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Never in my lifetime did I ever think that I would see England roll up the white flag to the Germans, but with this squad, that's what's happened.
American members of this forum will probably say let it go, but damn...they're laughing at us!!
This squad had got Graham Taylor written all over it! The Germans were always going to be favourites to win it, and now our slim chance has just got slimmer!!
I mean Andy Carroll

From BBC news.

Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has been included in England's 23-man squad for Euro 2012, but there is no place for Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand.

The 33-year-old is a surprise omission but Chelsea's John Terry has been named in a squad captained by Steven Gerrard.

There are call-ups for uncapped Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy.
Liverpool winger Stewart Downing and Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck have also been picked.

"It's not been an easy squad to put together," said boss Roy Hodgson. "But I'm pleased with the squad I've put together and I think it's a well-balanced squad."

Gerrard, who captained Liverpool during Hodgson's time as manager at Anfield, also led England at the 2010 World Cup.

"I know him as a player and a person and how committed he is to the England cause," explained Hodgson.

"He will help me build the team unity and environment we need to thrive in a tournament."

As expected, Wayne Rooney is selected despite being suspended for the first two games of England's Group D campaign, against France on 11 June and Sweden four days later.

In addition to Carroll, Welbeck and Rooney, Hodgson will take Jermain Defoe - who has not played a competitive match for England since September 2010 - as a striking option.

Birmingham goalkeeper Jack Butland is among the list of five standby players, which also comprises Adam Johnson, Daniel Sturridge, Phil Jagielka and Jordan Henderson.

Barring injury, Johnson will miss out on a major tournament for a second time, having been axed from Fabio Capello's provisional World Cup squad in 2010.

Hodgson's wide players are Ashley Young, Theo Walcott, James Milner, Downing and Oxlade-Chamberlain.

There is no place for Manchester United's Michael Carrick as Gareth Barry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Scott Parker - who is struggling with an Achilles injury - take the central midfield berths.

Manchester City right-back Micah Richards also misses out as Hodgson names only seven orthodox defenders, including Phil Jones and Joleon Lescott, who are both capable of filling more than one position.
Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker was ruled out with a toe injury.

Ruddy joins Joe Hart and Robert Green in the goalkeeping contingent.

"It's a real honour for me and hopefully it's an indication as to how far I have developed as a player," said Ruddy.

"Playing for my country has been a dream of mine, of course it has.

"I'm under no illusions as to the quality of Joe Hart and Rob Green and that I will be number three keeper. But I'm really looking forward to training with them and getting down to some hard work."

The Football Association's planned training camp in Spain has been cancelled.

Instead, England will meet up in Manchester on Wednesday before flying to Norway on Friday for their friendly in Oslo on 26 May.

Seven days later, they face Belgium at Wembley - although Ruddy will be missing having been given special dispensation to leave the squad for his wedding on 2 June.

England squad:
Goalkeepers - Joe Hart, Robert Green, John Ruddy.

Defenders - Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott, John Terry.

Midfielders - Gareth Barry, Stewart Downing, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young.

Strikers - Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck.

Standby - Jack Butland, Phil Jagielka, Jordan Henderson, Adam Johnson, Daniel Sturridge.

No idea why you are complaining, you were bound to be eliminated by us any way... Its kind of a tradition by now!

Never!! This.Is.England!!! Arghhhhhhhhh!!!

Trying to do my 300 impression

England very rarely does that well anyway...
Last year everyone thought we had a chance and we messed up.
This year no one thinks we have a chance, at least this way every victory is a bonus

Perhaps they'll do better without all the expectation?
What worries me is that the press have already started on Hodgson before a ball has even been kicked.

England never do well, were used to it by now.

I like Roy, think he was by far the best choice, he'll make us hard to beat and then we can push on from a decent platform. Its a shame Walker isn't going, but good to see Oxlade Chamberlain getting a spot. And heres hoping Downing, Milner and Carrol don't get a single minute on the field between them. Would have much preferred Sturridge to get a place than those three. And Gibbs, but thats just because I'm a gooner.

Wait, this is about soccer?

Goddamnit donkey-cave, why'd you make me read a post about soccer?!?!?

Well Roy is either going to prove he's an excellent manager, or he'll fall flat on his face at the first hurdle.

Some really odd exclusions, and not the kind of players I'd see as damaging due to their egos. Hell with Ferdinand and Richards missed, you could argue they are the type of players who would soldier on and win you games by locking down the opponents when it matters.

