European Under-21 Championship: England's heroes and villains

Under 21 European Championships / Michael Lintorn / 20 June 2011 /

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Danny Welbeck boosted his chances of a future role in the senior side with two goals in three games

"No England player excelled, however Kyle Walker was the one whose stock rose the most."

It is once again time to conduct a post-mortem into a speedy England farewell from an international tournament, with a look at the Young Lion's best and worst performers.

The reaction to England's group-stage exit at the European Under-21 Championship - that Spain are [1.44] to win - has been an angry one but it wasn't a complete disaster, as Michael Lintorn attempts to prove by picking three players that impressed in addition to the disappointments...

HEROES

Kyle Walker
No England player excelled, however Walker was the one whose stock rose the most, performing fairly well defensively and proving a constant menace going forward. His future at Tottenham is uncertain, yet don't count against him starting Premier League games somewhere next season.

Danny Welbeck
Sir Alex Ferguson has supposedly told Welbeck that he'll have more opportunities at Old Trafford in 2011-12 after a loan spell at Sunderland, and while he missed a decent chance against Ukraine, two well-taken goals in three matches - the Young Lions' only two goals - represented a good return.

Frank Fielding
Phil Jones is unlucky to miss out, but Fielding makes the cut because goalkeeper threatened to be England's weak spot, with a shot-stopper that never played a game for Blackburn before joining Derby this summer relied upon. He was solid though, as was the back five as a unit most of the time.

VILLAINS

Jordan Henderson
Liverpool evidently opted to move swiftly for Henderson to account for him excelling in Denmark and attracting plenty of interest, but instead a disappointing tournament has prompted questions as to why they spent £16 million on him. Joey Barton has led the criticism of his anonymous displays.

Michael Mancienne
A reluctant pick, as he has been blamed to an unfair extent over the past week and missed the Czech Republic loss, But Hamburg's newest recruit will be glad he sorted his future before the competition. His failure wasn't really his fault though, as he should never have been shoehorned into the midfield.

Danny Rose
The decision to start a wide man who failed to net in 21 appearances for Tottenham and Bristol City last season over Scott Sinclair, who scored 27 to help Swansea into the top-flight was a questionable one that ultimately backfired for Stuart Pearce, who dropped the 20-year-old for the final match.

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