Post by Taxigirl on Jan 8, 2004 11:28:47 GMT
The Football Association is to hold talks with top England players on Monday over selection guidelines after the Rio Ferdinand saga.
Brendon Batson, Trevor Brooking and David Davies will represent the FA while Gary Neville and David James are believed to be two players attending.
Both sides hope to reach an agreement, at least in principle, before England play Portugal in February.
FA chief executive Mark Palios asked for the process to be set up.
They will meet in Manchester, although it is not yet clear whether England captain David Beckham will return from Spain for the occasion.
As part of the consultation process, Batson has been speaking to figures throughout the game.
And former England captains, such as Bryan Robson, Gary Lineker, David Platt and Alan Shearer, could be involved in the near future.
Former Tottenham captain Gary Mabbutt, who was on the Professional Footballers' Association management committee for 12 years during his career, has also been consulted as a distinguished ex-player.
Mabbutt said: "I am delighted to have been able to offer my services and that the FA are taking the issue so seriously.
"Hopefully, at the end of the whole process, there will be greater clarity and consistency in the rules governing the selection of England players.
"Much of the confusion over the past few months has been due to the grey areas which have existed in certain disciplinary areas.
"If the players had known the guidelines in advance, there may not have been any dispute. However, some matters have been decided on an ad-hoc basis and that has led to problems arising."
The selection issue arose when Ferdinand was suspended from England duty last October after missing a drugs test, with the players even threatening to go on strike as they felt he had been punished before being charged.
The situation became more complicated when Alan Smith was called up and then dropped from the squad for the friendly against Denmark after being arrested for allegedly throwing a plastic bottle into a crowd - a matter which was later dropped.
Palios insisted that a clear set of guidelines should be drawn up for future reference to ensure that the England squad's faith in the governing body's procedures was restored.
And Palios, who - like Sven-Goran Eriksson - will not attend the talks, therefore appointed Batson to head the ongoing review.
The key questions include whether players should be barred from selection after being arrested, charged or convicted.
An FA spokesman said: "A lengthy consultation process began last October and people at all levels of the game have been spoken to with regard to international selection criteria.
"This process is continuing and will include people with different levels of experience throughout the game. We are looking to establish a clear policy on international selection.
"The England coach and players will, of course, be fully involved in the consultation process."