England announce 30 man World Cup squad – Your thoughts?

Our initial analysis came back in October, when columnist Steve Candy put together a likely England World Cup squad for South Africa this summer. If you read that article through now, as good as it is it simply goes to highlight the fact that football is an unpredictable beast.

Who would have thought that a salacious John Terry/Wayne Bridge love triangle would rule the latter out of the reckoning completely? (Although judging by his cross completion ratio (0% as of mid-April) Bridge may not have even made it). Who could have predicted the rise of Adam Johnson, then plugging away in the Championship with lowly Middlesbrough? Who’d have seen the Beckham conundrum, a romantic fairytale of one man on a desperate mission, being ended so cruelly by a ruptured Achilles? And who might have envisaged a groundswell of opinion for the likes of Jamie Carragher and Bobby Zamora?

Mystic Meg maybe, but not I, Steve or, I suspect, you.

Fast forward 7 months to May 11th 2010 though and Fabio Capello has given us the answers. Named today, here is the 30 man provisional England World Cup squad for South Africa:

England’s 30-man provisional squad for the World Cup finals:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green.

Defenders: Leighton Baines, Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Forwards: Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney.

The BBC, on the main headline on their website, describe it as including ’several surprise selections’ (excellent alliteration if I do say so myself). Maybe so. What is certain is that many who might have hoped to force their way onto the Three Lions-branded plane a matter of months ago have missed out (Joleon Lescott, Stewart Downing, Bridge, Micah Richards, Beckham, Owen Hargreaves), while certain names come somewhat out of the blue.

Jamie Carragher is one. Since his name was bandied around as a potential squad member about a week ago, many have reproduced the comments the Liverpool defender – then retired from international football – made in his autobiography ‘Carra, My Autobiography’.

“Representing your country is the ultimate honour, especially in the World Cup. Not to me.  I confess: defeats wearing an England shirt never hurt me in the same way as losing with my club. I wasn’t not caring or indifferent, I simply didn’t put England’s fortunes at the top of my priority list.

“Losing felt like a disappointment rather than a calamity. I was never in love with playing for England in the first place. By the time I stopped I felt a huge weight lifting.”

Whether a genuine opinion from the stalwart Liverpool defender or an attempt at drumming up controversy in order to generate greater revenue from books sold, the comments won’t be interpreted kindly by every England fan. If anything, Carragher’s inclusion and his accepting the call from his country, is a testament to Capello’s powers of persuasion.

Personally I’m delighted to see Darren Bent on the list, though I suspect that, barring impressive displays against Mexico and Japan, he may not make the final 23. He was a central figure in one of the major stories of England’s World Cup summer in 2006 when then coach Sven Goran-Eriksson omitted the Charlton Athletic man – the Premier League’s top-scoring Englishman that season – to take a young pup by the name of Theo Walcott who had never played a full Premier League game in his life. Eriksson had seen him in 3 training sessions though.

4 years later Bent gets his chance, but will have to perform brilliantly in training to usurp Capello’s favoured trio of Peter Crouch, Emile Heskey and Jermain Defoe, you feel. Rooney obviously is non-negotiable.

Other surprises – Tom Huddlestone and Scott Parker both sneak in, while the Tottenham centre back pairing of Ledley King and Michael Dawson also both make it. Capello likes to pick on form, so all four choices make sense, but again, whether they make the final 23 remains to be seen.

Are you pleased with Capello’s choices? Who do you think should have been omitted or included? Tell us below.

(pic via Paul Robert Lloyd)

Darren Bent, England, Jamie Carragher, World Cup 2010