Roy Hodgson has difficult decisions ahead of him

New England boss Roy Hodgson will name his squad for the European Championships on 16th May.

The West Brom boss has some difficult decisions ahead of him before the tournament starts in June.

This could be hardest England squad a England manager has had to pick in a long time.

Careful

One of the first decisions that Hodgson has to make is whether to include Chelsea defender John Terry and Manchester United stalwart Rio Ferdinand. Terry is facing up to racism charges against Rio’s brother Anton.

The England boss has to be careful that his selection doesn’t upset the morale and make-up of the squad. The last thing the England team need is a row breaking out in the camp. With that in mind I think Hodgson may leave one of the players out of the squad.

Neither of the two players have had stellar seasons and it would be hard to state a case for either to be in the starting line-up. Terry has made some costly mistakes this season and Ferdinand has struggled with injuries at times.

Captaincy

Then there is the issue of whom will captain England at the Euro’s. Midfielder Scott Parker captained England in their last outing but Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard will also be in the running. I don’t think former-captain John Terry will be in the running for the position.

Roy Hodgson will have his own ideas on whom should be captain but there doesn’t seem to be too many outstanding candidates in the current England setup for the role.

Attack

There is also the issue of how England are going to play without talisman Wayne Rooney. The United striker is suspended for the first two games of the tournament and the strikers absence will leave a hole in the England attack.

There doesn’t seem to be a clear replacement for Wayne Rooney, because how do you replace a player like Wayne Rooney? Roy Hodgson has always preferred his teams to play in a straightforward four-four-two formation.

That means the West Brom boss picking two strikers from a multitude of options available to him. Ironically in the last few months Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has started to look like a big threat to opponents.

He was a laughing stock a couple of months ago but I think he has to be in the squad at least due to his recent form. Peter Crouch wasn’t a favourite of Fabio Capello but he has been in decent form this season and could earn a recall under Hodgson.

Tottenham’s joint-top goal scorer Jermaine Defoe is another player in the frame for a start, despite the fact that he has been playing second fiddle to Emmanuel Adebayor for the majority of the season at White Hart Lane.

Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge enjoyed a good start to the campaign but under interim boss Roberto Di Matteo has struggled to command a regular starting place at the Stamford Bridge. Sturridge’s former under-21 teammate Danny Welbeck has made giant strides in the last year at Manchester United though.

The youngster is now a regular starter for the Red Devils and has found the net 12 this season for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men. Welbeck is currently seen as one of the favourites for a striking berth at the Euro’s.

Tough

Roy Hodgson does have some very tough decisions to make ahead of the European Championships. Not only does he have to resolve all the above problems but he also needs to decide who will feature in midfield.

Roy Hodgson already has a tough enough job because he doesn’t appear to be the fans first choice for England boss. What decisions he makes in the next few weeks will be crucial in how the team plays at the European Championships.

A successful tournament could just turn peoples opinions of Roy Hodgson on there head. Over to you Roy it’s time to prove that you are the best man for the England job. Good luck, you are definitely going to need it.

What’s Roy Hodgson’s most difficult decision?