• England

Redknapp: England players do not care

ESPN staff
September 4, 2014
Jack Wilshere goes in for a full-blooded challenge, but Harry Redknapp accused certain England players of not caring © Getty Images
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Harry Redknapp has accused England players of not caring about the team following their underwhelming 1-0 friendly win over Norway at Wembley.

The QPR manager said he understood why supporters stayed away after a crowd of only 40,181 - the smallest number to attend an England match at Wembley since it was re-built - watched the game.

"Here we go again, a few months after a disastrous World Cup: yet another massive letdown for everyone," Redknapp wrote in the Sun. "It is disappointment after disappointment. Half the players don't give a toss. The fans can't be bothered to watch them.

"Managers of the Premier League clubs take an interest just to see if their players are going to come back injured from international duty.

"I don't blame the supporters for not being interested in England at the moment. Why should they be?

"We were told this is the start of a new era. Trust me, I hope so, I really do, but I'm not holding my breath because it will only get harder for England with the way things are in club football.

"And what possible value is there in a total non-event against the worst Norway team we have seen for years when the supporters are still sore from the World Cup shambles?''

England enjoyed the lion's share of possession against Norway but eventually laboured to a 1-0 victory, with Wayne Rooney converting a 68th-minute penalty after Raheem Sterling was fouled in the box.

After the game, manager Roy Hodgson defended his players against accusations that they had too few shots on target, insisting that his strikeforce of Rooney and Danny Welbeck would score goals in the future.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
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