YOU have to feel a lot of sympathy for England manager Roy Hodgson as he is yet again hampered as he attempts to take the next couple of steps to preparing his team to ensure qualification for the World Cup finals in Brazil in 2014.

His side face the Republic of Ireland in a friendly at Wembley next Wednesday and then England leave for Brazil immediately after the Irish encounter to fulfil a date in the famous Maracana Stadium on June 2.

Hodgson will do all this possibly without the services of the players of Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham – the sides who finished second, third and fifth in the Premier League, respectively.

The likes of Joe Hart, Frank Lampard and company will have just returned from their club’s end-of-season tours.

In fact Europa Cup winners Chelsea and FA Cup runners-up Manchester City meet tomorrow at St Louis’ Busch Stadium in a game that Ferran Soriano, the chief executive officer for the major port of Missouri, described as: “Tremendously exciting for us.”

So while Hodgson worries about what he might deem unnecessary extra activity for certain members of his squad, I actually am as concerned for the poor souls Stateside who have bought tickets thinking Chelsea against City is going to be a ‘tremendous’ spectacle.

Rafa Benitez’s boys might be in high spirits and up for a game, but I went to Wembley and I also have it on very good authority from a number of eye witnesses at the Etihad for the game against Norwich on Sunday that Bobby Manc’s old team might prove a lot less entertaining.