Emile Heskey and Phil Neville were the two most notable absentees from the England squad named by Sven-Goran Eriksson yesterday, ahead of the opening World Cup qualifying games against Austria and Poland.
Heskey opened his Birmingham account with a towering header in the recent 1-0 win over Manchester City, a game in which he also picked up an injury, but Eriksson has preferred to go with in-form Alan Smith and Jermain Defoe who join Michael Owen and Darius Vassell as the front four.
Neville, meanwhile, has been unable to hold down a place at Old Trafford this season and misses out, but of the exclusion of Heskey the England coach said: "The door is not closed for Emile Heskey, but I have seen a lot of Alan Smith and Jermain Defoe recently and they deserve their chance this time.
"I want to make clear that Emile has never let England down and is still very much part of my thinking. He is with a good club, with a good manager and we will continue to monitor his form very closely."
The England squad: James (Man City), Robinson (Tottenham), Green (Norwich), G Neville (Man Utd), A Cole (Arsenal), Bridge (Chelsea), Terry (Chelsea), King (Tottenham), Carragher (Liverpool), Upson (Birmingham), Beckham (Real Madrid), Lampard (Chelsea), Gerrard (Liverpool), Dyer (Newcastle), Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Butt (Newcastle), Wright-Phillips (Man City), J Cole (Chelsea), Jenas (Newcastle), Owen (Real Madrid), Vassell (Aston Villa), Defoe (Tottenham), Smith (Man Utd).
Sir Alex Ferguson remains confident of snatching Wayne Rooney from under the noses of Newcastle, but doesn't think a deal will be concluded today. There is a school of thought, however, which suggests Rooney might want to make a clean break from the North West and start afresh on the other side of the country.
After Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Blackburn, Sir Alex said: "It is unlikely anything will be concluded before Monday. I definitely think it is unlikely. Everton are obviously going to try to get as much as they can out of it, we have got a price and we will not be going above that.
"Tomorrow is a Bank Holiday so medicals are going to be difficult but you have a full day to do that. There is a 12 o'clock deadline on Tuesday so really you have got a whole day to get the medical done."
There certainly seems to be little chance of Rooney going back on his decision to hand in a transfer request at Goodison, and it would appear that the abuse he took from a section of Everton fans at the weekend has merely strengthened his resolve to leave.
He said: "I am absolutely gutted at what is happening here. It is clear that it's time for me to leave Everton. I am disappointed at some of the things that have been said by Everton, especially considering that I know the truth. All clubs sell players, even Manchester United and Arsenal."
Everton, meanwhile, are rumoured to be preparing to hi-jack West Brom's £3.5million move for Cardiffs goalscoring sensation Robert Earnshaw, who the Toffees see as the ideal replacement for Rooney.
Albion remain favourites to land the Welsh striker and international colleague Andy Johnson reckons it would be a great coup for the Midlands club as they bid to establish themselves in the Premiership at the second time of asking.
"He is better than Jermaine Defoe in my book, he has great fitness and I don't know anybody who is as sharp as he is around the box," Johnson said. "He can score goals and will be a great signing for us, and I hope we get him.
"It will benefit him playing in the Premiership and if he wants to progress as a player, I would tell him to go to a Premier League club. He will fit in very well at West Brom, and playing alongside people like Kanu will give him valuable experience. It would be a very good move for him."
