Post by Taxigirl on Jan 13, 2004 9:43:32 GMT
Talks between the Football Association and England players, aimed at improving their strained relationship, have been hailed a success.
Brendon Batson, Trevor Brooking and David Davies met senior players Gary Neville and David James in Manchester.
The meeting was called by Mark Palios to clear up what offences will lead to players being dropped from the squad.
"It was a terrific meeting and the problems and differences we had are behind us," Davies said.
Davies did concede that further discussions are needed between the parties in an attempt to settle on a "widely acceptable and agreed" criteria for future international squad selections.
And a policy governing selection is expected to be in place by the time the national team face Portugal on 18 February.
"We discussed specific responsibilities - of the players themselves at whatever level, of clubs and the Premier League and the FA in resolving any issues that arise and agreed better communication between all of us was very important," Davies added.
"We also looked to the involvement of a wider cross-section of the football community when issues arise in the future.
" Discussions are going to continue over the next few weeks and the aim is to create a widely acceptable and agreed policy for all England squad selections in the future."
The players had been angered by the way Rio Ferdinand and Alan Smith were axed ahead of internationals late in 2003.
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The situation became more complicated when Leeds striker Alan Smith was called up and then withdrawn from the squad for the friendly against Denmark after being arrested for allegedly throwing a plastic bottle into a crowd - a matter which was later dropped.
Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association is adamant any differences must be cleared up before the summer's European Championship in Portugal.
However, he was pleased to see the start of the "healing" process after a damaging period in relations.
"We've been shooting ourselves in the foot in full view of the country, and the world, and bearing in mind we've qualified for Euro 2004 it's important we get the show on the road with the team spirit unaffected," Taylor said.
"There should be a common interest, between the players and the FA, of wanting the team to do well.
"They have been doing that on the pitch by qualifying for Euro 2004, but some of the things off the pitch haven't always been conducive to the team doing well."