of course disappointed not to make the squad, but I have spoken with Roy and respect his decision.”
More from Mr Roy...
🎥 Roy Hodgson thanks the #ThreeLions' supporters for their backing going into #EURO2016. https://t.co/CdmYahHrVj
— England (@England) May 16, 2016
A sinking feeling in your stomach when you crack the same gag as Keysey....
I wonder if 'Arry is thinking that Wes Morgan is a bit unlucky not to be in that England squad?
— Richard Keys (@richardajkeys) May 16, 2016
Steve Hoare has got the Buzzkill Ray out and set it to ennui: “He probably had his best team forced on him by injuries vs Germany and was repaid with the best English performance for years. Rather than giving this excellent team some sense of continuity he felt the need to “give everyone a chance” vs Holland. He’ll probably continue with that misguided strategy in friendlies.
“He could just sub Vardy for Welbz and Wilshere (for presumably crocked) Henderson, but we know he won’t. Roo will come in and probably Milner and god knows really but you don’t trust him to actually pick the side that dovetailed so beautifully.”
A potentially sobering thought, but that’s largely because the two best strikers in there - Vardy and Kane - haven’t had much time to get many of goals:
@NickMiller79 If you take out Rooney, there's only 26 goals in that England squad, and not many of them outside of friendlies/qualifying.
— Stephen Dickinson (@p_p_hat) May 16, 2016
Plymouth Argyle, giddy after reaching the League Two playoff final, getting involved in some B-A-N-T-E-R here...
Peter Hartley cruelly overlooked by Roy in his squad announcement today, but find out what he had to say last night. https://t.co/SgQHKV3Znl
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Only1Argyle) May 16, 2016
The thing about this squad is that there are very few players that would be calamitous losses if they were injured - Joe Hart certainly, maybe Dele Alli, for sure Harry Kane - which you can view one of two ways. Either it’s a sign that none of the players are really much to get giddy about, thus the team won’t be much cop, or you can view it as a positive that England aren’t relying on any single individual, and most players are easily replaced.
Problem is Hector, those 7 games were spread over 6 years. https://t.co/lBhnt05gtk
— GeorgeWeahsCousin (@WeahsCousin) May 16, 2016
A few thoughts from Below The Line, now:
RevGreen: “It was charitable of Roy to pick 2 players from the the team that comprehensively won the league. Of course, they will probably be on the bench, at best. Roy prefers his players to come from big clubs, regardless of form. Sterling and Delph?? Anyway, hopefully there is enough talent, without the baggage from previous tournaments, to give England a chance in this tournament.”
Smed45235: “Chris Coleman’s teamtalk: ‘Gareth. John Stones. Run at him.’”
AllDueRespect: “When you’re scanning the midfielders to see if any of them could cover at CB, it’s possible that the squad isn’t quite balanced properly.”
FourFoot: “Uninspiring, predictable and home by the quarters. Hodgson is like Stuart Lancaster, the teams he should pick only come about when injury forces his hand. He’ll stick to what he knows and take home his 5 million a year for coming home before any of the decent teams do.”
Nominations for the three that will miss out? Should you care - and it’s my duty to point out that there’s absolutely no reason why you should - I’d say Delph, Townsend and Rashford won’t go, assuming there are no injuries. But there inevitably will be.
John Stones says he’s excited, even if his voice suggests his mum has just asked him to go and buy a pint of milk.
STONES: The @England defender talks of his excitement ahead of the Euros this summer. #EFC @dafabethttps://t.co/YOQYUMzA6k
— Everton (@Everton) May 16, 2016
Here’s a little bit of Roy, unfiltered, raw and LIVE*
🎥 Roy Hodgson says the pre-#EURO2016 games will be a chance to assess @JackWilshere and @JHenderson. #threelions https://t.co/NpgU4Sp1rB
— England (@England) May 16, 2016
*Recorded a little while ago.
