Age should not prove barrier to World Cup ambitions

Scott Parker points to Ryan Giggs as the reason why no-one should be getting too worked up about dates on the birth certificates of Roy Hodgson’s England squad.
Scott ParkerScott Parker
Scott Parker

At 34, Rio Ferdinand was viewed as the answer to Hodgson’s central defensive woes before he pulled out due to his “intricate” training programme.

Even so, the contingent of over-30s within the England fold is quite large.

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Parker, 32, is one of them, so too captain Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole. Joleon Lescott and Michael Carrick are also in the same club, and Ben Foster will be at the beginning of next month.

Yet Parker insists there is no need for concern.

The Tottenham midfielder watched 39-year-old Giggs produce a virtuoso performance against Real Madrid a couple of weeks ago and he believes that provided all the proof needed to ignore those pesky dates of birth.

“I don’t get the age one really,” he said. “People are too hell-bent on age, whether it’s bringing players through or others being too old.

“If someone is good enough and playing at their best, you pick them.

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“Maybe it’s because I am 32, but I saw Ryan Giggs playing against Real Madrid in the Champions League. He was doing more running than anyone else. I don’t buy into the debate at all.”

Although he made his England debut in 2003, it was not for another eight years that Parker really started to make his mark on the Three Lions squad, by which time he had already celebrated his 30th birthday.

Little wonder, therefore, that Parker wants to extend his England career as long as possible, a feeling that only intensified during an absence from the international fold stretching back to the Euro 2012 quarter-final defeat by Italy in June, after which the midfielder was forced to undergo surgery on a worrying Achilles complaint.

“I had the Achilles problem at the back end of the season and missed the last eight games trying to get right for the summer,” he said. “I didn’t go into the Euros in any massive pain but I pushed it a little bit too far.

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“It caused me problems at the beginning of this season so I needed to get it sorted.”

In the meantime, England have moved on significantly.

It has not so much been on the pitch where change has been implemented, even though Hodgson has been able to stamp his authority on the set-up to a far greater extent than he was prior to last summer’s tournament.

The main change is that England have moved into St George’s Park, their state-of-the-art base at Burton.

As a former pupil at the old FA School of Excellence at Lilleshall, Parker understands the benefits that can be created by a ‘club’ England culture.

He believes St George’s Park can generate such a feeling.

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“It’s an inspiring place,” he said. “The first thing I said to Jermain Defoe, and some of the other boys who went to Lilleshall, was that it does bring back those memories.

“When Lilleshall shut down there was no real identity.

“You need to look at England like being at a club. Before, it hasn’t seemed like that, probably because you are not at the same place every day.

“When you have a base, a place you recognise as somewhere you come to all the time – it can only help.”

Joe Hart, meanwhile, has set his sights on keeping the England No 1 spot after the return of Foster to the squad for the qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro.

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The 25-year-old admits his own season has “not been brilliant” in contrast to last year, when he won the Premier League title with Manchester City and participated in Euro 2012.

Although he welcomes the return of West Brom’s Foster after a two-year break from international football, Hart is determined to try and keep hold of the jersey. “It’s great to see Ben. He is a consistent performer, someone I get on well with, when we train and to play against,” said Hart.

“It’s good to have goalkeepers like that around. There are three top quality goalkeepers here plus Jack Butland and Jon Ruddy, and everywhere you look there is good talent.

“Is Foster good enough to push me? Yes, but I’ve felt that every time I’ve come away with England.

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“My job when I was first involved was to really push hard. We all train like we are going to play and and push each other and it’s really good.

“If any one of the three played, then we’d be in a strong position.”

However, Hart will not give up his position easily.

He said: “I’m in that privileged spot at the moment. I didn’t dream of this spot because I didn’t think it would happen.

“I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do, I love it, I’ll keep working and training hard if there are no goal keepers or 1,000 goalkeepers.

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“That No 1 spot is one I want to keep and last summer (Euro 2012) was a real high point in my career.

“It was one of the best footballing things I’ve done. To play in a tournament like that is a dream.”

Hart concedes himself and City have struggled to maintain last season’s standards, but he still refuses to give up the title to Manchester United.

He said: “My season has not been brilliant.

“It has had its good times but it’s what football is. It is what I love doing.

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“I’ve enjoyed it, it’s been tough, things haven’t always gone my way.

“Sometimes you take knocks, that’s football, you take opinions, but you’ve got to be strong.

“I feel strong, good, that I’m doing the right things and, hopefully, I can have a good end to the season. I

“ understand you have your great nights and sometimes things don’t go the way you want. That’s the way it is.

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“I’m my strongest critic but I would never bury myself. It’s pretty obvious when you make a mistake as a goalkeeper, you don’t need to dwell on it too long. It’s out there.”

England set their sights

England will have an ideal opportunity to improve their goal difference when they face San Marino in the World Cup qualifier tomorrow night.

Sitting joint bottom of the FIFA world rankings, and with a population of just 33,000, San Marino’s team could feature an accountant, a bank clerk and a barman in the small town of Serravalle.

San Marino’s usual focus is on damage limitation while England will aim to emulate the following impressive list of away wins in competitive games:

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Northern Ireland 1 England 5, 1979, European Championship qualifier.

Turkey 0 England 8, 1984, World Cup qualifier.

San Marino 1 England 7, 1993, World Cup qualifier

Germany 1 England 5, 2001, World Cup qualifier.