James Ward Prowse can be disappointed in being left out of the England squad especially when he sees some of those who have been included.
James Ward Prowse has not been chosen for the England squad for the upcoming games although for Saints fans it will be a blessing is disguise as it means that he will hopefully be fit and raring to go after the break and determined to push his way into the squad for the summer if he can continue his rich vein of form.
But he will be disappointed as there have been those chosen who have done far less than our man.
I can understand why Dele Alli has been included despite only just returning from injury, yes he hasn't done much for the past couple of months because of that, but his talent and previous form warrant him coming straight back in, no it is those who can't make the first team for their respective clubs that puzzle me when they are included.
Ruben Loftus Cheek for one, although he made an impression for Crystal Palace last season starting 21 Premier league games plus another as sub, for Chelsea this he has been a bit part player, starting only once and making 14 appearances off the bench totalling only 430 minutes on the pitch, that is the equivalent to around 4.75 games.
For over a third of the games Chelsea have played in the League he has not made the bench and his only start came over 4 months ago.
I have nothing against Loftus Cheek, but he is not exactly a form player and barely started a game in any competition let alone the Premier League, surely this sends out the wrong sort of message to young aspiring England players and that message is it is better to sit on a Big Six Club's benchfor your International prospects than actually be playing football regularly in the Premier League, when the England manager seems to pick players based on the size of their salary rather than what they are actually doing on the pitch, that tells you why the game is going to the dogs.
Likewise Ross Barkley, in starting 10 Premier League games for Chelsea and 12 off the bench he has a little more game time with 975 minutes, but only 342 of those have come since the turn of the year.
Declan Rice is another who should not have been in ahead of JWP, he has a bit more experience than Loftus Cheek and has been in the press because he has turned bis back on the Republic of Ireland with whom he has won 3 caps, but because they were all friendly appearances that enables him to turn his back on the republic and jump camp to the England squad.
Is that grounds to pick him ahead of Ward Prowse who is truly the form player at the moment amongst the England midfield hopefuls ?
Fabian Delph is also in, a player who has managed just 725 minutes in the Premier League out of a total of 2,700 he could have played for Manchester City, has played only 10 minutes since Boxing Day and at present can't even get in the squad let alone warm the bench.
Sadly this England squad is predictable, play for a big club and you get in the squad, we suspected that last year when Ryan Bertrand was dropped for the World Cup and now we know it.
It is time that England places were determined by playing games and being in form, not because of the club you play for, too many in this squad are not first choices at their club, that is wrong.
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke City), Tom Heaton (Burnley), Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Leicester City), Michael Keane (Everton), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), James Tarkowski (Burnley), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Chelsea), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Callum Wilson (Bournemouth)