Every time an England squad announcement comes around fans up and down the country wait in anticipation to see whether some of their star English players will be involved.
Given that the European Championships are in France next summer, the picks made by manager Roy Hodgson will be scrutinised even more intently in the run up to the tournament.
At Palace, we have never really experienced the wait for an England squad in the same way as other clubs have. Over the past few years we have never particularly had the calibre of players that could potentially break into the England fold.
In my opinion, that has changed as now we do. A few of our players have been overlooked this time, which is mightily disappointing.
I am not just saying that as a Palace fan and blowing the trumpet for our players, but I also feel players from other clubs which are not necessarily in the Premier League who have performed well at the beginning of the season have not been selected either.
It all seems to come down to the old argument of whether England managers pick players purely on their past experiences and achievements in the game instead of current form. I always lean towards the latter point. That is how it should be. Players should get into the squad based on their current form.
Former England boss Fabio Capello was a sucker for picking players purely on their footballing achievements and I feel that Mr Hodgson might be going down a similar route.
One player who has been excluded from the current squad who face San Marino and Switzerland is Charlie Austin, who has incidentally been linked with us throughout the summer.
Queens Park Rangers are now in the Championship after relegation last season, but he has started the season well by scoring four goals and providing one assist. Yet he is not included in the squad and I just do not get it. He is certainly good enough, but it seems to me that because his club side are in England’s second tier he is not getting a look.
The big clubs with English players in them to me are getting a bigger chance in the England setup. Could it be a case of small club syndrome with the lesser known English players? Sides such as West Ham United, West Bromwich Albion, and Palace have players that have performed admirably and are not being picked for the national side.
If we look at Palace over the last year or so, two players near to the fold are Scott Dann and Jason Puncheon. Full back Joel Ward is certainly not far behind either in my opinion. A couple more months of solid displays and he will be pushing Kyle Walker and Nathaniel Clyne for a call up.
Ever since the Merseyside born ‘Zi’ Dann stepped through the door at Selhurst he has grown into a top class defender, who is now the lynchpin of our defence. Last season he was one of the most consistent defenders in the country, even when the tides were rough at Palace at the beginning. When Alan Pardew arrived his performances went up another level.
In the Premier League he scored two goals last season and chipped in with three assists, not to mention a couple of goals in the FA Cup. With Dann you do not just get reliable defensive performances. You also get some goals over a course of a season to boot.
You cannot tell me that Hodgson has not witnessed his tremendous performances over the past year. If you base call ups on form, it is quite perplexing to try and understand why he is not involved on this occasion. Obviously this is a view from a Palace fan, but I would like to think I would be backed by any genuine football fans.
Given the chance I believe Dann could be a international level defender, and I am not saying a first choice one because we have some top defenders, but he could definitely do a job if he was called upon.
The next Eagle which could have been included in the squad is Puncheon. Our creative maestro has been magnificent since the turn of this year, his performances under Pardew have been superb at times.
On occasions in the second half of last season Puncheon ran the show for us in the middle of park, contributing six goals and seven assists. This season he already has more assists so the target for him is likely to be to break the ten goal a season barrier. He is certainly capable.
The only thing that is against him at the moment in regards to an England call up is the rich vein of talent we have in that area. The likes of Ross Barkley, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Raheem Sterling can all play in that position which when on top form they would be hard to dislodge.
With the performances that Puncheon put in at the end of last season along with the start to this campaign, if I were him I would feel a little hard done by in not being selected for the squad.
Hopefully that did not sound like a rant, but I think I speak for the majority that are becoming disillusioned with some of selections such as Ryan Mason, and to an extent Jamie Vardy. Players that are decent players, but current form would suggest they are off the pace in terms of an international call up.
Anyway, they are there now and we just have to live with it. The only way they can prove us wrong is by delivering a good performance. Facing San Marino is hard to judge how good they are at international level so the Switzerland game will be a much better test.
As always here at the TEB we like to hear your views, so contact us through the usual social media routes or if you want leave a comment below this article then we will get back to you.
Feature image courtesy of Michael Hulf Photography – Twitter @hulfie.