Of course he looked like a chicken running around with its head cut off when he got put in charge at Liverpool. Maybe he's not a 'big' team kinda manager.

He didn't really have much chance at liverpool, was forced to buy the likes of konciesky and poulson and had kenny looking over his shoulder like the spectre at the feast, and all the ownership drama to deal with too. I don't really know about his time at inter but apparently he flaked out there. But if you look at west brom finishing pretty much on par with liverpool without spending massive amounts and with a worse squad, and look at when he took fulham through the euro cup, some amazing nights like when they came back against juve. International management is really about getting the tactical choices right and I think thats what he will do.

Melissia wrote:Wait, this is about soccer?

Goddamnit donkey-cave, why'd you make me read a post about soccer?!?!?

It's about football.

@dael, aye, as I said in my first line, this team selection will either prove to be some kind of tactical genius, or total fail.

Although if by some miracle he pulls it off, I'd suggest folks photshop his head onto a creed figure asap.

The most confusing selection is Jordan Henderson. Even as a Liverpool supporter, I just don't get it.

Come on England, stick to your customary tradition of falling apart during a competition. No cheating and falling apart before it even begins

purplefood wrote:

Melissia wrote:Wait, this is about soccer?

Goddamnit donkey-cave, why'd you make me read a post about soccer?!?!?

It's about football.

I don't see anyone wearing football helmets.

England squad:

Goalkeepers - Joe Hart, Robert Green, John Ruddy.

Defenders - Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott, John Terry.

Midfielders - Gareth Barry, Stewart Downing, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young.

Strikers - Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck.

Standby - Jack Butland, Phil Jagielka, Jordan Henderson, Adam Johnson, Daniel Sturridge.

Looking at this rationally I think there's actually only a few spots to quibble over unless anyone was insane enough to think England are anything but a quarter-finals side. What you want to do in the Euros and the next world cup is to stop imagining it will be '66 and start building a squad for the next Euros (ie 2016) that might stand a chance of actually competing.

The goalkeepers are fine.

Given Walker is unfit then really the only dubious selection in defence is Terry. Certainly he has tournament experience (of exiting in humiliating fashion). I'd take Richards instead as he can play as full back or centre half, is young and a bet for the future.

Midfield has a few question marks. Downing not least. he's a class player, yet he consistenly fails to deliver. Lampard and Gerard are yesterday's men but in fairness are both decent still and one does need some experience in the side, especially in the midfield. given Wilshere is unfit, it's not actually too bad a selection given the relative paucity of talent though i'd have taken Johnson over Downing any day.

Strikers are pretty much self-selecting. Carroll has had a poor season but, Rooney apart, the premiership lacks decent English strikers. He made an absolute monkey out of Terry in Liverpool's victory over them, so if you think Terry should be in the squad, Carrol must be. Even if you think Terry's a mistake 9which he is), Carrol's still the best of the young-ish Englishmen available bar Welbeck. Personally I''d dump Defoe who's seldom impressed as an international and take Sturridge.

But the basic problem is that a delusion sweeps over England every two years -- they become convinced, despite all evidence to the contrary, that their players are capable of winning a major tournament.

Melissia wrote:

purplefood wrote:

Melissia wrote:Wait, this is about soccer?

Goddamnit donkey-cave, why'd you make me read a post about soccer?!?!?

It's about football.

I don't see anyone wearing football helmets.
]

nope, just kicking a ball, with their feet.

Yes, I know, that's what I said, soccer. A girly man's sport.

Football is for people who are too afraid to play Rugby, but it's still better than soccer.

dæl wrote:

Melissia wrote:

purplefood wrote:

Melissia wrote:Wait, this is about soccer?

Goddamnit donkey-cave, why'd you make me read a post about soccer?!?!?

It's about football.

I don't see anyone wearing football helmets.
]

nope, just kicking a ball, with their feet.

Like this:

Blood and Slaughter wrote:England squad:

Goalkeepers - Joe Hart, Robert Green, John Ruddy.

Defenders - Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott, John Terry.

Midfielders - Gareth Barry, Stewart Downing, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young.

Strikers - Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck.

Standby - Jack Butland, Phil Jagielka, Jordan Henderson, Adam Johnson, Daniel Sturridge.

On the bright side I'm not seeing Heskey...

