England’s Euro 2016 squad unbalanced

England boss Roy Hodgson has now named his 23-man squad for Euro 2016

I must admit that nothing surprises me when it comes to England squad selections and Three Lions bosses. The current England boss Roy Hodgson was always going to divide opinion with his Euro 2016 squad selection.

However, I believe that the veteran boss has got his selection wrong, especially by deciding to essentially take five forwards.

Three players left at home

Hodgson was working with a provisional squad of 26 players, which has now been whittled down to the required 23 man squad.

The three men to miss out on the squad are midfielders Fabian Delph and Danny Drinkwater, along with winger Andros Townsend.

In truth, the selection of Delph in the provisional squad mystified a lot of people. The former-Villa captain had spent much of the campaign at Manchester City on the sidelines and has only relatively recently recovered from injury.

Townsend had struggled to get into the Tottenham side for the first half of last season, only to move to Newcastle in the January transfer window. The winger rediscovered his best form in the north east, despite the Magpies being relegated.

Leicester central midfielder Drinkwater is the most unfortunate out of the trio to miss out. The former-United ace was one of the mainstays of Foxes incredible Premier League title victory and deserved his call-up.

He was also one of the few players in the 26 capable of playing as a defensive midfielder. However more importantly out of all the midfielders selected he has been arguably the most consistent. He may be inexperienced at international level, but he would have been a solid member of the Three Lions squad.

The likes of Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson and Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere can consider themselves very lucky to be going to the tournament. Highly-rated, but injury-prone Jack Wilshere has made just three appearances for the Gunners this season due to injury.

Henderson has just recovered from injury and to be honest I am not quite sure what he brings to the party, apart from energy, but Drinkwater provides that and is also fully-fit.

Five strikers is too many

I do not see why Hodgson has decided to take five strikers. At times he has played with two up front, but is more likely to play with a lone striker, which means probably pushing Jamie Vardy out to the wing where he is not as effective as in a central area.

Wayne Rooney is down as a striker, although he has been playing in a midfield role of late for Manchester United. His young United teammate Marcus Rashford has been selected by Hodgson, despite playing just 19 times for the Red Devils.

The 18-year-old has potential, but if Hodgson has selected him just for the experience then he has wasted the spot. Hopefully Rashford will get a chance to play. The presence of Harry Kane, Vardy, Rooney and Daniel Sturridge is likely to see him well down the pecking order for the Three Lions.

Sturridge’s selection has been questioned by many because of his injury record. He has spent more time in the treatment room in the last 18 months than on the pitch, so those concerns about his fitness are understandable.

If England are not going to play two up front then the selection of five strikers makes more sense. However Hodgson being brave enough to play up front is unlikely.

England are outsiders to win Euro 2016

There is excitement about this current group of players from Three Lions fans, something which has been missing from recent tournaments. Roy Hodgson’s team are odds of 17/2 to win the trophy and makes them fourth favourites to be triumphant in France.

However for England to have any chance of winning the tournament they will need luck and boss Roy Hodgson to get his tactics spot on. The Three Lions had a perfect record in qualifying, but they always excel in qualification and then struggle when they face any quality opposition in the finals.

Hodgson was never going to satisfy everybody with his squad selection for the tournament, but to me the squad looks unbalanced. The choice of five strikers may prove to back-fire on the England boss.

Has Roy Hodgson picked the right squad for Euro 2016?