Green doesn't fit for Cap

Does Robert Green have severe halitosis? Is he an axe murderer on the quiet? It's hard to see why else he has been overlooked by Fabio Capello, who has just named his 30-man England squad. Green, not good enough: we've already found something that Capello and Steve McClaren agree on.

Yet Green played well against Liverpool last night, just as he has all season. Matthew Upson, the centre back, is rewarded for West Ham United's solidity with a call-up, but not the man with the gloves behind him. David James - old but good. Scott Carson - young but potentially good. Chris Kirkland? Does Capello seriously think Kirkland is better than Green? It's far from a cast-iron indicator of a goalkeeper's ability, but Wigan Athletic have conceded twice as many goals as West Ham this season. That must count for something.

Perhaps Capello believes Kirkland deserves an act of charity for having to play behind Titus Bramble. Maybe Kirkland being busier than Green has helped him to impress. Either way, it's a jarring note in an otherwise sensible squad. Jermain Defoe is another notable omission, but he can't get in the Tottenham Hotspur team and has not impressed when he has played for England - a shockingly high 26 caps, a shockingly low 3 goals - so fair enough, give Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor a go.

No Dave Kitson, despite the rumours. Most surprising inclusion? Curtis Davies. He's made five starts for Aston Villa and for much of the season has played second-fiddle to Zat Knight - a damning situation indeed. But Capello and his coaching cohorts can only go on what they've seen, and they've only seen players in detail since the start of the year. Ledley King, meanwhile, has made only three Barclays Premier League appearances this term.

Neither will get near the team given the certainty of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand starting when fit and the glut of other centre backs. There's no harm in adding new blood, though, and for their first squad, England managers do tend to experiment like GCSE chemistry students with a Bunsen burner and a bag of brightly-coloured powder.

See how the odd name (some very odd names) jumps out from these little moments of history:

Steve McClaren’s first England squad (v Greece, friendly, August 2006)

- C Kirkland (Liverpool/Wigan), P Robinson (Tottenham), B Foster (Manchester United/Watford)

- A Cole (Arsenal), L Young (Charlton), W Bridge (Chelsea), J Terry (Chelsea), P Neville (Everton), J Carragher (Liverpool), W Brown (Man Utd), R Ferdinand (Man Utd), G Neville (Man Utd), M Dawson (Tottenham)

-O Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), F Lampard (Chelsea), S Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), S Gerrard (Liverpool), K Richardson (Man Utd), S Downing (Middlesbrough), A Lennon (Tottenham), J Jenas (Tottenham)

- D Bent (Charlton), P Crouch (Liverpool), J Defoe (Tottenham), D Ashton (West Ham)

Sven-Goran Eriksson’s first England squad (for friendly v Spain, February 2001)

-D Seaman (Arsenal), N Martyn (Leeds), D James (Aston Villa), R Wright (Ipswich)

- P Neville (Man Utd), G Neville (Man Utd), W Brown (Man Utd), R Ferdinand (Leeds), S Campbell (Tottenham), M Ball (Everton), J Carragher (Liverpool), A Cole (Arsenal), U Ehiogu (Middlesbrough), C Powell (Charlton)

- K Dyer (Newcastle), D Beckham (Man Utd), P Scholes (Man Utd), S McManaman (Real Madrid), J Cole (West Ham), M Carrick (West Ham), F Lampard (West Ham), R Parlour (Arsenal), G McCann (Sunderland), N Butt (Man Utd), N Barmby (Liverpool)

- E Heskey (Liverpool), M Owen (Liverpool), R Fowler (Liverpool), A Cole (Man Utd), T Sheringham (Man Utd), K Phillips (Sunderland)

Kevin Keegan’s first England squad (for Euro 2000 qualifier v Poland, March 1999)

-D Seaman (Arsenal) N Martyn (Leeds Utd)

- T Adams (Arsenal), S Campbell (Tottenham), R Ferdinand (West Ham), M Keown (Arsenal), G Neville (Manchester Utd), P Neville (Manchester Utd), G Le Saux (Chelsea), A Hinchcliffe (Sheff Wed), G Southgate (Aston Villa)

- R Parlour (Arsenal), P Scholes (Manchester Utd), D Beckham (Man Utd), D Batty (Leeds Utd), S McManaman (Liverpool), D Anderton (Tottenham), T Sherwood (Tottenham), J Redknapp (Liverpool)

-A Cole (Manchester Utd), A Shearer (Newcastle Utd), M Owen (Liverpool), R Fowler (Liverpool), C Sutton (Blackburn Rovers).

Glenn Hoddle’s first England squad (for World Cup qualifier v Moldova, September 1996)

- D Seaman (Arsenal), I Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), D James (Liverpool)

- G Neville (Manchester United), S Pearce (Nottingham Forest), G Pallister (Manchester United), S Howey (Newcastle United), G Southgate (Aston Villa), S Campbell (Tottenham Hotspur)

- P Gascoigne (Rangers), P Ince (Internazionale), S McManaman (Liverpool), D Batty (Newcastle United), M Le Tissier (Southampton), D Beckham (Manchester United), S Stone (Nottingham Forest), N Barmby (Middlesbrough), D Anderton (Tottenham Hotspur)

- E Sheringham (Tottenham Hotspur), A Shearer (Newcastle United), L Ferdinand (Newcastle United), R Fowler (Liverpool).

Comments

[Howard]

Green is surely only few months from making the squad. When Capello has seen more of him he will realise he is a very good shotstopper who needs a little more experience at organising his defenders.

[Lewis]

Indeed.

Just as looking at the amount a team concedes is not the best judge of a keepers ability, my outlook on the England keeping situation is based on The Arsenal.

Being a fan, and so watching them more than any other team, I'm going on exactly who has held up best against our offence.

The article mentions how much busier Kirkland is than Green maybe helping to highlight his ability, but when a goalkeeper plays Arsenal, they are always going to be busy, so we've levelled the playing field there already!

And the best performance from a goalkeeper against Arsenal this season: Robert Green.

Best English goalkeeper in the Premiership. Until Almunia gets his hands on that British passport of course...!

[Nick Turnbull]

Steve Howey! No way!!! That's brilliant!

[Matt]

Completely agree with you. You can understand leaving Hart in the U21s for the time being, but leaving out Green just seems mindboggingly strange.

Given the time before the next World Cup, I can't see the logic of keeping James in the squad.

Maybe Capello is just waiting for the summer before installing Almunia as the new England No.1???