The players that are in are happy...
Absolutely buzzing! I can't wait to meet up with the squad and start preparing for the euros. Thanks for all the messages. #England
— Jack Wilshere (@JackWilshere) May 16, 2016
Huge honour to be named in provisional @England squad for the euros.... Will give my all over next few weeks to try and make final squad!
— Andros Townsend (@andros_townsend) May 16, 2016
Honour to be selected for the 26-man @England squad! Looking forward to meeting up with the lads. pic.twitter.com/ST7Vr5VYyW
— Danny Drinkwater (@DannyDrinkwater) May 16, 2016
More reaction from the people, specifically this time Jake Bygrave: “I don’t wish to chastise Roy over this squad but there is one decision that slightly irks me.
“Marcus Rashford looks like a wonderful talent but surely Jermain Defoe deserves one final shot at a major trophy with England. Neither player would be likely to start but frankly there aren’t many players in the English game I’d trust more with 20 minutes to go than little JD. My heart aches for him!”
Mr Roy on Wayne Rooney, and whether he’ll start the first game:
“I don’t have to decide that yet. He’s been good in the past [he goes on to list Rooney’s achievements and form during the qualifiers]...but in terms of the first match, I’ve got three games before that to decide....I am under no pressure whatsoever to select him in that opening game, unless I decide he’s the best option.
Roy’s back on: “Everyone’s got to have that hope, that dream, that thought...that if we play our best, who knows where it might lead us.
YES ROY! FOR HARRY AND ST GEORGE ROY! FOR BOBBY, SIR ALF, KEV KEEGAN AND STUART PEARCE ROY! ROAR FOR ENGLAND ROY!
Oh god...
Marcus Rashford was born three weeks after England drew 0-0 in Italy to qualify for the 1998 World Cup #age #time
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) May 16, 2016
Wonder what the spurned Theo Walcott would do to a Roy Hodgson hotel room. Tidy it up a bit?
— Adam Hurrey (@FootballCliches) May 16, 2016
Ben Lake is feeling down: “A little while ago I was quite excited by this England squad. Those friendly results were positive and we were playing exciting, if not technically masterful, football.
“Now I look at that provisional squad and I feel a little disappointed. Perhaps best embodied by the inclusion of Andros Townsend. Now, I’ve got no major issue with Townsend. He’s an OK player. Sometime he scores a scorching goal and that’s grand and all.
“Most of the time though he runs down blind alleys, gives the ball away and fires a lot of shots into the middle distance in search of those screamers. All these are problems we have long suffered with on the wing and I had hoped we were moving to resolve.
“How he has been given the nod ahead of the, slower, but far more effective Albrighton I don’t know. Perhaps I answered my own question. He’s slower. I’d hate to think that was actually it.
“This is still a much better team than recent years but there are still glaring problem areas that I now realise that I have perhaps been ignoring.”
“Big call to overload on fullbacks at the expense of centre-backs,” says David Hopkins. “Of course, Kyle Walker is lucky to be fit to go after that appalling tackle on him yesterday.”
Quite so. On the centre-backs point, as mentioned before he does have Eric Dier and Ryan Bertrand to fill in there, but it is something of a calculated gamble.
So, thoughts on the squad, and what Mr Roy said about them? Because we’re nothing if not keen to hear from the lovely general public, email Nick.Miller@theGuardian.com or Tweet @NickMiller79
Here’s the squad, player-by-player:
On what the squad is capable of achieving and what they need to achieve for him to carry on:
“As a coach, all you can do is prepare the team for the game to come...we’ve seen with Leicester they can take it from week to week, and each time they’ve worked hard, and made certain going into each game they’re capable of winning it. We have to make certain our preparation is good and make sure we have a genuine chance of winning each game. I really appreciate the support I feel the team has from the general public, and just to remind them the squad is still young - the team won’t have as many caps as previous squads.”
