England World Cup team announced in bits and pieces on Twitter? Blimey

This is big news in Stately Olde England: Theo Walcott was left off the English World Cup squad which was announced today. (The U.S. opens World Cup action vs. England next week). And of course the Walcott bombshell was announced in traditional British fashion: by some random fan in a sports blog comments section. Hilarious. From the BBC blog 606:

5:22 a.m. (ET): “Here’s your first proper scoop of the day. My Mrs works at Heathrow airport and Theo Walcott has just checked in with his girlfriend. They are off to the Caribbean, NOT South Africa. That’s him out then.” — cowboymartin

And the rest of the squad was revealed piecemeal via various UK journalists on Twitter. Very sloppy; this never would have happened if Dumbledore were still alive.

Evidently England’s coach, Fabio Capello, is taking grief for waiting so long to announce his final roster. Some are saying he knew the final squad a week ago. But by the time he announced it this morning, the bones of the story had already been picked clean online; perhaps a first in major pro sports history. A chronological timeline, courtesy of World Cup Blog:

7:56 a.m.: From [journalist] NeilAshton_NOTW on Twitter: “Relief for Carrick, he’s in England squad.”

8:11: From [journalist] Scottwilsonecho on Twitter: “Sounds like former Boro boy Adam Johnson has missed out as well. Not a good day for the north-east.”

8:33: From [BBC's] philmcnulty on Twitter: “Informed sources round up so far. Baines, Bent, A. Johnson, Walcott out. Joe Cole, SWP, Carrick & Warnock (presumably) in.”

8:38: From OliverKayTimes on Twitter: “Now there’s a rumour (UNCONFIRMED for now) of Ledley King OUT and Michael Dawson IN.”

8:59: From thefadotcom on Twitter: “Plenty of speculation about England squad, but rest assured this and TheFA.com will be the first place you hear confirmation of final 23.”

9:10: Incredible isn’t it, this? Effectively we are watching the 2010 England World Cup squad being revealed on Twitter by well-informed journalists. It’s history in the making.

9:11: From NeilAshton_NOTW on Twitter: “Barry in the squad, he’s just had the good news. Feels he’s fit, could even be ready for the USA game. Says he’s 100 per cent fully fit.”

9:14: BBC sports news correspondent Dan Roan says he has it on good authority that Ledley King is IN the England World Cup squad.

9:18: How thick can this plot get? The News of the World’s Neil Ashton reckons Ledley King is NOT going to South Africa. Unbelievable drama.

All of this occurred before the squad was officially announced at 11 a.m., ET. Oh, here it is, by the way:
Goalkeepers: Robert Green, Joe Hart, David James.
Defenders: Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock.
Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Forwards: Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney.
From my go-to soccer guy, Jakob at Unprofessional Foul:

“Let me tell you, there were no real surprises. The decision getting all the ink is Capello leaving the young Arsenal winger Theo Walcott back in Old Blimey to watch his mates on the telly, but if the decision is not that surprising. Walcott is a pacy winger who was named to the 2006 World Cup squad by Sven Goran Eriksson as a seventeen-year-old who had never set foot on a field in the Premier League before being included on the World Cup roster. But merely being named to the 2006 squad at a young age does not entitle Walcott to subsequent appearances. The fact of the matter is Walcott has not been in good form this year, has not progressed as a player and brings little else to the table except for his speed. And for all intents and purposes was merely fighting to be a benchwarmer in 2010.”

OK, then.
***
Your 2010 England WC Squad [Unprofessional Foul]
England World Cup Squad Announced via Twitter (Sort Of) [World Cup Blog]