Now you relise that the germans don't realy care about beating england at football right? They seem to have a thing about belgium. In football england are nothing more than a side note to them.

the competition:

Germany's 27-man preliminary squad for EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96)

Defenders: Jerome Boateng, Holger Badstuber, Philipp Lahm (all Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke 04), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund)

Midfielders: Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira (both Real Madrid), Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller, Bastian Schweinsteiger (all Bayern Munich), Marco Reus (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Mario Götze, Ilkay Gündogan (both Borussia Dortmund), Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund), Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen), Andre Schürrle (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Schalke 04), Lukas Podolski (1. FC Köln)

Forwards: Cacau (VfB Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Miroslav Klose (Lazio)

SPAIN:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool), David de Gea (Manchester United)

Defenders: Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Alvaro Dominguez (Atletico Madrid), Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Valencia), Nacho Monreal (Malaga)

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Santi Cazorla (Malaga), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Benat (Betis), Javi Garcia (Benfica), Bruno (Villarreal)

Forwards: David Silva (Manchester City), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Roberto Soldado (Valencia), Isco (Malaga), Adrian (Atletico Madrid)

Provisional Netherlands squad
Goalkeepers: Tim Krul (Newcastle United FC), Maarten Stekelenburg (AS Roma), Michel Vorm (Swansea City AFC).

Defenders: Vurnon Anita (AFC Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (VfB Stuttgart), Wilfred Bouma (PSV Eindhoven), John Heitinga (Everton FC), Joris Mathijsen (Málaga CF), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord), Gregory van der Wiel (AFC Ajax), Jetro Willems (PSV Eindhoven).

Midfielders: Mark van Bommel (AC Milan), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City FC), Siem de Jong (AFC Ajax), Adam Maher (AZ Alkmaar), Stijn Schaars (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Wesley Sneijder (FC Internazionale Milano), Kevin Strootman (PSV Eindhoven), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur FC)

Forwards: Ibrahim Afellay (FC Barcelona), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (FC Schalke 04), Luuk de Jong (FC Twente), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool FC), Jeremain Lens (PSV Eindhoven), Luciano Narsingh (sc Heerenveen), Robin van Persie (Arsenal FC), Arjen Robben (FC Bayern München).

Yeah, they'll both likely wipe the floor with England. That's a given really. To be honest at the moment England are probably just scraping into the top ten international sides in Europe, a situation that has been ongoing for some years now and will not be improved by hanging onto relics like Terry, Ferdinand, Scholes, etc, butb rather by giving youth some experience in the next two competitions so they may have a chance of performing respectably in 2016. Of course it won't happen because the English are incapable of long-term planning, instead demanding a wholly unrealistic level of success from players who are frankly international journeymen.

dæl wrote:the competition:

Germany's 27-man preliminary squad for EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96)

Defenders: Jerome Boateng, Holger Badstuber, Philipp Lahm (all Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke 04), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund)

Midfielders: Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira (both Real Madrid), Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller, Bastian Schweinsteiger (all Bayern Munich), Marco Reus (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Mario Götze, Ilkay Gündogan (both Borussia Dortmund), Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund), Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen), Andre Schürrle (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Schalke 04), Lukas Podolski (1. FC Köln)

Forwards: Cacau (VfB Stuttgart), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Miroslav Klose (Lazio)

SPAIN:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool), David de Gea (Manchester United)

Defenders: Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Alvaro Dominguez (Atletico Madrid), Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Jordi Alba (Valencia), Nacho Monreal (Malaga)

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Santi Cazorla (Malaga), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Benat (Betis), Javi Garcia (Benfica), Bruno (Villarreal)

Forwards: David Silva (Manchester City), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Roberto Soldado (Valencia), Isco (Malaga), Adrian (Atletico Madrid)

Provisional Netherlands squad
Goalkeepers: Tim Krul (Newcastle United FC), Maarten Stekelenburg (AS Roma), Michel Vorm (Swansea City AFC).

Defenders: Vurnon Anita (AFC Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (VfB Stuttgart), Wilfred Bouma (PSV Eindhoven), John Heitinga (Everton FC), Joris Mathijsen (Málaga CF), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord), Gregory van der Wiel (AFC Ajax), Jetro Willems (PSV Eindhoven).

