• Eriksson: 'How do I know? You have to trust me on that one'
• The former England manager is a friend of Roy Hodgson's
Sven-Goran Eriksson has suggested that he has the inside line on why his friend Roy Hodgson omitted Rio Ferdinand from the England squad for Euro 2012 and it has nothing to do with race rows and everything to do with the Manchester United defender's form and fitness.
Hodgson has said nothing so far on the reasons why he overlooked Ferdinand for the second time at the weekend, when he preferred to promote Liverpool's Martin Kelly to replace the injured Gary Cahill. The fallout from the decision has been intense, with Ferdinand convinced that the "footballing reasons" Hodgson cited for his original exclusion have now been exposed as a sham.
Ferdinand believes that Hodgson has opted against selecting him because of the allegations of racism that his younger brother, Anton, made against John Terry, whom Hodgson has picked for the finals in Poland and Ukraine. England begin their Group D campaign against France in Donetsk on Monday.
Hodgson is scheduled to speak to the media on Thursday at England's training base in Krakow and the issue is certain to be at the top of the agenda. But Eriksson has offered a taster of what Hodgson might be expected to argue and, according to him, it is based on the England manager's opinion of Ferdinand's condition.
"We mustn't forget that Rio has suffered from injuries this season," said Eriksson, the former England manager, in his column in the Swedish newspaper Expressen. "Roy has his reasons. Otherwise, he wouldn't have rejected Rio – twice. Many try to connect the dots between the race allegations against John Terry and Roy leaving Ferdinand out of the squad. I know there is no truth in these claims. How? You're just going to have to trust me.
"With less than a week to go, Roy wanted the player joining the squad to be match fit. Someone who has carried on with his training after the end of league play. It has been an entirely football-based decision. That's all there is to it. Personally, I just find the whole thing to be quite silly. First of all, they're all good footballers. Secondly, Roy's got rock solid knowledge when it comes to the players' current form. So let me suggest that we all save our verdicts until after the tournament."
Hodgson has many prominent football friends in Scandinavia and one of his closest is Reine Almqvist who, coincidentally, is Sweden's designated England scout. England face the Swedes in the second round of group fixtures. Eriksson joked that "my good friend Roy Hodgson has his hands full at the moment … the injury list just keeps getting longer and the amount of sleep he's getting is probably headed in the opposite direction."
But Eriksson was in more mischievous mood when he considered an old adversary from his time in England and what that man might be thinking about Ferdinand's omission. "I suspect there's one person who is very happy about Rio being left out," Eriksson said. "Let's call him Sir Alex. Right now, I'm just waiting for Ferguson's appraisal of Roy Hodgson come his next media appearance. That's how things play out in England."
Eriksson experienced club-versus-country conflict with Ferguson, the United manager, during his spell in charge of England. Ferguson has enjoyed a fine season from Ferdinand, with the player starting 36 times in all competitions for United and hardly missing a match in the second half of the campaign. He owed his consistency to a gruelling individual fitness regime.
Eriksson was on more familiar ground with Ferguson when he sought to blame the English media for the current storm, although his reasoning, which was rooted in how Hodgson was treated during his time as the Liverpool manager, did feel slightly curious.
"Having selected six Liverpool players [in the England squad], Roy is the target of a smear campaign," Eriksson said. "But I know Roy will face it without losing his composure. Remember, this is England. No squad is ever selected without criticism." Read More
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