Yahoo News Euro 2016 Chris Waddle exclusive: As Sterling plummets, wingless Hodgson will regret leaving Townsend at home
Former England winger Chris Waddle played in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, as well as the 1988 European Championship finals and in an exclusive blog for Yahoo Sport, he has suggested England manager Roy Hodgson made what may have been a fatal error before he named his 23-man squad for Euro 2016.
Roy Hodgson made a big mistake going into this tournament with just one specialist winger.
England are not blessed with too many options in my old position, but I felt his decision to leave Newcastle’s Andros Townsend out of his final squad was always likely to come back to haunt him and from what we have seen in the opening three games of this tournament, that assessment was accurate.
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Raheem Sterling is the only natural winger in the England set-up at Euro 2016 and when you consider the year he has had at Manchester City, it was a risk going into the competition so light in a crucial area of the field.
I like Sterling, but the kid has clearly had his confidence shot over the last 12 months and we should not be too surprised that he has had a dip in form after such a rapid rise to the top.
Sterling seems to have been in the game for a long time now, but we forget that he is still 21 and learning his trade at the highest level of the game. We cannot expect him to be consistent week after week at that age.
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It must be tough to get booed everywhere he plays over the last year and the England fans even turned against him in this tournament, before he was taken off at half-time in the Wales game.
He had some decent games following his high-profile move from Liverpool to Man City last summer, but it was not an easy year for a player who has such high expectations around him.
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Sterling may still have a big role to play for England in this competition and it may be that he can make an impact coming off the bench, with his pace and ability to open up teams a useful weapon to have in reserve as Euro 2016 heads into the decisive stages.
I would be surprised if Sterling was recalled for the Iceland game on Monday, so we need to see Adam Lallana, Daniel Sturridge or whoever makes Hodgson’s starting line-up do a little more when it comes to spreading the play and giving England some width.
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Even if it means standing in a wide position for a 10-minute period of a game, at least that would give the opposition something to worry about. The trouble is, the players I am referring to here are not entirely comfortable playing on the wing.
It will be hard for England to win this competition unless they find some variety in their team because what we have seen so far is some nice football, but it has generally been played through the centre of the park.
That has made life a little too easy for teams that are intent on sitting back and defending, so I want to see Hodgson find a solution to the big weak spot in his team as he heads towards a possible quarter-final against France in Paris.
England have some top class performers in this side and they have played some good football in three opening games against reasonably modest opposition in Russia, Wales and Slovakia, but there is a clear problem in getting width in the team.
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The full-backs have done well to spread the play for England at times, but relying on Kyle Walker, Danny Rose or Nathaniel Clyne to be your main outlet on the wing is a concern.
England have not been tested enough in Euro 2016 so far to assess whether they are serious contenders to win the title, but we won’t have to wait long to find out whether this talented group of players have what it takes to play at their best when the pressure is applied.
England legend Chris Waddle was speaking on behalf of bettingexpert.com. Follow Chris’ Euro 2016 blog at SmartBets, the customisable odds comparison site that gives fans the real-time odds and stats that matter.
