4. To Ensure That There Are Other Goalkeepers With England Experience
Regardless of whether you think Hart should be dropped completely, be given competition for his starting place, or remain indisputable No.1, there is always a possibility that injury or suspension will make him unavailable at the crucial point. If that does happen, the worry would then be that England don't possess another goalkeeping option with sufficient international experience. If Hart were to get a serious injury during or right before the World Cup itself, the options to replace him with a player who's played for the Three Lions before are pretty scarce. Aside from Hart, the only goalkeeper with significant England experience who is still playing is Blackburn's Paul Robinson. Robinson, who retired from international football three years ago anyway, lost his place after winning 41 caps because he, like Hart, was making bad errors at crucial moments. QPR's Robert Green is the most capped player still available for selection with 12 appearances. The only keepers playing in the top flight with England experience, though, are Hart, West Brom's Ben Foster (six caps), Ruddy (one cap) and Man City's third choice Richard Wright who played twice for England over ten years ago. Forster has managed to become England's number two goalkeeping option without ever playing. England are going to want to give him a game at some point - preferably at a moment of Hodgson's choosing rather than when forced into it on the biggest stage of all. Once again, if you really want someone you can rely on, someone whose England experience is useful, then that means that you have to play them in an important competitive match, not just a friendly.