Hodgson Not Helping Tom Cleverley By Keep Picking Him For England

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — England manager Roy Hodgson must take the blame for under-fire Manchester United player Tom Cleverley, as he keeps picking the midfielder even though he’s under-performing.

Cleverley, who has been strongly criticized by many this season for a poor outing thus far, was selected ahead of a number of other players by Hodgson squad to face Denmark in an upcoming friendly international and there are several fans who believes he hasn’t earned a slot.

Hodgson has constantly selected the central midfielder and there are fears that he might make the team to travel to Brazil for the FIFA World Cup this summer.

Things have gotten so far that a petition has been set up with the hope of stopping Cleverley from featuring for England in the World Cup and there are a reported 4,000 signatures, which was accumulated in just one day.

Petitioner Glenn McConnell, of Blackpool said: “Tom Cleverley, owner of 13 England caps, six more than Ross Barkley, Adam Lallana and Leon Osman combined, has been regularly selected by Roy Hodgson in his squads without possessing any genuine qualities whatsoever.”

Manchester United manager David Moyes has also been selected Cleverley in his starting squad, which causes 24-year-old to come under several abuses from both Manchester United and England fans.

“The strengths I see are the strengths that David Moyes sees as well, because he picks him on a fairly regular basis himself,” Hodgson said.

“I don`t think there`d be many people who would deny that he`s a talented footballer. He`s a very good passer of the ball, very involved in the game.

“When things were going well for Manchester United, people enjoyed what he was doing: getting on the ball, keeping it moving, making certain that he was working hard to get back in position and help out defensively.

“Unfortunately, because at the moment he`s playing in a team where the results are not going their way, the spotlight sometimes lands quicker on the Cleverley’s than it maybe does on some of the better-known players or players who had very good seasons last season.”

Hodgson also warned Cleverley: “If Tom`s going to get in the 23, then he`ll have to play well in the coming matches, because the fact he`s in the 30 doesn`t guarantee him a place in the 23.”