Midfielders: Mark van Bommel (AC Milan), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City FC), Siem de Jong (AFC Ajax), Adam Maher (AZ Alkmaar), Stijn Schaars (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Wesley Sneijder (FC Internazionale Milano), Kevin Strootman (PSV Eindhoven), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur FC)

Forwards: Ibrahim Afellay (FC Barcelona), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (FC Schalke 04), Luuk de Jong (FC Twente), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool FC), Jeremain Lens (PSV Eindhoven), Luciano Narsingh (sc Heerenveen), Robin van Persie (Arsenal FC), Arjen Robben (FC Bayern München).

I can't help but feel slightly insulted by this post considering that we wiped the floor with you guys in every single oficial game for the past 12 years...

Sorry PhantomViper, if I'd gone for every credible competitor i'd have had to include the french, croatians, czechs and italians as well. Do you reckon the Portuguese will get out their group then? I mean you have a pretty decent midfield and pepe, coentrao and ronaldo but no conventional striker, or really top class defence/keeper. And its a properly tough group.

And you only beat us because of winky winky ronaldo and his getting rooney sent off and being a better player than any of ours.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Portugal squad
Goalkeepers: Rui Patricio (Sporting), Eduardo (Benfica), Beto (Cluj)
Defenders: Joao Pereira (Sporting), Bruno Alves (Zenit St Petersburg), Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid), Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Costa (Valencia), Rolando (Porto), Miguel Lopes (Braga)
Midfielders: Carlos Martins (Granada), Joao Moutinho (Porto), Miguel Veloso (Genoa), Raul Meireles (Chelsea), Ruben Micael (Zaragoza), Custodio (Braga)
Strikers: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Hugo Almeida (Besiktas), Helder Postiga (Zaragoza), Nani (Manchester United), Nelson Oliveira (Benfica), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas), Silvestre Varela (Porto)

CZECH REPUBLIC SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Petr Cech (Chelsea), Jan Lastuvka (Dnepropetrovsk), Jaroslav Drobny (Hamburg), Tomas Grigar (Teplice)
Defenders: Frantisek Rajtoral (Plzen), Roman Hubnik (Hertha Berlin), Tomas Sivok (Besiktas), Michal Kadlec (Bayer Leverkusen), Daniel Pudil (Cesena), Theodor Gebre Selassie (Slovan Liberec), David Limbersky (Plzen), Marek Suchy (Spartak Moscow)
Midfielders: Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal), Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux), Jan Rezek (Famagusta), Daniel Kolar (Plzen), Petr Jiracek (Wolfsburg), Milan Petrzela (Plzen), Vaclav Pilar (Plzen), Tomas Hubschman (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Strikers: Milan Baros (Galatasaray), David Lafata (Jablonec), Tomas Pekhart (Nuremberg), Tomas Necid (CSKA Moscow)

ITALY SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Buffon (Juventus), De Sanctis (Napoli), Sirigu (Paris St. Germain), Viviano (Palermo).
Defenders: D Abate (Milan), Astori (Cagliari), Balzaretti (Palermo), Barzagli (Juventus) Bocchetti (Rubin Kazan), Bonucci (Juventus), Chiellini (Juventus), Criscito (Zenit St Petersburg), Maggio (Napoli), Ogbonna (Torino), Ranocchia (Inter);
Midfielders: Cigarini (Atalanta), De Rossi (Roma), Diamanti (Bologna), Giaccherini (Juventus), Marchisio (Juventus), Montolivo (Fiorentina), Thiago Motta (Paris St. Germain), Nocerino (Milan), Pirlo (Juventus),Schelotto (Atalanta), Verratti (Pescara);
Strikers: Balotelli (Manchester City), Borini (Roma), Cassano (Milan), Destro (Siena), Di Natale (Udinese), Giovinco (Parma)

Provisional France squad for Euro 2012

Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille), Cedric Carrasso (Girondins Bordeaux).

Defenders: Gael Clichy (Manchester City), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Philippe Mexes (AC Milan), Adil Rami (Valencia), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille), Anthony Reveillere (Olympique Lyon), Mapou Yanga Mbiwa (Montpellier).

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Samir Nasri (Manchester City), Alou Diarra (Olympique Marseille), Yann Mvila (Stade Rennes), Yoann Gourcuff (Olympique Lyon), Marvin Martin (Sochaux), Blaise Matuidi (Paris St Germain).

Forwards: Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle United), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier), Jeremy Menez (Paris St Germain), Loic Remy (Olympique Marseille), Mathieu Valbuena (Olympique Marseille).