On how this squad compares to previous squads:
“I don’t like to make comparisons. We’ve worked very hard over these qualifying games to think about the players who are right for this occasion. They’re energetic and enthusiastic - there’s a lot of running in the team. I do they will not let anyone down for the want of trying.”
On Andros Townsend and Theo Walcott:
“They’re both good players, but very different players. He was unlucky to lose his place in the squad before, but since moving to Newcastle he’s had regular games and done very well.”
On the players who have missed out:
“Baines hasn’t played for us for a year...more Michael Carrick, I think. I’ve spoken to all three (Baines, Carrick and Phil Jagielka) and it was a difficult decision. I’ve decided to rob Peter to pay Paul in order to take an extra midfielder rather than the classic eight defenders.”
On when he’ll name the 23, which must be finalised by May 30:
“I think we’ll be finished with the ‘extra cover’ we’ve given ourselves by the Australia game in Sunderland (on May 27).”
On the fitness of Wilshere and Henderson:
“I didn’t want to name people who were actually unfit, even in a preparation squad. I wanted to have players who were obviously fit - whether they’ve played enough games is another matter, and maybe they’ll have a chance to get those games with us. There are a few players I’d have liked to play a few less games. These three games have an opportunity to assess our options.”
On Marcus Rashford:
“He’s one of the contenders (for a place up front). The competition for him is quite strong, but I think he deserves to be selected and have a chance to show us what he can do. He’s got a big future if he can develop as he has so far. He has a chance to knock someone off their perch, but I must stress that will be harder than some think.”
On the injury to Danny Welbeck:
“A lot of what we do is around balancing the team, and we had a very good qualification campaign, and you don’t want to lose them to injury. The options he gives us, we will miss him and I’m very sad for him, because he’s worked very hard to get fit again.”
On why he’s named 26 now rather than the planned 23:
“When we were thinking about the squad there was uncertainty about the fitness of players like Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson, so we added a few more now.”
And here’s Roy...
And here’s the full story on the squad:
Jermain Defoe, Marc Albrighton and Andy Carroll can also plan for their holidays...
So, 26 names, to be whittled down after the three coming friendlies and the notables to miss out include Theo Walcott, Phil Jagielka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Leighton Baines and Michael Carrick.
The squad
Goalkeepers
Joe Hart, Fraser Forster, Tom Heaton
Defenders
Nathaniel Clyne, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Ryan Bertrand, Chris Smalling, John Stones, Gary Cahill
Midfielders
Dele Alli, Ross Barkley, Fabian Delph, Danny Drinkwater, Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling, Jack Wilshere, Andros Townsend
Forwards
Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Daniel Sturridge
Updated
The squad...
🦁 Revealed! Roy Hodgson names a 26-man squad for the #ThreeLions' pre-#EURO2016 friendlies.#TogetherForEngland pic.twitter.com/HCAr7NpvoQ
— England (@England) May 16, 2016
Hello...
Marcus Rashford and Andros Townsend in provisional 26-man England Euro 2016 squad. No Theo Walcott.
— Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) May 16, 2016
Always the bridesmaid, is our Ryan.
@NickMiller79 Will Shawcross make the squad? Surely he's the prototypical English centre-back, and has been brilliant for two full seasons.
— Neil (@CaptainCaraher) May 16, 2016
Actually bridesmaid suggests he’s even in the church/registry office/charming seaside location - he’s Dustin Hoffman/Wayne Campbell banging on the glass, without the happy ending.
Who will be the big man to miss out this time...?
16 years since Steve Froggatt didn’t make the cut for Euro 2000 🐸😕
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) May 16, 2016
“On your question about taking 3 specialist CBs, I’d point you at Ryan Bertrand who has been filling in there for Saints all season!” shrewdly points out Jack Archer. “He’s not the biggest but his speed and presence has made him outstanding for us this year! It really shows when he doesn’t play. He could do the job for England!”
