Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has criticised England manager Roy Hodgson for not utilising some of the younger squad members to their full potential.
England were knocked out of Euro 2012 on penalties by Italy on Sunday after being dominated for the majority of the 120 minutes. F
Ferdinand, who was overlooked for selection for the squad, believes that the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Phil Jones could have been used better at the tournament.
"I am a fan of 'The Ox' and I wanted to see more of him but in the end he finished up as a spectator," Ferdinand told The Sun.
"Phil Jones is one of the most adaptable players we have in our country and where was he? When we need to take the ball from midfield, run 40 yards with it and put the other team on the back foot, he is the man for the job.
"Instead, we stayed cautious and Jordan Henderson was used instead. That's not a criticism of Jordan, he is a different player to Phil, but I thought it showed we were being too conservative."
Ferdinand has been capped 81 times by England.
Matt Cotton
