Football can surprise you, and this week it has been the bombshell of over 18,000 people signing a petition to try and stop Tom Cleverley from being picked for the World Cup squad. The England manager has spoken out to defend the player, and maybe his decision, but if you take form into account it is easy to see why so many fans have voiced their concerns about Cleverley making it to Brazil with England.

 

 

 

For me it is not just this season that he has struggled with but it goes as far back as the Olympics when he played for the Great Britain team. I had the privilege to see team GB play twice, once against Uruguay and the quarter-final penalty loss to South Korea. In the Uruguay game he played OK but in the second game I felt he was well under par, so much so that I started criticising him to my friend who is an avid Man Utd fan.

 

Now he started out, as could be expected, defending his beloved club player but by the end of the game even he had to admit it wasn’t a performance for the ages but rather one that defiantly belonged in the past. Despite this he was still adamant that he was a great player until December of that year when he commented , with some reluctance, that Cleverley’s performances up to that point were less than impressive.

 

I don’t entirely agree with the petition that he doesn't posses “any genuine qualities whatsoever”. I think he is clearly a skilful player, otherwise top managers like Ferguson, Pearce, Hodgson, Moyes and even Capello (picking him for a few squads without playing him) wouldn't have chosen him. I believe the problem is he isn't consistent and has had far more bad games then he has good games. He has excelled in a few matches, both for Utd and England, but they are fading memories and at the moment he seems far away from repeating those standards.

 

Another problem with his inclusion comes if you look at the other players for his position in the latest England squad. Out of Hodgson‘s selection you would have to say Wilshere, Henderson, Barkley and Lampard are all offensive players. And that leaves Gerrard, who can also play offensive but has demonstrated his defensive capabilities with some fine displays for Liverpool, and Carrick as the more defensive options. The same problem happens whether Hodgson wants to play Cleverley offensively or defensively, there are better players to chose from.

 

Lets take the attacking option (I‘m presuming that Gerrard and Lampard are a must.) Henderson is undoubtedly having the season of his life, while Barkley and Wilshere have had solid seasons with a few really good performances thrown in.

 

The stats back this up too: Wilshere, 5 goals, a shot rate of 0.74 per 90 minutes and a crossing rate of 0.77; Barkley, 4 goals, shot rate 2.0 and crosses 0.96; Henderson, 4 goals, a 1.18 shot rate and 1.39 for crossing. Plus both Wilshere and Henderson are third at their respective clubs in chances created, with a rate of 1.65 chances created per 90 minutes for Wilshere and 1.80 for Henderson.

 

Now compare all that to Cleverley's stats: 1 goal, a 0.41 shot rate, 0.56 crosses per game and only 0.62 in creating chances and it’s easy to see why people think there are better players, at the moment, for the midfield berth. And this is without looking at Oxlade-Chamberlain or Lallana, another player on fine form, who can both do a job in central midfield.

 

So should he be played defensively. Although his defensive stats are better then the other 3 youngsters, you can’t really describe him as a defensive midfielder compared to Gerrard or Carrick, who you have to say is stronger and able to use the ball better. And if he has been selected for a more defensive role you have to look at some of the other players who can play there that weren't selected, like Gareth Barry who is a respected player in that position, has been in fine form for Everton and also has better defensive stats then Cleverly for this season.

 

 

So when you look at all this you can see why so many fans have come out to defy the managers selection of Cleverly, his form has been quite poor for some time and if you look at the other individuals that can occupy a place in midfield you find a lot that are playing much better and at a consistent level. It is quite logical to me why this petition has started and unless Cleverly starts playing like Messi on heat for the rest of the season it will become harder to ignore and to defend if he is on the plane to Brazil.