I think we can all agree that Jamie Carragher making himself unavailable for England selection is a bad thing. He's easily in the top three centre backs in England, he may be in the top two, he may even be numero uno. It probably depends on who you support.

But Carragher's decision may be the best thing to happen to England in a long time, and here's why:

The single biggest problem with England this century is that big name players are selected over less starry players who are in better form but don't have as good PR. Carragher is obviously an example of someone who's been repeatedly overlooked despite being in magnificent form. Darren Bent could claim the same, especially when Sven took two injured - but famous- strikers in Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen to the 2006 World Cup ahead of him, as well as Theo Walcott: a young player with good media buzz who Sven had never even seen play. This is old new, but relevant.

So maybe losing someone they considered a dependable squad man like Carragher will be a wake up call to Steve Mac, and to the FA, that you can't take these players for granted, you can't keep giving the flashier names the nod ahead of them, because eventually they're going to say enough is enough and retire from international footy.