Butcher says Hart should be chopped by England boss
FORMER England captain Terry Butcher believes Joe Hart should no longer be the country’s first choice goalkeeper.
The City keeper has been criticised following England’s 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw with Scotland on Saturday, when he was beaten twice in quick succession by late free-kicks from Leigh Griffiths.
Harry Kane’s injury-time equaliser rescued a point for England.
Hart, ostracised by City manager Pep Guardiola and likely to leave the Premier League club this summer after spending last season on loan with Serie A side Torino, was also guilty of high-profile mistakes during last summer’s European Championships as England were embarrassingly eliminated by Iceland.
Now Butcher has added his voice to the 30-yearold’s critics, and wants to see Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland back between the posts for the friendly against France tomorrow.
“I thought Joe Hart’s positioning was very poor,” Butcher said.
“He didn’t even get close to the shots and didn’t even get a glove on them or a finger to them.
“They were good freekicks but they weren’t right inside the post, they were at least a foot inside the post.
“I’m disappointed that someone of Joe’s size never got across. I think there is a case now, a very strong case, for someone like Jack Butland to get a chance in France this week and to really stake a claim.
“Butland was in pole position before he got that injury in Germany last year.”
And Hart accepts he needs to be playing regular football next season if he is to have any chance of representing England at the 2018 World Cup.
With Torino unwilling to make his deal permanent and his chances at the Etihad no brighter, Hart faces an uncertain future as he works to find a new club.
If that was not complicated enough, the fact that there is a World Cup next summer puts extra pressure on the player to work out the right move.
Any one of Fraser Forster, Jordan Pickford and Butland could benefit if a lack of game time damages Hart’s chances with the Three Lions.
“I think it’s obvious that I’ve got no chance of playing for England, if I’m not playing for a club team,” he said.
“Gareth [Southgate] doesn’t need to say that. I’ll obviously have to sort my immediate future out.
“But I have the luxury at the moment of being part of the national team and I can only do my best on the field and let everything else take care of itself.”