Friday 10 June 2011

Pearce bemoans England's absentees

The European Under-21 Championships open in Denmark this weekend. England's under-21 team is one of eight competing. The other seven are: Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Belarus (Group A), and Spain, Czech Republic and Ukraine with England in Group B.

England under-21 boss Stuart Pearce is unhappy that several of England's top young players have withdrawn from the squad. Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Micah Richards and Andy Carroll are the big four names - all with senior international experience - who have pulled out.

"We've probably got the biggest number of absentees who have represented the seniors," Pearce said. "We need to make sure that when we turn up to these tournaments that the big, big players are here."

He went on to say that experience gainmed from such a tournament didn't have a downside. "It adds value to the players, which obviously the club pick up on as well.
"I'll still deem that there's a real learning curve from the tournament like this. It's really high-profile, it's gaining in momentum profile-wise every two years."

It's a shame that so many of England's top youngsters will miss the trip. Invaluable experience will be lost, which could have stood them in good stead for future senior tournaments.

Nevertheless, others will gain from - such as Jordan Henderson, now of Liverpool, and Scott Sinclair of newly promoted Swansea City.

We wish them well.

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