7 England Footballers Who Should Join Heskey in Retirement

English footballer Emile Heskey did the noble thing this week by announcing his retirement from international football. Despite lots of criticism, Heskey was a stalwart for England, making 62 appearances for his country between 1999 and 2010 and contributing a large number of assists and seven goals. He’ll be remembered as a man who always gave his most for his country and has nothing to be ashamed of.

For England to turn a new leaf and begin building a squad that will mark a new generation of English international footballers, it’s imperative – in my opinion – for some of the current England team to also retire. This will then allow new players to come up through the ranks and gain necessary playing time at the highest level.

I’ve often said that the England u-21 side has, for a long time, played much better than the full international squad. The u-21 team has shown much more pace, better technical ability and, most importantly of all, play better as a team than the group of individuals that the England national team play like.

So to give players a chance to compete at the national level, footballers such as Jack Rodwell, Lee Cattermole, Jack Wilshere, Chris Smalling, Andy Carroll, Daniel Sturridge and others, here are my recommendations of which current England national team players should consider retirement:

None of the above players should be ashamed if they retired from international football at this stage in their career. Each has performed well for his country, but it’s time for them to move on. It’s time for a new breed of England national team players to come through the system. It’s time for a transitional period in the England national team structure. It’s time for new blood.

Do you agree or disagree with the above choices? Are there other current England national team players not listed above that you feel should retire? Click the comments link below and share your opinion.