Online petition to kick former Bradford youth player out of England squad

Roy Hodgson has lashed out at the 10,000 people who have signed up to a petition calling for former Bradford City youth player Tom Cleverley to be excluded from England's World Cup squad.

Cleverley has come in for strong criticism this season for his performances for Manchester United, but the midfielder remains a regular in the national set-up.

One England fan - Glenn McConnell from Blackpool - took exception to Cleverley's latest call-up last month when he launched an online petition calling for the 24-year-old to be "banned" from the World Cup.

McConnell hit out at Hodgson for handing the "inept" Cleverley 13 caps when the midfielder, in his opinion, does not possess "any genuine qualities whatsoever".

Over 10,000 people have signed up to the cause online. Some of them have left derogatory comments on the webpage that hosts the petition - something that England manager Hodgson is not happy about at all.

Cleverley himself said recently he was annoyed at being a scapegoat for United's recent troubles.

The re-emergence of Jordan Henderson has cast doubt on whether Cleverley will make the 23-man squad for Brazil.

But Hodgson refuses to ditch the Manchester United midfielder, who played the first nine games in England's World Cup qualifying campaign.