England: Gary Neville reopens the centre back debate

Rio Ferdinand's England future has been called into doubt
Sky pundit and England coach Gary Neville drops a big hint that Rio Ferdinand will be overlooked despite John Terry's retirement...
As England get ready to prepare for another qualifying double header against San Marino and Poland later this month, Gary Neville decided to share some insider knowledge with Sky Sports viewers.
Neville, part of Roy Hodgson's coaching staff, claimed that 33-year-old Ferdinand would not be considered unless he was ready to walk straight back into the team.
Recent performances such as the one against Tottenham where the Manchester United man clearly struggled have certainly thrown an immediate recall into doubt.
Working as part of Sky's team for their Monday night coverage of QPR versus West Ham, Neville said: "He has not been playing regularly for England for the past two years. "Roy Hodgson is looking to 2014 and I don't see a big issue with this.
"He is a class defender (but) Roy Hodgson has said many times that he won't pick 34 or 35-year-olds with 70 or 80 caps just so they can sit in the stands. It will be divisive in the squad, divisive in the dressing room.
"If he gets picked then it will be with him having to be one of the first names on the team sheet. He hasn't played regularly for the past 20 months, it's not just a Roy Hodgson thing."
On this evidence from an England insider, it appears Hodgson's mantra may already have shifted towards the introduction of youth rather than an overreliance on the 30-plus brigade.
The problem is that with recently capped trio Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Martin Kelly all injured, there aren't a huge number of attractive candidates to join regulars Gary Cahill, Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka in the squad.
The standouts of those playing at a reasonably high level are James Tomkins, Steven Taylor, Liam Ridgewell, Ryan Shawcross and perhaps even forgotten man Michael Mancienne, who is playing a key role in Hamburg's recent mini renaissance.
However, the one player making a real name for himself is Tottenham's Steven Caulker, who played for Great Britain at the Olympics and was called up for the recent friendly against Italy.
Caulker has followed a season on loan at Swansea by starting three of Spurs last four games at the back - in which they kept two clean sheets - and has applied himself in a manner beyond his 20 years.
England are currently 23.022/1 for World Cup glory.