England manager Roy Hodgson has today announced his 23-man squad for Euro 2012 and as predicted it has drawn a mixed reaction from the public. Hodgson had a number of difficult decisions to make and arguably whatever team he named would result in criticism from certain quarters. However, the decision to appoint Steven Gerrard as captain has generally produced a positive reaction.
Hodgson, who was named England manager at the start of the month, has solved the Rio Ferdinand/John Terry conundrum by opting to leave out Ferdinand for “footballing reasons”, which in all likeliness signals the end of the Man Utd defender’s England career. The inclusions of Liverpool players’ Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll has been one the main talking points since the squad was announced. Many supporters have reacted furiously on social networking sites to Hodgson’s decision to bring Downing, who has failed to score or even get an assist this season. Meanwhile Carroll’s inclusion at the expense of the likes of Peter Crouch and Darren Bent has proved equally contentious. Elsewhere other surprise call-ups include the uncapped goalkeeper John Ruddy and winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, while Jack Butland, Adam Johnson, Daniel Sturridge, Phil Jagielka and Jordan Henderson are all on standby.
England will warm-up to this summer’s tournament with matches against Norway and Belgum, before kicking off their Euro 2012 campaign against a dangerous looking France side in Donetsk on Monday 11th June. The Three Lions can be backed at 10/1 with Paddy Power to go on and win the European Championships, while they are 7/4 to fail to make it out of the Group Stage, and for the more pessimistic amongst you, 9/2 to finish bottom of Group D.
Despite missing the first two games through suspension Wayne Rooney is the 9/2 favourite with Bet365 to be England's top goalscorer at the tournament. Andy Carroll, Danny Welbeck and Ashley Young are all available at 6/1, while Steven Gerrard has been priced at 9/1.
When will Roy Hodgson Leave his Position as England Manager
Odd supplied by Paddy Power
