It is becoming an all too familiar story for the England football team when a player announces their decision to retire, with Peter Crouch rumoured to be the next.
If newspaper reports are to be believed then Crouch, the Tottenham Hotspur striker, will opt out of future England squads whilst under the management of Fabio Capello.
According to reports, Crouch felt humiliated at his exclusion from the squad for Saturday's lacklustre 2-2 draw with Switzerland at Wembley, with Capello preferring Bobby Zamora of Fulham as substitute striker.
Crouch, who has an average strike rate of a goal every other game, was believed to be reeling after being overlooked by the England manager and, if reports are true, is considering temporary retirement until Capello is replaced in July 2012.
It is a sad indictment of our national team when you have such a flurry of players believing that they are too important to sit on the bench for their country.
When England actually achieved success by lifting the World Cup in 1966 it was done with a group of players who saw playing for their country as the biggest privilege that could be bestowed upon them. It seems a far cry from the mentality of some modern day footballers.
Jimmy Greaves, arguably one of the greatest strikers the country has produced, didn't appear in that World Cup Final because Sir Alf Ramsey, the manager of England at the time, preferred Geoff Hurst.
It is hard to imagine the anguish Greaves must have been feeling at his omission but when the final whistle was blown, Greaves was one of the first to congratulate Hurst.
It is even more difficult to comprehend a similar gesture with the apparent discontent within the current England squad.
At the centre of these 'retirements' is a complete disregard for fellow professionals who have remained available for their country and continue to do so. Michael Owen, for instance, is one of the finest strikers this country has seen in the last 15 years and is the closest contender to Bobby Charlton's 49 international goals record.
Many will argue that he doesn't play regularly enough to warrant a starting place but is a complete exclusion from the squad wholly justified? Darren Bent, the Aston Villa striker, missed two gilt-edged chances on Saturday that would have victory for England.
We can only have hypothetical thoughts as to whether Owen would have scored at least one of them but one thing we can be sure of is that he is proven at international level.
If Owen was any other nationality he would be treasured by the fans. Miroslav Klose, the Germany striker, is remarkably poor at club level but has an imperious goal-scoring record on the international stage. David Healy, the Northern Ireland striker, is another example of someone who has the knack of scoring at international level but struggling at club level.
These comparisons are a little unfair on Owen given his superb career goal tally for both club and country, but the fact that he remains available for selection with the hope of one day being back in an England shirt is surely reason enough to disapprove of the attitude shown towards the pride of representing England.
Retirement should be the signal to the end of a players career or the signal of a prolonged club career, it should not be a card played to avoid embarrassment of being surplus to requirements.
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