Out with the old and in with the young

Taylor's England squad bears as much resemblance to one of his old Under-21 parties of two years ago as the senior line-up named by Kevin Keegan last month.

And it has given a whole host of more experienced players considerable food for thought as to their international futures.

In establishing an age limit of 30 for what he insisted was merely a one-off squad to give the youngsters a chance to prove their potential, Taylor has provided a virtual Who's Who of emerging talent.

Eight of the 26-man squad are eligible for the Under-21 side, nine of them were not in the last party, the average age is just 23.5 and only two 30-year-olds are included - Aston Villa duo Gareth Southgate and David James.

At the age of 25, David Beckham is considered a 'father figure' as captain but as one observer dryly remarked, Brooklyn Beckham can only just have missed out on this squad, which may be more used to snap than poker.

Those technically eligible for the Under-21 team are Gareth Barry, Alan Smith, Paul Robinson, Wes Brown, Steve Gerrard and Michael Owen, Michael Ball and Seth Johnson.

But Taylor also found room for several others that he brought through the junior ranks himself Jamie Carragher, Frank Lampard, Emile Heskey, Richard Wright, Rio Ferdinand and Kieron Dyer as well as Nicky Butt.

The most obvious omissions were the two Coles Joe, who is considered to be the brightest young light of all, and Andy, who has started the past three England games.

Both were deemed to be injured, with Taylor believing in any case that 18-year-old Joe would have been better served starting a game for the Under-21s rather than sitting on the bench for the senior side.

As for those over 30, the list of enforced absentees was notable David Seaman, Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Graeme Le Saux, Paul Ince, Dennis Wise and Teddy Sheringham, as well as even Leicester keeper Tim Flowers.

Just how serious the long-term consequences actually are remains to be seen but even if Eriksson takes over soon and adopts a different policy, the writing seems to be on the wall for at least some of them.

Taylor admitted those older players he had spoken to, such as Keown and Wise, ''understood'' but were ''not 100per cent happy'', and accepted some of them may fear their international careers were over.

However, he insisted: ''This is a one-off and a friendly. I've explained to them that if it had been a qualifying game then I'm not too sure there would have been so many young players in.

''I'm sure they trust me on that. If they miss a game, it's not going to affect their experience. They can miss the Italy game and still be the same player for the next match.

''It's worth sticking players in who haven't had the experience of big games.

"If they get something out of the game it could help England for the qualifiers that follow.''

Taylor argued that Eriksson would know all about most of those more experienced players anyway and have little to learn.

However, the fact remains that if the youngsters were to come in and perform admirably, those older players could then face something of a battle to regain their places.

And while some may argue that it is a case of throwing lambs to the slaughter in Turin, as long as the caretaker England boss maintains a backbone of experience such as Southgate, he will be doing his country a great service.

For the tried and tested formula clearly does not work. The youngsters may well lose in Italy but what does that really matter as they long as they show promise and learn from the experience?

The significant tests come in March against Finland and Albania, by which time several of the more experienced figures, such as Adams, Keown and Le Saux, will be back.

Hopefully not all of them though, as this group of players represents the future of English football. And not too distant a future either.

Taylor did show the weaknesses in his caretaker's role, admitting he ''actually didn't realise'' Steve McManaman had played the past three games for Real Madrid, while some selections did seem to come from memory.

However, his decision to turn to youth was instantly made in the immediate aftermath of his appointment for this friendly against Italy, even if the scale of it took many by surprise.

''I know a lot about these players and everyone has spoken about their potential. I think that has to be proven now and in a game like this, I think it will be,'' he declared.

''I worked with them and they were good and they are good. To me, this is the test.

"Once you get into the senior team, suddenly there's a lot more pressure and the opposition of course is stronger.

''Unless we introduce B internationals, this is the way to test them.

''I've tried to give them a chance to show what they can do. If it meant they were successful and carried on playing and doing well then I'd be pleased for them.