CROATIA:

Goalkeepers: Stipe Pletikosa (Rostov/RUS), Danijel Subasic (Monaco/FRA), Ivan Kelava (Dinamo Zagreb), Goran Blazevic (Hajduk Split)

Defenders: Jurica Buljat (Maccabi Haifa/ISR), Domagoj Vida (Dinamo Zagreb), Vedran Corluka (Bayer Leverkusen/GER), Josip Simunic (Dinamo Zagreb), Dejan Lovren (Lyon/FRA), Sime Vrsaljko (Dinamo Zagreb), Gordon Schildenfeld (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER), Ivan Strinic (Dnepropetrovsk/UKR), Danijel Pranjic (Bayern Munich/GER)

Midfielders: Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk/UKR), Tomislav Dujmovic (Real Zaragoza/ESP), Ognjen Vukojevic (Dynamo Kiev/UKR), Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla/ESP), Luka Modric (Tottenham/ENG), Ivan Perisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Niko Kranjcar (Tottenham/ENG), Milan Badelj (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivo Ilicevic (Hamburg/GER)

Strikers: Ivica Olic (Bayern Munich/GER), Nikica Jelavic (Everton/ENG), Mario Mandzukic (Wolfsburg/GER), Eduardo da Silva (Shakhtar Donetsk/UKR), Nikola Kalinic (Dnepropetrovsk/UKR)

dæl wrote:Sorry PhantomViper, if I'd gone for every credible competitor i'd have had to include the french, croatians, czechs and italians as well. Do you reckon the Portuguese will get out their group then? I mean you have a pretty decent midfield and pepe, coentrao and ronaldo but no conventional striker, or really top class defence/keeper. And its a properly tough group.

And you only beat us because of winky winky ronaldo and his getting rooney sent off and being a better player than any of ours.

Before Paulo Bento came along we were virtually out of the qualification. He managed to get us through with an impressive 5 consecutive wins streak so I'm prepared to believe that he will get us through (we will loose against Germany, win against Denmark and Holland will decide everything).

We haven't had a decent striker since Pauleta resigned the team and even then our top scorers were always the wingmen and never the strikers: thats what we have Ronaldo and Nani for.

Its the toughest group in the competition, but I'm prepared to at least dream for a bit...

Blood and Slaughter wrote:Yeah, they'll both likely wipe the floor with England. That's a given really. To be honest at the moment England are probably just scraping into the top ten international sides in Europe, a situation that has been ongoing for some years now and will not be improved by hanging onto relics like Terry, Ferdinand, Scholes, etc, butb rather by giving youth some experience in the next two competitions so they may have a chance of performing respectably in 2016. Of course it won't happen because the English are incapable of long-term planning, instead demanding a wholly unrealistic level of success from players who are frankly international journeymen.

And yet we are ranked 7th in the world?

Damn there are some real negative nancies on Dakka.

Me, I would jettison Defoe at the first opportunity, Carroll is there to add height for a long ball punt ill wager (and keep another car thief off the streets). Sturridge should have made it, I would have also had Gibbs on the plane.

Win/loose/whatever England aren't a bad side and will make a fair fist of this if they get behind the manager and pull together. Don't let the papers lead you down the darkside people, Football is there to be enjoyed FFS.

We have the best pubs in the world, this allows us to beleive we have the best team in the world. At least for a week or so, then we can switch back to pretending to like Andy Murray at Wimbledon!

Richards should have got a spot, and I'd swap Johnson for Downing. Also, I wouldn't have taken Lampard.

Seems a mistake to not take Carrick ahead of Milner/Lampard, he'd be far more able to retain possession, and slow the pace of the game if need be. Richards ahead of Terry is a good call too, although if Smalling was fit, i'd pick him first. Such a shame for Wilshere too, typical arsenal supposed to be out for a few months, misses a year.

And yet we are ranked 7th in the world?

FIFA rankings are inherently dubious. Really it's doubtful that England are the 7th best in Europe. Maybe if everyone was fit and everyone played well and as a team then a top eight (ie quarter finals of Euros) spot would be fair enough.

But quarter-finals placing has traditionally been seen as failure -- which is utterly bonkers.

Seems a mistake to not take Carrick ahead of Milner/Lampard

I'm not sure. He's certainly got merit but he's not a leader in the wayt Lampard is, nor is he young enough to justify inclusion on his own merit (assuming that Hodgson's brief is to build for the furure). I wouldn't object to seeing him in the squad rather than Lampard. And yes, if Smalling was fit, he should go (I'd probably drop a midfielder to squeeze him in.