Ravel Morrison: Ready or Not

Sam Allardyce and Roy Hodgson appear to be on the same page. Having defended the England boss over the recent racism storm centred around the haphazard telling of a dated joke by a seasoned 66-year-old to a room packed with those decades his junior, Big Sam, 59, has stood by Elderly Roy’s decision to potentially alienate another youngster by omitting West Ham United’s Ravel Morrison from his latest squad, insisting "It's a bit early" for his prized midfield asset to earn his stripes on the global stage right now.

In light of Morrison’s somewhat chequered history on and off the pitch this is perhaps an appropriate stance, given that neither his manager for club nor country would want to run the risk of derailing his progress at this crucial stage of his development, just as he appears to be turning a career corner.

Personal issues aside, however, for how long will it be deemed “early” for the 20-year-old to harbour hopes of a call-up? With competitive fixtures now out of the way and the Jules Rimet gleaming at the end of the world’s longest tunnel, there is an argument to suggest the timing is perfect for experimentation to lead to a late dash from one of the country’s most prodigious talents.

In much the same way as the timing felt right for Andros Townsend’s left-field, right-wing selection during the last World Cup qualifiers, which were lit up by the Spurs man’s show of those hallmarks of youth: exuberance and fearlessness, so too has Hodgson deemed fit to call upon Ross Barkley, 19, Raheem Sterling, 18, Jonjo Shelvey and Carl Jenkinson, both 21, for recent fixtures, all arguably ahead of schedule.

Indeed, the squad announced yesterday for the friendlies with Chile and Germany later this month features new faces in the form of Southampton duo Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez, although the in-form pair are 25 and 24 respectively, hinting at long periods of international anonymity having been suffered as a direct result of a system that is seen by many as fundamentally flawed.

Lallana and Rodriguez, along with club captain Rickie Lambert, are flavour of the month after their side’s solid endeavours so far this term but may well have already paid the price of playing at a lower level for too long. As Burnley’s Danny Ings is finding, you can be the division’s leading scorer but if that division is not the Premier League you will not find your way into the Three Lions line-up bar a disaster of epic proportions hitting the top flight’s leading lights, whether or not they are finding the net or even finding their names on their clubs’ team sheets regularly.

Unfortunately, aside from angling for a move to a bigger club and inevitably drawing widespread criticism for a lack of loyalty from supporters - as Jermain Defoe has found ever since handing in a transfer request in the wake of the Hammers’ relegation in 2003 – there is not a great deal to be done but wait.

Morrison was not the only player touted for a call-up only to eventually miss the final cut. West Bromwich Albion striker Saido Berahino and another of the Saints contingent, Luke Shaw, also miss out despite having their advocates dotted across the domestic board.

Cries for the inclusion of Mark Noble, now 26, by, among others, Allardyce have also fallen on deaf ears, notwithstanding the midfield marshal’s consistency at the top level and famed technical proficiency when in possession. As with former Irons legends, Scott Parker and Michael Carrick, their being overlooked or underused for long spells of their careers may mean that we have moved past their most productive years without taking advantage of the tools at their disposal.

There is no easy answer to the question of when to promote a young player and each manager will view the issue differently. Jose Mourinho this week reacted to 22-year-old Eden Hazard’s own timekeeping travails by noting: “He’s a kid, kids make mistakes and fathers they have to be clever in the way they educate their sons.”

Wilfried Zaha is thought not to be suitably prepared for rigeurs de jours at Manchester United by manager David Moyes but has thus far not been loaned out like Nick Powell, who is currently excelling at Wigan Athletic and has established himself as an England under-21s regular.

Carl Jenkinson has been pushed on by Arsene Wenger, as is the culture at Emirates Stadium, but was embarrassed after making a key error against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup last week. He will now hope to bounce back in a similar vein to the way in which team-mate Kieran Gibbs has responded to the chastening experience of losing his footing to let in Park Ji Sung for United’s opener in the 2^nd leg of the 2009 Champions League semi-final for the goal that took the tie away from his team, when he was just 19. Gibbs will hope to audition in at least one fixture as understudy to likely absentee Cole, having been picked alongside Leighton Baines to compete for the left-back slot.

The familiar appearance of Frank Lampard, 35, an ostensibly injured Ashley Cole and skipper Steven Gerrard, who will turn 34 before festivities commence in Brazil and who coach Brendan Rogers said yesterday is enjoying his final season of international duty, will grate on those championing the cause of a diminishing batch of players emerging from an under-fire conveyor belt of young talent. But the question of whether or not youth represents the way forward for the national team is certainly still up for debate.

Aside from the success of Townsend’s deployment at Wembley, at club level Borussia Dortmund’s vibrant young side, physically and philosophically led by the charismatic Jurgen Klopp, took the club to the Champions League final last season. On the other hand, Arsenal appeared to have benefitted from adding experience to their ranks in recent years in overturning the Germans in their own Westfalenstadion backyard this week.

Another issue to contemplate is whether the result of an international friendly actually matters - FIFA ranking points aside – in the grand scheme of things. Whereas many have had their doomsday say on the current crop of players and are looking to the next generation to ensure a resurgence into the elite, if not next summer then in tournaments to come, it ought to be noted that World Champions Spain, facing seemingly far more straightforward matches against Guinea and South Africa, have selected a squad featuring numerous household names, even without the rested Xavi and the injured Fernando Torres, the average age of which is 27.1, in comparison with England’s 26.3. Admittedly, their selection of six fewer players for those matches may account for the dearth of youth highlighted by the increased allocation for juniors in Hodgson’s roster.

Not taking into account the perceived quality of Hodgson’s hand, England’s goalkeepers, for instance, are aged 25, 26 and 27, while each of Spain’s stoppers are easily into their 30s. But the fact remains that of the likely starters in Brazil, Gary Cahill remains the youngest of the back four at 27 while, in attack, only the wide positions (and, perhaps, that of a revitalised Jack Wilshere) appear set to feature players under the age of 28.

It would be refreshing to see a smattering of youth added to complement the core of the side on at least one of these latest FA exercises in pomposity at Wembley this month, if nothing else to debunk the myth once and for all that players must follow the tried and tested path to the top by either doing hard time on loan lower down the league pyramid or becoming mainstays in teams currently operating on a superior plain than that of the nation still clinging onto their top-ten status in FIFA's arbitrary terms only.

Another Townsend-sized contribution and resultant arrival onto the scene would be nice. More realistically, a competent performance from one or two in co-ordination with their more experienced colleagues on what will unavoidably amount to a ‘big game’ and a testing experience, would give hope; not just for those playing but for those seeking to follow in their footsteps and not just for this season but for all seasons.