“Surely James Milner has to be in contention to step in for Welbeck?” writes George Brown. “He has seriously picked up since Klopp joined Liverpool and has delivered when it mattered with key goal and assists.
“He is a willing runner and leader who has tournament experience in abundance, surely a better option than Stirling, Walcott and the OX.”
Milner is going to be in the squad anyway, and must have a decent shout to start in central midfield, but he’s a handy option for the wing anyway.
Plenty of backing for Antonio from The People, plus this curveball from Twitter...
@NickMiller79 Shouldn't Jordon Ibe be considered? As an Arsenal fan I can tell you I'd take him over Theo or the Ox.
— Raghu Kesavan (@RaghuKesavan1) May 16, 2016
Couple of suggestions for wingers:
“Michail Antonio, probably the most in-form England winger and a goalscorer, even though he keeps being shunted to right back,” suggests Johnny Wallace, quite reasonably.
While Max Owen writes: “Marc Albrighton should definitely be considered with the lack of options. Bizarre to say but some form of a Leicester spine (Drinkwater, Albrighton, Vardy) sounds great to me!”
Don’t forget Wes Morgan, Max...
Is there a case for only taking three specialist centre-backs? Usually the theory is you take four centre-halves, two specialist left-backs and one right-back, on the basis you can get someone to fill-in on the right of defence if something goes awry, James Milner being the obvious candidate on this occasion.
That of course relies on there actually being four centre-backs worth taking...but are there? Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill will probably be the starting pair, but after that we have John Stones and Phil Jagielka, a pair of Everton defenders instrumental in them conceding 55 goals this season. Is there a case for only taking three, and have Eric Dier to fill in should there be a calamity?
One of the under-mentioned weaknesses to this squad, whoever might be in it, are the wingers. Danny Welbeck’s injury was a particular kick in the pants with that in mind, as he provided a little balance to the team, but without him how many reliable, decent, in-form wingers are there? Adam Lallana? That’s about it really.
Theo Walcott has been toilet for much of the season and might be injured anyway, Raheem Sterling’s form went the way of Lord Lucan a while back, Andros Townsend is a Lidl version of Arjen Robben, nobody really knows what’s happened to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Who else is there? Suggestions on an email, tweet or postcard please. But preferably one of the first two.
Email Nick.Miller@theGuardian.com or @NickMiller79.
Morning all. Tension is building ahead of The Big Unveiling. Will Mr Roy spring a Walcottian surprise on us? If so, who will it be? Marcus Rashford? Reece Oxford? Tony Hibbert? Will a big name miss out and smash up a hotel room? We’ll find out the answers shortly.
Big scoop for you here - Jamie Vardy is in the squad. At the FWA dinner last week, a message of congratulations from Mr Roy for JV (say goodnight JV - goodnight JV!) let slip that he is indeed in the party. A shocker and no mistake.
Nick will be here shortly. Meanwhile, read Dominic Fifield on who might be among the names announced by Roy Hodgson.
While Wilshere has steadily built up game-time in recent weeks, Walcott, who featured from the bench in England’s last fixture against Holland in March, has not begun a top-flight game since the end of February. He had hoped to stake his claim to replace the injured Danny Welbeck in Arsenal’s final fixture against Aston Villa, only to be ruled out of that match with a tight hamstring which, while not serious, will sideline him for seven to 10 days.
Given Hodgson intends to announce a squad potentially of up to 28 players at Wembley, picked with his team’s first two pre-tournament friendlies in mind – they play Turkey at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and Australia at the Stadium of Light on 27 May – Walcott’s latest setback feels untimely.
England will be without players from Manchester United and Liverpool this week given their remaining commitments in the Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup, meaning some of those named on Monday will ultimately find themselves only on standby for the finals in France. Hodgson has already put back his selection, initially scheduled to be announced last Thursday, by four days and will reduce the number to the requisite 23 by Uefa’s deadline at the end of the month.
