Well, the final cut has been made and the news that began to zing around Twitter feeds up and down the country is that Arsenal’s Theo Walcott has not made the 23. Having been included by Sven Goran Erickson in the England squad for the 2006 World Cup as an unknown 17-year-old, yet to make his Premiership debut, as a 21-year-old moving into the prime years of his career, and with a World Cup Qualifier hat-trick under his belt, he’s now considered not good enough.

The general media consensus is that he’s only got himself to blame having failed to deliver much since the Croatia hat-trick two years ago, either for England or Arsenal, that he was simply not productive enough. He doesn’t cross well enough, seems reluctant to use his pace enough and cut inside too often.

Consensus at the pub last night, however, was different.

There are a lot of people who do feel he is a little unlucky and that Capello may be missing an opportunity by leaving him at home. This is particularly true when you think of who has taken Walcott’s place – Shaun Wright-Phillips, himself just as much a loose cannon, and open to a lot of the same criticism as Walcott. In truth, both players offer a different dimension from the bench – pace and goal threat, although in both areas I’d argue that Walcott offers more. The reality is, of course, that neither player offers as much as the third winger in the squad, Aaron Lennon, who I suspect will be the one Capello turns to when he wants a wide option.

Walcott has also been unlucky in the sense that he has had his season disrupted by injury, and many Arsenal fans would point the finger for that directly at the England camp. Having featured in most of the World Cup Qualifiers and been the match winner in Zagreb, England inexplicably insisted on him taking part in the 2009 under-21 European Championship, when his manager insisted he needed a rest. He came back injured and missed the early part of the season as a result.

To be honest the really unlucky player, who I would have included is West Ham’s Scott Parker, who is coming off a terrific season for struggling West Ham – a fact highlighted by the club chairman’s bizarre decision to make every player but one of his West Ham team available for sale – the one exception being Scotty Parker. He is direct, energetic, with a good tackle and a decent range of passing.

Gareth Barry is set to play the holding role for England, but has only just declared himself fit after ankle problems, and his understudy the cautious Michael Carrick has had a very subdued season for Manchester United. Consensus around the table last night was that Carrick can consider himself a lucky feller.

Of course there are one or two others who might consider themselves a little lucky…