Joe Hodge

are his minutes on the pitch all that worse than matt dohertys in the last few months?  latvia game is a pain for SK. he should use it as a game to "bed" in players , a point which he continues to harp on about. the game is utterly pointless in the scheme of things. give the kid 20 mins off the bench, nothing will be lost by it. 

smallbone should be a starter, no reason hodge shouldnt get in the sqaud vs latvia for me. showed enough for wolves until mid jan, against good opposition, to be in the squad for a game against poor opposition. parrott and ferguson have been called into matchday squads for qualifiers/friendlies with less minutes than hodge. i dont think it should be a barrier for him  

are there limits for friendly games? tbh id be wrapping cullen up wouldnt have him in the squad v latvia. i think adding an extra player or 2 just for the latvia game for the likes of hodge would be beneficial. no issue at all with him not making the MD squad for france. just think we could better utilise players for these friendly games .

He is more than able for the step-up.

He has been the best prospect at every age-group he's played at for Ireland, often playing a few age-groups ahead.  

Players like Joe Hodge are the future and we should be getting them involved - I'm not saying starting against France - now.

Hodge has a grand total of 168 minutes in the Premier League this season, the last of which came on the 4th January. I wouldnt die in a ditch either way over his inclusion in the Senior Squad atm, I just think he might benefit more at this stage in his career from playing a key role, as captain and midfield enforcer, in the upcoming U21 campaign. If he starts next season in the senior Wolves squad or gets a good loan move to a decent Championship level club and plays regularly, then the issue can be revisited then.

Also, just to be clear, much as I like Hodge, I dont really see him as a creative midfielder as such. He is more of a 6/8, unlike Smallbone (who has improved steadily this season, since returning from almost a year out of the game) who is more of an 8/10. They are not an either/or imo. We have plenty of 6/8's (Hodge may well have a higher ceiling than most of them tbf), but we dont really have a lad who can play in the #10 role and I dont see Hodge being the answer to that, the likes of Smallbone, Azaz, Szmodics might be.

Shane Keegan wouldnt be a lad I would have much time for, but I certainly hope he's right regarding Hodge being a better player than the £100mn rated duo of Grealish and Rice.

I agree with a lot of your stuff Greenie, but I still think Ebosele and Hodge should link up with the U21 squad, even though it's only a friendly. 

For a start, I'm not sure there is enough room in the senior squad if we are looking to include players from the last U21 campaign who are playing regularly and performing well such as Coventry, Azaz and Smallbone. 

Secondly, although it's only a friendly, it should be a competitive one and it's the first chance for the U21 squad to meet up together and with Crawford (who I am sure you are aware I am not a big fan of). Hodge should be given the armband for the game and Ebosele should start (and be given assurances that he will be first choice RWB for the campaign). Both should be told that if their circumstances change at club level, then they are very much in the thoughts of management for the senior squad, but as of today, neither has done enough imo and both are U21 eligible.