Barton's plea to be in England squad is spot on

Controversial QPR Midfielder Joey Barton burst back into the headlines this afternoon by claiming that the England squad wasn’t chosen on form otherwise ‘he would be in it’. A confident statement from a player that has made more headlines recently rather than goals, but does he have a point?

Surprisingly I agree with Barton on this occasion, here is a player that was a major figure in Newcastle’s excellent season last year and a man that has started well as a QPR player this term. Last season saw Barton score four goals, however he outstandingly assisted in nine of the ‘Toon’s’ Premier League goals.

Impressive figures for a player at a club that were back in the Premier League after relegation two years before and I think they stand out as even better when you compare them to Chelsea Midfielder Frank Lampard’s who despite scoring ten (majority of which were penalties) only managed to assist with two of Chelsea’s goals last term.

You also compare Barton against some of the other players picked ahead of him and you can’t help but see where the QPR man’s frustration comes from. One player that is picked ahead of him is Manchester City’s Adam Johnson, a great player yes; however, it is very rare that the Midfielder gets game time for City.

Another player that I struggle to see why he gets picked is another Man City player, Gareth Barry. After a disastrous display against Germany in last summer’s World Cup, I along with a few others expected Barry to get the chop from England’s Qualification campaign for Euro 2012, however like a bad smell, Barry just won’t go away from the England squad.

Barton also added in his honest interview this afternoon that he didn’t expect to see England doing much more than they did at the World Cup as ‘not much has changed’, another fact that I believe Barton has got spot on.

I don’t want to sound too critical of England or any of its players as I would love as much as the next person to see Fabio Capello and his side win Euro 2012, however I can see some sense in what Barton is saying. I also don’t think we should be surprised if the QPR Midfielder is on the plane next summer ahead of Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry or even Frank Lampard.

Let me know what you think? Should Barton be in the England squad? Do you think Capello picks players on name rather than form?