European Cup winner thinks Hodgson got it wrong.Check in to Aston Villa vs Newcastle United
Former Aston Villa legend Tony Morley believes England manager Roy Hodgson got it terribly wrong when he left Gabriel Agbonlahor out of the squad for the double header with Moldova and Ukraine, talkSPORT reports.
Despite not finding the back of the net yet this season the Birmingham born forward has been in electrifying form, very much carrying on from where he finished the previous campaign that saw him getting back to his best after two fairly uneventful seasons.
England will be without Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck for the trip to Kiev after he picked up a yellow card against Moldova, whilst Daniel Sturridge failed to shake off a thigh injury in time to join up with the squad.
That leaves just Ricky Lambert as the only fully fit striker now, with James Milner expected to replace Welbeck, and Morley believes that Hodgson should have plumped for Agbonlahor instead.
“I would certainly have had him the squad,” he said. “This is the best I’ve seen him play in the last three or four years.
“He’s started the season very well, he’s very sharp and very strong. He’s got one of the things defenders hate, and that’s sheer pace.
“He’s not the most talented player but his pace will frighten defenders all over the world.
“It’s an important game for England. I don’t think they can go there and hope for a draw, they have the players to go out there and win.
“They should have taken Gabby[and had him] on the bench. He can play that sort of impact role when his pace, especially when teams are getting tired, can be devastating.”
Villa have started their season well, despite being unlucky not to pick anything up from their previous two games, and Morley thinks that Paul Lambert’s men could be a surprise package this season.
“The manager has bought a lot of young kids and they’re all working so hard for each other,” he said. “They’re hungry. The future looks good for Aston Villa.”