Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain appeared in 25 Barclays Premier League fixtures for Arsenal last season, but completed a total of only 1,062 minutes. That's the equivalent of 11.8 full league games. So why wasn't he playing for England's Under-21 team at the European Championship?
Too tired? It can't be that. He could have played his 30 minutes as a very useful substitute against Brazil, then hopped on a plane, travelled in luxury and been there for England's opening game against Italy.
The FA can't say they don't treat players that way, because David Beckham used to do it with transatlantic flights from LA.
He wasn't there because of the attitude of the Football Association, who have demoted and downgraded the value of an Under-21 cap and, with it, the chance of tournament experience.
When I captained England at Under-21 level, I felt great pride. It was a privilege, not a punishment.
One team-mate once indicated he'd rather England were knocked out so he could go on holiday, but it wasn't a view shared by the rest of the squad in two successful years at the prestigious Toulon tournament.
Now we have turned our Under-21's into the reserves. If you're good enough, you get fast-tracked to the first team for a role on the bench, if not you are destined for the stiffs. Even the FA chairman has come out and said the senior team has to take priority - for a friendly. How can the FA send out that message? I do hope the new chairman, Greg Dyke, has slightly more of a clue when he takes the reins.
Tournament football should be the breeding ground for all young players. Or else we are putting on the roof before building the walls.
It's what Spain do with players like Javi Martinez, Juan Mata and David De Gea, who all played in the successful European Under-21 Championship squad of 2011. They become familiar with winning, with the responsibility of the shirt. They come away victorious with the feeling; 'I can do this'.
The alternative is the FA way: play the understudies and then, when it goes wrong, everyone takes a giant leap backwards.
Now we have a group of young players who have lost to Italy and Norway and none of them has improved their standing as potential international players.
I share the view that Glenn Hoddle should have a role to play in the development of English talent and would be ideal for the under-21's role, but Stuart Pearce was without his best players and does not deserve such criticism. Unless the FA and Dyke are prepared to support a new approach, Hoddle would be wasting his time.
Oxlade-Chamberlain should have been there as Pearce's captain - give him the starring role; play him in central midfield – a position we still don't know if he can occupy – and then put Phil Jones and Jack Rodwell around him. Turn it into a beauty contest if you wish and let's see if we can find an international player in a tournament environment.
It's not the only problem, either. What system are we playing from the senior team down through the age ranges? I'd like to see England playing the same way from schoolboy to senior level. In order to do that, we would need to come up with some of our own ideas. And we don't seem too clever at doing that.
Firstly we follow France because they have a smart training base at Clairefontaine. We build something similar at Saint George's Park.
Then Barcelona pass the ball beautifully, Spain win the World Cup and we want to play like them (pity we didn't think about that when Paul Scholes was available) and now two German teams reach the Champions League Final and… yes, you've guessed, it. Let's play like the Germans.
Here's an idea: how about adapting an English way of playing which should come from a system developed by the senior manager, working with the under-21 manager and should then permeate down through the junior and youth teams.
Let's get structure and progression. Right now, we have no system and no message. Can you tell me what the England 'system' is through the age groups?
And so the result is an Under-21 team going home as the first team knocked out of a tournament. And next we have the Under-20 World Cup next month, where England have a history of failure.
TIRED? I DON'T THINK SO...
| PREMIER LEAGUE 2012/13 | CLUB | MATCHES | MINUTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | ARSENAL | 25 | 1062 |
| Phil Jones | MANCHESTER UNITED | 17 | 1205 |
| Jack Rodwell | MAN CITY | 11 | 1496 |
| Jack Wilshere | ARSENAL | 25 | 1696 |
| Danny Welbeck | MANCHESTER UNITED | 27 | 1288 |
| Kyle Walker | TOTTENHAM | 36 | 3160 |
| Raheem Sterling | LIVERPOOL | 24 | 1748 |
| Callum McManaman | WIGAN | 20 | 637 |
| Luke Shaw | SOUTHAMPTON | 25 | 1950 |
| Martin Kelly | LIVERPOOL | 4 | 335 |
| Gary Gardner | ASTON VILLA | 2 | 18 |
| Thomas Carroll | TOTTENHAM | 7 | 78 |
| CHAMPIONSHIP 2012/13 | CLUB | MATCHES | MINUTES |
| Will Hughes | DERBY | 35 | 2785 |
| Henri Lansbury | NOTTINGHAM FOREST | 32 | 2085 |
Key absentees from Stuart Pearce’s England Under 21 squad and the matches and minutes they played last season
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