What Happened To The McClaren Makeover?

Filed in archive England on November 10, 2006

What happened to all the experimentation McClaren promised us? I was seriously expecting to see guys like Arsenal's Theo Walcott, Wigan's Leighton Baines and Bolton's Kevin Nolan this time around.

This is a team that seriously needs freshening up and I'm convinced those were the guys to do it. But despite naming a ginormous 28 man squad, the only fresh face is Micah Richards, who's never really going to start ahead of Gary Neville anyway.

With such a big squad what's the point of including dead wood like Phil Neville and (sorry Spurs fans) Jermaine Jenas? They're solid enough players, but I want to see talent like Walcott pushed through and given a chance. This was the perfect opportunity.

Full squad (shamelessly cut and pasted from The Fiver):

Robinson (Tottenham), Kirkland (Plucky Little Wigan), Foster (MU Rowdies), G Neville (MU Rowdies), P Neville (Everton), Richards (Man City), Ferdinand (MU Rowdies), Terry (Chelsea), King (Tottenham), Carragher (Liverpool), Brown (MU Rowdies), Dawson (Tottenham), Cole (Chelsea), Bridge (Chelsea), Lennon (Tottenham), Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), Gerrard (Liverpool), Lampard (Chelsea), Carrick (MU Rowdies), Parker (Newcastle), Jenas (Tottenham), Cole (Chelsea), Downing (Middlesbrough), Rooney (MU Rowdies), Crouchigol (Liverpool), Defoe (Tottenham), Bent (Charlton), Johnson (Everton)