Another England squad, another snub for most of the North East's best English players. No surprise there then, but once again Roy Hodgson has included some players who seem to be being picked not on merit, but on their names. Yes, Rolando Aarons is not quite match fit at the minute, and he's not played a great deal of football this season, but as a substitute for England, he would be a massive secret weapon, particularly as the squad is so set up for pace. But the best he gets is a place in the U20 squad - a waste of time. And what of Jack Colback and Steven Taylor, two of the hardest working stars of Newcastle's five game unbeaten run in all competitions? In truth, Colback and Taylor aren't the most likely of England candidates, though both have attracted selection calls in the past, but they're surely both more suitable to playing than Andros Townsend and Rickie Lambert? Even Emmanuel Riviere should have more of a shout to play up front for England than the Liverpool striker. Elsewhere there's a call up for Paul Dummett to the Welsh squad, a few days after Mehdi Abeid's good form in the first team was rewarded with an Algeria call up, and Jamaal Lascelles will play in the U21 England team, despite being mostly left on the bench at Nottingham Forest so far this season. To be frank, England not picking Newcastle players is a good thing: as Michael Owen proved, they have an awful habit of coming back broken. But for the sake of the players themselves it seems unfair to not get a nod of approval from an international manager who is supposed to reward form over who you play for.
