Hughes says Wright-Phillips deserved of England recall

"I would be surprised if Shaun isn't in the England squad because he has been outstanding since he came back to the Club.

"If he is not in this squad then he absolutely will be in the next one in the New Year when he has had 20-odd games under his belt."

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Hughes also goes on to credit the influence Wright-Phillips has had on the dressing room, with his positive outlook and approach:

"Shaun is great in the dressing room. It has been easy for him to settle right back in even though there is a different management team. This is his Club and he is comfortable here.

"The benefit from playing with a smile on his face and playing regularly is there for everyone to see."

I wonder if the squad though will perhaps come a little too soon for Wright-Phillips, with Capello wanting to see more of him to really put his disappointing time at Chelsea behind him, but for my money there isn't a more in form player who can fill that spot on the right at the moment.

Hart named in England squad

Joe Hart faces a busy month after being called up to the full England squad for the first team.

Hart is one of three keepers in Fabio Capello’s squad for the games against the USA on May 28th and Trinidad & Tobago on June 1st, with David James and Chris Kirkland also named.

He is also in Stuart Pearce’s England Under 21 squad for a friendly against Wales on May 15th, as is midfielder Michael Johnson.

The news of the senior call-up caps a great season for Joe, who established himself as City’s number one stopper and won the Official Supporters Club’s Young Player of the Year.

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The way Hart has performed this season, the decision to call him into the squad is not a surprise in the slightest.

Whilst David James has proved himself the most consistent keeper in the country despite his advancing years, the list of other challengers who have featured - namely Robinson, Carson and Foster, have failed to grab their opportunity and both Hart and Chris Kirkland are most definitely the likely candidates to push James as England head towards the World Cup qualifiers.

Richards out for the season?

Micah Richards - who has missed the past couple of games due to injury, has been removed from the England squad from their encounter with Estonia in June and it must be certain that his offseason operation to solve his calf problems will now be brought forward to ensure his recovery is made as soon as possible before the start of next seasons campaign.

Now that we have all but secured Premiership safety - and with the timely return of Nedum Onouha from injury, there can be no reason to stave off the operation in the hope he could be back for the last couple of games and it is encouraging that Stuart Pearce has decided to force this issue and put the interests of the club (and ultimately the player) for first.

Richards in, Barton out for England

Fairly predictable stuff but the latest England squad sees Joey Barton axed following his debut against Spain in the recent friendly, but Micah Richards keeps his place in the squad for the double-header against Israel and Andorra.

There was a little speculation that senior members of the squad had called for Barton to be left out due to his 'big-time Charlie' antics when he was in the last squad. Despite ruffling a few feathers with some of his comments about the team, surely it was inevitable that McLaren would revert to type and plump for the tried and trusted faces when it came to the 'serious' games.

Pearce goes on the offensive

Perhaps stung a little by the criticism and negativity heading his way this week over the England under-21 role, Stuart Pearce has fought back today declaring that he is more than capable of combining the two roles, and urging City fans to 'get real' over fears he would not treat City as his priority.

The biggest charm offensive was in todays MEN, where a two page interview with Chris Bailey saw Pearce trying to reassure fans (and the board?) that there would be no conflict of interest - pointing to the fact he would only be away for a handful of days between now and the end of the season, with it not being uncommon for him to miss certain training sessions, he would have attended the under-21 tournament anyway as an interested spectator/scout, and that the role would end at the climax of the tournament.

Peter Taylor also backed Pearce to be able to handle the pressures of the dual role and Pearce does have an argument with his comments today, and although I am still against him taking the role perhaps a lot of the talk was overblown in the aftermath of his bungled announcement on Sunday.

Andrew over at purelymancity offers an ever insightful perspective on the subject, claiming that there may be more behind the boards decision to reject the approach from the FA - and particularly the influence of Dennis Tueart at the club.

The impending transfer window deadline has perhaps pushed the timescale on a decision back a little - particularly given that it appears likely that a couple of reinforcements will be brought in before tomorrows midnight deadline.

However, expect this issue to dominate the column inches towards the end of the week and beyond until a decision is made - a decision that I fear could leave some long lasting feeling depending upon how it is resolved.

