Roberto Martinez has accused Roy Hodgson of not getting the best out of Ross Barkley,and believes the England manager should be using him better.
The Everton boss believes Hodgson's style of play is not conducive to seeing the midfielder in full flow - “he is not special” - with the Catalan hailing the 21-year-old as “the best in the business” in transition. Hodgson has adopted a possession-based philosophy since taking charge of the Three Lions, but Martinez is under no illusions how England should play.
What's more, it should revolve around Barkley, he says – and if it doesn't, he won't contribute as much as he could do. “It’s quite simple,” explained Martinez. “People will look at what Ross does defensively, but I look at what he can do offensively against these sorts of teams. “These international teams when they lose the ball, there is space, but you need pace and power to break into that space. Ross gives you that. “Those four seconds as soon as you win the ball, who can affect the game then in transition? He is the best in the business. "But if England don’t want to play like that, if they just want to wait and get set and have the ball, Ross is not special. “We have got to that point where Ross Barkley knows how special he is and what he does. “Depending on how they want to use him, he will be influential or not for England.”
Barkley, who has two goals in 17 appearances for England, has been in magnificent form for the Blues this season. That has been largely founded on his work on the counter attack, picking the ball from deep and putting his side on the front foot immediately. Barkley is one of a number of young players with that sort of style, with the likes of Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also strong in transition. Ahead of England's friendly with Spain this week, Martinez has called upon Hodgson to use the resources he has to the best of their abilities.
“If you look at Spain – and it is one of those teams you want to be tested against – you cannot play the same way as when you are the team that is going to have the ball a lot,” he added. “It is very different when you face a team who you know are going to have more of the ball. “That doesn’t mean you haven’t got a strong performance or strong say in the game. “It is different when you have a group of players to choose from like England – they can set the team up the way they want. You don’t need to have possession in order to be effective in the game, as long as you have the right players.”
