Euro 2012 Focus: England Squad Selection

Today Roy Hodgson announced his first ever England squad, which just happened to be the one that would travel to Euro 2012, to a nation that, for once, aren't expecting a great deal.

The fact that a slightly pessimistic fanbase may well play into the hands of Hodgson, who himself has had only the partial backing of the country since his appointment, could see anything beyond progression from the group stages deemed as a decent start to his tenure.

The former West Brom boss has chosen, by all accounts, a fairly unsurprising selection of experienced pros in what most will consider to be a low risk side. The inclusions of Downing and Carroll have perhaps been most controversial, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's call-up seen as a positive by many, despite a mere 6 Premier League starts this season.

Rio Ferdinand was left out 'purely for footballing reasons' according to the new manager, while the likes of Richards, Lennon and Carrick remain frustrated on the sidelines of the set-up - none of whom even made the standby list of 5.

We at WhoScored have decided that it is time to throw in our two cents worth and name the best English 23-man squad available, taking injuries to the likes of Kyle Walker into consideration, based on our ratings from the previous campaign. Positionally we have gone like-for-like with Hodgson to establish those that are most fortunate to have received the call and those who are desperately unlucky to have missed out.

Full England Squad: Hart (Man City), Ruddy (Norwich), Green (West Ham); Johnson (Liverpool), Hones (Man United), Cole (Chelsea), Baines (Everton), Terry (Chelsea), Lescott (Man City), Cahill (Chelsea); Walcott (Arsenal), Milner (Man City), Young (Man United), Downing (Liverpool), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Gerrard (Liverpool), Lampard (Chelsea), Parker (Tottenham), Barry (Man City); Rooney (Man United), Welbeck (Man United), Defoe (Tottenham), Carroll (Liverpool).

Goalkeepers

In goal there are no surprises in our squad. Of keepers to have played at least 10 times this season, Joe Hart (6.74) is the best according to our ratings of those available to Hodgson. However, Ben Foster is actually rated higher than England's number 1 but is not included having retired from international football.

Only 4 English keepers are regulars for their side in England's top flight, and with two of them having called time on their international careers Norwich's John Ruddy is automatically our second choice, with a rating of 6.63. As we only rate players in the top 5 leagues, the likes of Green and Carson cannot be considered here, so our final slot goes to David Stockdale, whose 8-game stint in the league for Fulham this season was highly impressive, earning him a rating of 7.08.

Full-Backs

Classing Phil Jones as a full-back due to the fact that he has featured on the right for United more than he has at centre-half, there is room for four here, with the youngster leading the way with a rating of 6.96. Our substitute right-back is Micah Richards, whose average of 6.86 just betters England's first choice Glen Johnson (6.83), with the pair actually ranking behind the injured Kyle Walker in our ratings as well.

On the left there is some real controversy as Ashley Cole fails to even make the squad. Instead, his reserve in the official 23-man list Leighton Baines ranks highest (6.96), with Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs (6.86) also bettering the Chelsea man's modest rating of 6.73. However, the Gunners full-back will surely come into consideration in 2014 as Cole will be 33 before the next World Cup.

Centre-Backs

With Jones equally, if not more, capable in the heart of defence, Hodgson has opted to take just seven defenders. Former captain John Terry ranks highest in terms of WhoScored ratings, with 6.96, while Lescott isn't far behind on 6.86. The decision to leave Rio Ferdinand out of the squad was perhaps one of Roy's boldest if it was, as he claims, due to footballing reasons. The United-man warrants a place according to our ratings, with 6.78 way up on Cahill's 6.62. The Chelsea defender actually ranks down in 9th for English centre-backs in our ratings, with the likes of Caulker and Jagielka both higher.

Wingers

There was room for an extra wide man in Hodgson's squad with 5 players fighting it out for places on the wing. The fact that Oxlade-Chamberlain, Milner and Young can all play in more central positions will have affected his decision, with Walcott also easily transferred into the forward category. However, Stewart Downing's call-up has caused the biggest stir here and, indeed, his meagre WhoScored rating of 6.60 suggests he is mightily fortunate to have been included.

With former Villa teammate Ashley Young by far the best rated winger (7.21), Downing ranks as low as 6th for left sided players, with the likes of Sinclair, Pilkington, Jarvis and Eagles all ahead of him. Oxlade-Chamberlain's rating of 6.55 is worse still but when factoring out his substitute appearances in the league and Champions League his rating shoots up to 7.18, indicating that he may be a well-calculated risk.

On the right, both Adam Johnson (6.87) and Aaron Lennon (6.77) were omitted from the squad unjustly according to our ratings, with both ranking higher than Walcott (6.75), who picks up our 5th and final winger spot.

Centre-Midfielders

The top-rated English centre-midfielder this season according to WhoScored ratings is actually Michael Carrick (7.36) who didn't even make the standby list despite assured performances as United's mainstay midfielder this term. He is just ahead of Frank Lampard (7.19), with Barry and Parker the reserves in our squad.

This means that there is no place for newly appointed England captain Steven Gerrard, which is another hot topic for debate here. The Liverpool skipper has made 18 appearances in the league this season, winning just 5 (28%), while the side have won 9 of the 20 in which he hasn't featured (45%), suggesting that his impact at Anfield isn't what it used to be.

Forwards

Many are now saying that Wayne Rooney, who is suspended for the first two group matches, is England's only remaining world-class performer, and his rating of 7.82 in the league shows that WhoScored would tend to agree. The next best-rated English forward is Rooney's United teammate Danny Welbeck, whose average of 7.15 is a long way back.

Some saw Jermaine Defoe as a surprise inclusion, though his rating of 6.85 suggests he is worthy of the responsibility, which cannot be said for Andy Carroll according to our ratings. Daniel Sturridge, Darren Bent and Bobby Zamora - who many felt could be a surprise selection due to his former ties with Hodgson - all have a better rating than the Liverpool forward's 6.68.

The tactics that Hodgson will adopt remain unclear, but the fact England will do well to get out of a group including France, Sweden and co-hosts Ukraine may well still be the case.