Roy Hodgson and the FA have confirmed that Michael Carrick had ruled himself out of the England squad. Roy Hodgson stated that the Manchester United man did not want to go as a backup at this stage of his career. Forever under rated, The Frank Lampard's and Steven Gerrard's of this world have always been prefered, despite their continual failure at international tournaments while Carrick rots on the bench.

"We were advised a few months ago that because of where he was in his career, that he wanted to step back from being called up and sitting on the subs bench. He will help in extreme situations,"

Adrian Bevington - FA

"I wouldn't dream of putting Michael Carrick on a standby list after he's made it clear in the past he doesn't want to be involved like that. I'd have to be convinced he was better than the four [central midfielders] I've selected, and that he'd be happy to come out of retirement."

Roy Hodgson

What could be England's misfortune, will most certainly be Manchester United's gain. Carrick has played a key role, not missing a Premier League game since before Christmas. He is so quietly efficient, and his partnership with Paul Scholes was fantastic in the first three or four months of 2012. This means he will be rested and will not have to suffer the dissappointment of another failure with the England side.

Go get em next season Carrick

It is three and out for former England striker Micheal Owen, as the injury plagued poacher will leave after not being offered a new contract. Sir Alex Ferguson informed him of the clubs decision after Harry Gregg's testimonial match on Tuesday, where a United team defeated a The League of Ireland's all star 11. Here is what Owen had to say.

"The Manager informed me after our testimonial match on Tuesday that the club would not be offering me a new contract. I have loved every minute of the three years I have spent at such a fantastic club. I would like to thank the players, staff and fans for their support and wish them well for the future.I now plan to have a short holiday during which I will contemplate my next move."

Source - Manchester United official

The gaffer added his thoughts about his departing striker

"It is a pleasure to have had Michael at Manchester United. Michael is a consummate professional and was an influential figure in our dressing room. Unfortunately he had no luck with his injury this season. Michael’s record of goals per game is exceptional and we wish him all the best for the future."

Source - Manchester United official

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To be quite honest, when I scanned over each of Manchester United's 53 matches in all competitions this season, it was a bit depressing how few stood out as a dramatic accomplishment. From my perspective, there were many more heartbreaking ones (*). A few of the 5-0 victories were relatively joyless when looking back on them months later. Anyway, the third of the voting for TBB's community awards (Vote for Player of the Season here and Young Player of the Season here) is here and it's simply an ask on what your MUFC match of the season was. I would assume that one will probably be the obvious winner but you know what they say when one assumes...

* I'm a glutton for punishment -- perhaps I should offer up a sadistic 'most soul-crushing defeat of the season' award!

To each their own though as we all get different degrees of pleasure or disappointment by any single event. So rather than assume like a dictator would, I'll leave it up to a democratic process -- voting! I'll ban you though if you don't agree with my choice. Just kidding... maybe. Here are the four nominees in chronological order. Have at it -- after the jump...

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Roy Hodgson named his England squad for Euro 2012 on Wednesday and quite predictably, debate followed. The obvious points of discussion centered around John Terry's inclusion likely resulting in Rio Ferdinand's exclusion, Micah Richards being dropped (again), and Liverpool's mercurial Andy Carroll being brought into the side -- which perhaps led many to infer this being the reason for Peter Crouch not being included. It may not be obvious -- well the Rio situation is -- but there are Manchester United angles into all of these much talked about topics. These choices hint at the roles that Hodgson may ask the United quartet of Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young, and Phil Jones to play in when the tournament begins.

First off, let's very quickly discuss the tactics that Hodgson is likely to deploy because that may provide insight into what he is aiming for *. He has recently spoke of his preference for 'a point of reference' (a classic target man), whether that be in a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 system. In the 4-4-2, the England manager likes that there is somebody in close support to the lead striker so that there's 'someone to threat the back of the defence'. In the 4-3-3, 'the threat to the back of defence has to come from midfield' so 'you need midfield players bursting forward'. He likes his central-midfielders to 'protect the back four and they're also going to be the catalysts for attacks'. Hodgson's 'wide players are the ones you're looking for to use spaces'. His back four is fairly standard. What might this mean to Hodgson's quartet of United players? I'll try to explain after the jump.

* This is a link to a video of Hodgson discussing his 4-4-2 system

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