Poll reveals Richards a more glaring omission
442 Staff - Thursday 17 May 2012, 16:27
Manchester City defender Micah Richards is a more glaring
omission from Roy Hodgson's England squad for Euro 2012 than Manchester
United duo Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick, according to
FourFourTwo.com readers.
The majority of the media's attention has been focused on
Ferdinand's absence, with the central defender left out in favour of
Chelsea captain John Terry, who has been hitting the headlines this
season for all the wrong reasons.
Terry is awaiting trial in July - after the championships - over
alleged racial abuse of Ferdinand's younger brother Anton during
Chelsea's defeat at Queens Park Rangers.
Hodgson has insisted that Ferdinand's absence is purely for football
reasons, with doubts still lingering over the 33-year-old's fitness,
despite him enjoying a comparatively injury-free season in 2011/12.
Many fans and pundits alike are of the opinion that
ill-feeling between Ferdinand and Terry has resulted in one of them
having to miss out on a place on the plane.
However, more FourFourTwo.com readers have voiced their displeasure
over the exclusion of Premier League title-winning defender Richards
than Ferdinand, or his club colleague Carrick, whose ball-retention
skills were considered essential to England's chances,
especially with Scott Parker an injury doubt.
More than 35 percent of the 600 fans polled in the 24 hours immediately proceeding the squad being announced would rather have seen Richards
included in Hodgson's 23.
The 23-year-old made 32 league outings in 2011/12 to help the Blues bag their first top flight title since 1968, and has won 13 senior caps - the last against the Netherlands in February in caretaker boss Stuart Pearce's only game in charge.
With Tottenham Hotspur's PFA Young Player of the Year Kyle Walker
sidelined through injury, the Three Lions will be taking Liverpool
full-back Glen Johnson as an out-and-out right-sided defender, with the
versatile Phil Jones also able to fill in.