McManaman and Merson make the cut

Paul Gascoigne has played in his first and last World Cup. Glenn Hoddle has decided that Gascoigne is not fit enough for France and has left him out of the England squad he will formally announce here at lunchtime today.

This is not the only surprise. Rio Ferdinand, the 19-year-old West Ham United sweeper, has been included, giving Hoddle an important defensive option. Both Paul Merson, his intermittent international career once more revived, and Steve McManaman are there as well.

Les Ferdinand has won Hoddle's vote over Dion Dublin for the vacancy among the strikers left by Ian Wright's withdrawal with a hamstring injury. As expected, Nigel Martyn, impressive against Belgium in Casablanca on Friday, has pipped Ian Walker for the third goalkeeping place.

Last night the six discarded players were heading home, striking Spanish air traffic controllers permitting. In addition to Gascoigne, Walker and Dublin, Phil Neville, Andy Hinchcliffe and Nicky Butt have been considered excess baggage. Hinchcliffe was always a doubt anyway because of the thigh injury he picked up in training last week.

For Gascoigne the news will have come as a bitter disappointment. England's lachrymose hero of Italia '90 had been so desperate to make up for time lost to injuries and shake off the bibulous image the headline writers had given him.

Hoddle has made a choice both brave and logical. Gascoigne cannot deny that he has been given every chance to prove his match fitness. Hoddle's decision, moreover, has been taken solely on the grounds of football and fitness issues. Late nights and kebabs, it will be emphasised today, have not come into it.

The reality is that Gascoigne was always going to struggle to make the squad after such a long period of inactivity at Rangers before he signed for Middlesbrough. And once he started playing regularly one did not have to be an expert to see that he was struggling to keep up.

Clearly the one-and-a-half matches Hoddle gave Gascoigne against Morocco and Belgium in Casablanca in 48 hours last week finally convinced the England coach that taking Gazza to France would be too much of a risk.

As late as Friday night Hoddle was still talking enthusiastically about Gascoigne's skills while consistently adding the rider that "he has to be 100 per cent fit". After taking a day to consider the implications of taking Gascoigne to the World Cup the England coach reached the conclusion that Gazza had run out of the time he needed to prove that he would not run out of breath.

Gascoigne's presence in the qualifiers, especially against Italy in Rome, was far from wasted but he was only valuable in a limited role which did not make too many demands on his stamina. None of England's principal rivals - Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Spain, Holland and France - would consider including a player in Gascoigne's present condition in a World Cup squad.

Gascoigne's absence throws a whole new light on what Hoddle is planning to do in the problem area of England's midfield. Paul Ince and David Batty were always going to be in as defensive props in front of the back three.

Now, for inventiveness and imagination, England have the choice of Paul Scholes, a likely alternative to Gascoigne, the revived Darren Anderton, McManaman with his ability to float and take on defenders for pace, plus Merson's speed and shooting power.

Michael Owen will be particularly pleased that McManaman, his Liverpool team-mate and an astute reader of his attacking runs, has survived the cut.

Robert Lee's international service has been preferred to Butt's ability to link up naturally with his Manchester United colleagues Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville. Hoddle has balanced the mixture of youth and experience rather nicely.

It is an amazing comeback for Merson who was on the rocks at Arsenal as he faced up to alcohol and gambling problems, plus admitting to taking cocaine.

Merson said: "Three years ago I was thinking `I would be lucky to play football again' but when I came off the treatment for booze and received counselling, I set myself the target of getting back into the England side.

"I managed that against Italy but then all of a sudden I found it hard because I had achieved my aim. There was nothing else to go for.

"At that time I was on the phone to my counsellor for about a month and he sat me down and said `set yourself another goal - to go for the World Cup' - and now it has happened."

Confirmation of Hoddle's 22 for France may quell rising doubts about his tactics and strategy for this World Cup. The fact that his choice was less predictable than most envisaged suggests Hoddle will retain an open mind in the matter of team selection and tactics.

Such pessimism is surely premature. The team who play against Tunisia will bear very little resemblance, for example, to the oddly assorted sides Hoddle fielded in Casablanca. There he was merely looking at spare parts and making up his mind about Gascoigne.

In Marseille Hoddle will almost certainly pick the bulk of the players who qualified in Rome, except that Shearer will lead the attack instead of Wright and now there will be somebody else in place of Gascoigne. The only other change might see Gary Neville replacing Gareth Southgate or Sol Campbell in defence, but it is nice to have available Rio Ferdinand's comfort in possession when bringing the ball out from the back.

Above all, Hoddle's squad confirms the strength England enjoy between the posts at one end and in front of goal at the other. Few nations have a goalkeeper as reliable as David Seaman and a striker of Shearer's quality.

England, moreover, should continue to prove a very difficult team to beat. It is just that when the time comes to take off the overalls and don evening dress Hoddle's midfield will need to learn quickly how to put on a bow tie. At least, now Gascoigne has gone, it will be in less danger of wearing a red nose.