Pearce set for England collision course

Contrary to reports yesterday that a deal allowing Stuart Pearce to take over the running of the England under-21 side had been agreed, the club released the following statement:

"Manchester City Football Club would like to clarify
the situation regarding the offer of the temporary England Under 21 coaching
role to our Manager, Stuart Pearce.
The Club has not given permission for
our Manager to be released for England duty. We recognise Stuart's patriotism
and enthusiasm to assist the Football Association and Manchester City in turn
understands the F.A's desire to have him contributing to the Under 21s European
Championship campaign.
We will remain in dialogue with the F.A. and hope to
reach a solution suitable to this Club in the next few days".

Quite what this 'suitable solution' is is anybody's guess at the moment - it may be financial compensation, or more simply the club reluctantly agreeing to the move but trying to ensure Pearce is away on international duty for as little time as possible.

It was a strange chain of events yesterday with Pearce appearing to confirm he had agreed to take the position - only for the board to release the above statement denying this. Pearce himself clearly wants the job, and probably sees it as a stepping stone into the England fold for the ultimate job (which he was touted before previously), and Pearce himself said:

"I have accepted the FA's offer to manage the
Under-21s.
"The club had concerns about me doing the job and maybe it taking
my eye off the ball, but I know that won't be the case.
"I will be introduced
to the squad on Sunday night ahead of the friendly against Spain.
If I
thought it would be detrimental to City, I wouldn't be taking on the
role.
"It's a great honour to be asked to do something for your country when
you're as patriotic as I am. And the club have been very open-minded about the
offer. The FA have just got to finalise one of two things.
"We're trying to
get a compromise between both parties to make sure everyone is happy. Regardless
of whether or not I'm in charge of the Under-21s, we will win games, draw games
and lose games. There's a ready-made excuse there every week, but I work too
hard at my job for anything at all to distract me from doing it well."

The papers this morning are full of contrasting stories - The Mirror claiming Pearce is at 'war' with the club and The Guardian stating the club is 'irritated' at the 'clumsy and premature' announcement. The Mail meanwhile suggested it had 'provoked fury' with the board.

The problem the club has - and it is disappointing Pearce and the FA have been so public, is that they now face the prospect of either reluctantly agreeing a move, or perhaps even more damaging will be to reject the move outright, and potentially damaging long-term relations between club and manager.

It appears that the sticking point is the availability of Pearce for the two friendly matches between now and the end of the season in anticipation of this summers European Championships, with the club willing to allow Pearce to be in charge for the tournament but not before, or maybe even after.

I believe it inevitable that an agreement will be reached, with all sides having to give and take a little - ultimately not being in the best interests of either the club, Pearce or the FA.

Barton set for England call?

Picked up by sections of the press yesterday were comments mde by England manager Steve McLaren (also coming on the heels of recent praise from Terry Venables) regarding the possibility that Joey Barton could be in line for an England call-up in the near future.

McLaren identified the midfielder as one of 'seven or eight' players who could make the leap into the squad:

"I tried to buy Joey when I was at Middlesbrough so
yes, he is a player who interests me," said McClaren. "He has had his troubles
but he has come through them and he is a player who has matured over the last
year."
McClaren was in Manchester at the weekend to see Barton do his best,
but ultimately fail, to engineer a first City derby win in 32 years at Old
Trafford.
"Joey is a leader," he said. "He has great character. You need
people like that, forthright people, not just on the field but off it as well."

How much the comments were merely a recognition of his recent form - and turnaround of his off-field fortunes, or an actual statement of intent that he is in his plans will probably only be seen when McLaren names his next couple of squads.

However, there is no doubt that Barton has improved - and matured as a player and person over the past eighteen months and his form does put him in the top section of English midfielders that are around at the moment. If Gerrard's move out to the right-hand side becomes permanent then potentially there could be an opportunity for him in the centre.

Behind Lampard, the current challengers appear to be the likes of Carrick and Jenas - and whilst they have only sporadically for England, neither can claim to have made a spot their own. Whilst Barton may have a lot to do to get into the England side, I do think it is conceivable for him to get into the squad - and as Micah Richards showed, once you get into a squad opportunities can come your way.

Could SWP be the key to Richards sale?

A lot has been made in the aftermath of Micah Richards England debut about the praiseworthy comments from Chelsea players John Terry and Arjen Robben and how this could be designed to be a 'plea' to the club to sign him and turn Richards' head towards West London.

How likely it is that Chelsea will bid for Richards I don't know, but if Chelsea were to make a bid (I would guess in the region of £10-£15 million) and the City board accepted then the disillusionment seen in recent times would pale into insignificance and they would have a full scale revolt on their hands as another one of the 'crown jewels' is sold to pay off debts.

