Pretty decent squad from Hodgson, not quite as bad as I feared. I'm very pleased he selected Barkley, Lallana, and Shaw, and with the exception of selecting Lampard, it is about as good as could have been hoped. I'm very happy to see Cleverly not make the provisional 23, which suggests even if someone drops out, he is far from certain to win an appearance anyway.
Agree with others that it looks light in defence, and I feel that the defensive midfield position is going to be an area of weakness other teams will aim to exploit. Will Roy opt to play Liverpool style (outscore the oppostion) as a result or his tried and tested safety-first way? Not sure he has the cajones to play Barkley and Lallana at the same time but who knows? Both of these in the same starting XI might give the necessary creativity to break down what will likely be a trademark stubborn Italian defence-counter attack shape.
My misplaced sense of optimism sees me thinking that Roy could really surprise the opposition if he chooses an attack focused team. The pace and fearlessness of the young players, and opposition teams expecting a standard Roy sensible strategy could see us doing better than the last couple of outings at the WC.
And then, back on planet Earth...