Richard Wood column: The Rotherham United defender on England and deadline day

The main topics of the week have been Sam Allardyce naming his first England squad and of course Deadline Day.

I was shocked to learn that Mark Noble had not being included. I honestly don’t know what he has to do to be named in the squad. Surely he can force his way into the set-up over the course of the season if he maintains his form for West Ham.

Many people were calling for a change of England captain, but I think Big Sam has made the correct decision in keeping Wayne Rooney in that role. He is a senior professional who is England’s all-time record goalscorer and the younger players certainly look up to him.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I’ll be interested to see how England shape up in their first qualifier against Slovakia on Sunday. Is there going to be a different formation and tactics used to that of Roy Hodgson in the Euros? I certainly hope so.

The current England manager has a reputation, rightly or wrongly, that his teams play long ball, but all I want to see is England play in an organised way. Of course I don’t think England will play long ball but would like the players to play as a team where everybody knows their role.

During the Euros, the team lacked ideas and looked to have no strategy. They had no plan B when things weren’t going right. I think this is where Allardyce will come into his own. He is a good tactician and a good man-manager.

It looks like Joe Hart will start in goal as Fraser Forster has been forced to withdraw after picking up an injury in training. I was surprised by his deadline-day loan deal to Torino. I didn’t expect him to venture abroad but, after thinking about it, believe it is a very good move for him.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He was very heavily criticised by the press during the summer for his performances for England. Playing in Italy will allow him to avoid the massive media spotlight here in England. If he impresses I’m sure he’ll continue to be England’s number one.

I don’t understand why there hasn’t been more English players making moves abroad. I understand and acknowledge that England is one of the best places to play football, but I just think English players find it comfortable here and the language barrier would be a problem that they don’t want to face.

Finally, the transfer window closed with an outlay of £1.165 billion. This is a ridiculous figure and the reason for this is the new broadcast deals. Clubs are desperate to stay in the Premier League and 13 of the top-flight clubs have broken their own transfer records, which shows you the need to not get relegated. The whole world wants to watch the Premier League and over the coming years I can see the amount spent in the transfer windows increasing.

My concern is the teams lower down the football scale being left behind as the gulf in finances between the Premier and the Football League increases.