Gerrard shows top players don't care about England
Stuart Pearce's complaint about the eligible Under 21 players missing from the European Championship because they're with the senior side was a valid one, but missed the point.
It would have been brilliant to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Phil Jones and Jack Rodwell bust a gut to get to Israel, like some of the Norwegians did. But ultimately Pearce's issue loses weight when he throws Steven Caulker up front with strikers sitting on the bench.
And Pearce has previous – keepers Joe Lewis and David James have both played up front under him in the past. That kind of thinking will understandably win him no friends.
Heading for the exit: England Under 21 manager Stuart Pearce
The real issue is with senior players not being committed to England, and the knock-on effect of that is younger players being called up by Roy Hodgson. I want to highlight one of my favourite players, Steven Gerrard. For me, the England captain has let his country down.
Gerrard and Liverpool knew about his shoulder injury for 'several months' before the decision was taken to operate on it with two games to go.
Why wait? Liverpool were not involved in any cups, and not challenging for the top four. When Gerrard played in the Merseyside derby, he aggravated the shoulder in a clash early on with Leon Osman, yet he stayed on the pitch for 90 minutes, Liverpool using only two of their three substitutes.
The operation was timed by Liverpool to enable Gerrard to come back for pre-season training. I'm sorry but Gerrard has got his priorities wrong here. All the decisions about Gerrard's shoulder operation were made for Liverpool's benefit.
Gerrard needed to intervene and make his own decisions. If he still puts an also-ran Liverpool outfit under an experiment of a manager ahead of England then he shouldn't be captain of his country. Once you wear that England armband, everything changes. I hope Gerrard realises that.
Lead by example: Steven Gerrard (right) should put England before Liverpool
I know he was desperate for the England captaincy, so at this stage of his career he needs to put international football first. He should have shown the rest of the England players the way by saying to Liverpool that he would be going to Brazil for the friendly, and having the operation when he returned. And if he missed the first chunk of pre-season with Liverpool then so be it.
In Gerrard's mind he should be targeting this World Cup. And that means leading England to Rio de Janeiro for the friendly, then having the operation, and then being fresh and fit for the back-to-back qualifiers in September against Moldova at Wembley, and then against Ukraine.
Gerrard will know England's qualification is in the balance – so he should be showing his commitment. England's best players need to play together more, even in friendlies, because at times they look like strangers in crucial qualifiers.
As captain Gerrard led England to painful defeats against Russia and Croatia that meant we failed to qualify for Euro 2008. I hope he has learned his lesson from those painful times.
Mersey pride: Gerrard (left) has chosen Liverpool ahead of England
Liverpool fans will be raging at this I'm sure. But Gerrard has dragged an often below average side to great heights in his time at Anfield, now it's time for him to reward the England fans.
He's done all he can for Liverpool; they won't be winning the Premier League title he craves, so England must come first ahead of next year's World Cup. That's what I expect from a man given the honour and privilege of captaining his country.
Don't lazily think this is some sort of criticism of Gerrard as a player, regular talkSPORT listeners will know how highly I rate him. Gerrard was my pick for the talkSPORT Book of Premier League Legends as well.
In the book I wrote: 'He's English, he's influential, he's iconic, he's a leader and a brilliant footballer. Not many in the list have all those qualities. He's a consistently brilliant performer and arguably the greatest player ever to play for one of England's biggest clubs.'
Disappointing: England crashed out of the European Under 21 Championship despite having the likes of £15m Wilfried Zaha
The obvious cry from those who dismiss this is that Liverpool pay his wages. Now is the time for the FA to take radical steps. England fans are all sick of clubs having so much control and making the England manager's job difficult. So the FA need to take a leaf out of cricket's book and start issuing central contracts.
The FA need to pay a chunk of the wages of up to 25 or 30 England players, in exchange for a guaranteed influence on the decision-making process around that player. So if the FA offered to pay some of Jack Wilshere's wages for example, they would have had he right to say to Arsenal that he shouldn't be on the bench at the end of the season for use in emergencies, he should have had his operation as early as possible to get him fit for the new season.
When the England captain chooses pre-season friendlies for Liverpool ahead of a trip to the Maracana and next year's World Cup hosts with his country, it is clear the Football Association cannot carry on like this. Central contracts for England players is the way forward.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2339362/ADRIAN-DURHAM-Winning-trophies-wont-elevate-Mourinho-greatness-coach-just-spend--And-Gerrards-example-shows-players-dont-care-England.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
Je sais que c'est le DailyShit, mais quand même, il y a des limites à la débilité 
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