Capello's decision to drop Walcott from England squad doesn't surprise Former stars
Capello's decision to drop Walcott from England squad doesn't surprise Former stars Former England defender Alan Mullery felt Theo Walcott's failure to improve over the last year cost him his place in Fabio Capello's squad for the World Cup in South Africa.
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| Arsenal star Theo Walcott was left out of England's squad for the World Cup. PIC/GETTY IMAGES |
The Arsenal forward was left out of the 23-man party today, with Shaun Wright-Phillips and Aaron Lennon picked ahead of him as England's flying wingers.
Walcott was a surprise inclusion in the 2006 World Cup squad having not played in a single Premier League match and looked a certainty for inclusion after firing a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Croatia in September 2008.
But injuries and inconsistent form have cost him, and Mullery told Sky Sports News: "I didn't think (Capello) would pick Theo Walcott because he doesn't seem to have improved over the last year or so.
"It doesn't surprise me, though it might surprise a lot of people because they will say he has got great pace."
Sir Geoff Hurst, whose hat-trick helped England win the 1966 World Cup, said on the subject of Walcott: "I've seen him play for Arsenal on the box in the latter part of the season, he's had injury problems and I don't think he's replicated his England form towards the back end of the year."
Darren Bent was another man to be omitted as Capello plumped for Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch, Emile Heskey and Jermain Defoe as his four strikers, and Mullery felt Bent missed out because Heskey's attributes make him better suited to international football.
He added: "It's no disrespect to Darren Bent but it's very rare for him to take up balls being played into his feet and then spinning off defenders.
"You have got to be able to get control of the ball, hold the ball up, and Emile Heskey does that very well. Even though he doesn't score as many goals as Darren Bent he can keep hold of the ball."
Former England midfielder John Barnes felt the inclusion of Bent would have made England top-heavy in the striking department.
"I think we get caught up in how many strikers we want to take, but there is no other country in the world who will take more than four strikers," Barnes said.
