Surprising England XI: Baines not Cole, Osman with Gerrard, plus Hill and Townsend make ‘in-form’ selection

Current England manager Roy Hodgson isn't the first in his position to proclaim his desire to make his team selections based on form. He recently justified his inclusion of Rio Ferdinand in his initial squad for the upcoming games against San Marino and Montenegro by saying the Manchester United defender "deserves it based on current form". While Ferdinand's performances would be difficult to criticise and, by extension, Hodgson's decision to include him, there may be players with lesser reputations who deserve a little more credit for their form and possibly even an England call up. We got to use their unique statistically calculated player ratings to tell us the best performing group of English players this season, as well as who deserves to be recognised at international level based on recent form.

2012/13 England Team
The likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Leighton Baines and Glen Johnson certainly justify their repeated inclusion in Roy Hodgson's squads, according to the ratings of English players this season. Rooney and Gerrard have the joint second-most assists in the Premier League this season with nine each (behind only Juan Mata's 10), while Gerrard and Baines make up two of the three outfielders to have been ever-present in the Premier League this season (along with Aston Villa's Matthew Lowton).

Leon Osman has made the squad for the second successive time, and his performances this season give good reason for his inclusion. After his golazo in the win over Manchester City last weekend, only long range specialists Bale, Suarez and Mata have scored more Premier League goals from outside the penalty than Osman, while only 12 players have completed more passes than the Everton midfielder all season, who has made 1259 passes at a fairly impressive success rate of 85.7%.

The forward position has been one that England have struggled to fill permanently in recent years; Emile Heskey came back into the squad for the 2010 World Cup against the wishes of many fans, Jermain Defoe has continually been selected without particularly impressing, while Andy Carroll, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welback have all been given chances with the number nine jersey. Southampton's Rickie Lambert - after proving himself in each of the lower tiers of English football on his way up to the Premier League - has hit the ground running this season. He is the top scoring Englishman in the division with 13 goals, as can be seen on , while also creating the third most chances from open play (62), all of which amounts to him having a better average rating (7.12) than any other English centre-forward this season, providing one is happy to consider Rooney as a deeper option.

In goal, Ben Foster (6.90) has a significantly better rating than first-choice stopper Joe Hart (6.46), and that is in no small part down to his making fewer errors (Foster two, Hart four) and more saves (Foster 83, Hart 47). That Hodgson persuaded Foster to come out of international retirement is fantastic news for the national side, for whom Hart has arguably become too comfortable in the number one shirt, with very little in the way of competition before Foster's return.

On the wings, Theo Walcott's 7.22 rating sees him appear on the right, while the much-maligned Stewart Downing takes a place on the left. After going through his whole first season at Liverpool without a single goal or assist in 38 Premier League appearances, Downing's confidence seems to have grown, and with three goals and three assists in 21 league games this term, he has earned himself a regular run of games. With 2.1 key passes per game and 1.3 accurate crosses per game, he could provide a threat for the national team were he given another chance in the squad.

Since 1 January 2013
Looking at English players' form since the turn of the year, the statistics tell us that plenty of the England team that make up the seasonal XI have continued their form into 2013. The major changes are among the front three, where - most notably - Andy Carroll, having returned from injury to lead the line for West Ham, comes in. The big centre forward has two goals in five starts since coming back into the team and would bring an obvious physical presence to the team. His 10.4 aerial duels won per game is more than any other player in the Premier League this season, and with 2.9 shots per game he gets a fair few chances too.

Flanking Carroll is Aaron Lennon, who had initially made it back into the squad before pulling out through injury. The Spurs winger's 58 key passes this season is fewer only than Baines, Gerrard and Lambert of English players, and with four goals and six assists, he is already up on his tallies in both departments from last season. On the other wing is QPR's on-loan winger Andros Townsend, whose performances have made Spurs fans question the decision to let him go out on loan. He has two goals - both scored from range - in five appearances for the R's, and is set to play a key role in their run-in. While he might just be too young for an England call up just yet, he is certainly one to watch out for in the future.

At the heart of the defence are Clint Hill and Michael Dawson, both of whom have had their work cut out since the turn of the year. Clint Hill's two tackles per game, 2.8 aerial duels won per game and 9.8 clearances per game have seen him shoot to a 7.24 rating, while Dawson has won back his place in the Spurs team thanks to a string of fine performances, notably for his 8.9 clearances per game and 3.9 accurate long balls per game. While Clint Hill is arguably not a viable option at the back for England, the next best central defender according to form since January the first is, you guessed it, Rio Ferdinand. Discuss.

All stats courtesy of
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