Terry Venables: ‘I am sick of Premier League managers dictating who should play for England’…
Former England manager Terry Venables has lashed out at Premier League managers who he believes are dictating the players available for the national team. His comments follow the scandal surrounding Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling being ‘rested’ against Estonia.
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Venables is quoted by the Daily Mail, explaining that, in his opinion, playing for your country should come before club, because being selected for England is the ‘ultimate accolade’.
As the source explains, Liverpool have been in the spotlight recently after media reports suggested Brendan Rodgers asked Roy Hodgson to rest Raheem Sterling for England’s Euro 2016 qualifying fixture last weekend.
Rodgers denied those claims and played down any club-versus-country row, but Venables said Hodgson should not have to consult Premier League managers when selecting players.
He said: “I am sick of Premier League managers dictating who should, or who shouldn’t, play for England. Country comes before club, end of. There are no conversations to be had with club managers trying to stop England picking their players.
“When I became England manager I never experienced any player saying to me: thanks for picking me boss but I don’t fancy it this time, maybe next game perhaps.
“If I had, then that player would never, ever, have been part of my England squad again, no matter how important he could have been. To be selected for England is the ultimate accolade. I was the first footballer to play for England at every level possible – schoolboy, youth, amateur, under-23 (as it was then) and full.”
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