One thing that has been mentioned to 'smooth' any deal is the possibility of Shaun Wright-Phillips returning to City as part of a trade between the two clubs.

We are all well aware of how Wright-Phillips' career has gone since he left the club and now he is little more than a bit part player for Chelsea, looking shorn of the swagger and confidence we witnessed and logic suggests that he needs to leave the Stamford Bridge to get his career back on track.

Now, could this be where the City board attempt to soften the blow of a Richards sale by including Wright-Phillips in any deal? Although less than eighteen months since his departure his value is nowhere near the £24 million received from Chelsea so could Chelsea be tempted to part with cash plus Wright-Phillips for Richards?

The board know the regard Wright-Phillips was held in, and many still cry out for his return to a side that in the main is devoid of the creative spark he brought during his latter days, and maybe they would believe a returning Wright-Phillips would be an acceptable return in any sale involving Richards.

Personally, I would be dead set against any move. For a start I don't know if Wright-Phillips would be prepared to come back to the club - in some ways tail between his legs and branded as a failure, even if Chelsea were willing to let him go - something I'm not sure they would do.

But the main reason is the potential of Richards. Although he has made his debut for England as a right-back and has been touted as a future centre-half, I believe his ideal position is in central midfield in the mould of Patrick Vieira, where he could dominate a game.

At this point in time, Richards for me has the greater potential of the two impact wise in the long run and I would see it as a gamble to bring back Wright-Phillips as he may not regain the heights to which he achieved at the club and a risk not worth taking if it means sacrificing Richards.

If there was a chance of landing Wright-Phillips without having to give up Richards then that is a different matter entirely...

Richards' England debut

Micah Richards debuted last night for the full England side in the 1-1 draw against Holland in Amsterdam and from the bits I caught he looked to have a decent debut, getting forward well a number of occasions and despite being caught a couple of times he defended solidly as well.

Following the game, the unanimous feeling was that it was a positive debut from him with Steve McLaren, Arjen Robben and Stuart Pearce all praising him, whilst Micah himself was pleased with his own contribution which one observer believes could spell the end for the incumbent England right-back.

Richards in line for England debut

Micah Richards is set to continue his meteoric rise in the game by becoming England's youngest ever defender after it was confirmed he would start at right-back against Holland in Amsterdam tomorrow evening.

It caps an impressive past year for Richards and the fact that it is by no means a shadow squad put out by Steve McLaren is further testament to him, and should at least make an England worth watching for once.

One interesting aside in the press today was Stuart Pearce praising Richards' agents for the role they played in helping convince Richards to sign the long-term extension to his contract last season.

International reflections

With a big lull in the domestic calender at the moment and a lack of real City news going on I thought I may as well post up some thought on the England game last night.

As a contest, England were clearly second best in all departments. Croatia looked far more comfortable on the ball, their movement was quicker and more intelligent and their passing more incisive.

There was a lot of talk about the 3-5-2 and ultimately McLaren switched back to 4-4-2 once England went 2-0 down, and despite the quality of players out there the formation didn't work in the slightest. The 4-4-2 gives far better balance to the midfield and the side missed the presence of Gerrard (albeit suspended) and balance of a left sided midfielder. The midfield trio of Parker, Carrick and Lampard were ineffectual whilst in attack Crouch offered little and Rooney's work was done in areas where he wasn't going to threaten Croatia's defence.

Defensively - particularly centrally is a worry as well as for all the high standards Terry plays to at club level, he fails to replicate this often enough at international level and Ferdinand was found wanting on more than one occasion, whilst neither Neville or Cole seemed comfortable in their wing-back role.

Paul Robinson, who ironically kept England in the game for the most part making three or four high quality saves and whilst much of the attention will be focused on the second goal (which I think a lot was made of the effect the divot had) his positioning for the first goal was suspect and allowed what was a tame header to loop over him into the net. I know I've harped on about this before but imagine the reaction if it had been David James who had committed the errors Robinson made.

Typically though, the media today is really putting the boot in today and McLaren must wish for a home fixture against Andorra to get back on track as opposed to a five month break. You do get the feeling that the press masses have been waiting for a result like this (on the back of the Macedonia draw as well) since the new guy took over.

Although there is talk of a 'crisis' England will still have enough to finish in the top two and qualify through but based on last nights showing at least McLaren has yet to provide any real answers to the questions that were also continually asked of Eriksson during his time in charge.