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 | | Thursday, 31 January, 2002, 14:13 GMT Gazza the star attraction  Gascoigne stands out in the England 11 Paul Gascoigne will pull on an England shirt again this summer. But the news should not prompt Gazza to reach for the Japanese phrase book just yet. Gascoigne has not got the World Cup nod from Sven-Goran Eriksson, but will find himself the star attraction in an ex-England 11 for Reading captain Phil Parkinson's testimonial match in May. Parkinson, celebrating his 10th season with the Royals this year, announced plans for his Reading side to tackle a team of former England stars coached by Spurs assistant boss John Gorman.
Ironically, Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle will also play for the Ex-England side, which will be captained by Stuart Pearce. Hoddle was England manager during the 1998 World Cup in France and controversially left Gascoigne out of his final squad. Chris Waddle, Dennis Wise and Luther Blissett are also in line to play in the testimonial game at Reading's Madejski Stadium on 13 May. "I'm delighted that John Gorman and Glenn Hoddle have agreed to bring an England 11 down," said Parkinson at the launch of his testimonial year on Wednesday.
"John will manage the team and Glenn is going to get his boots out again. "I'm delighted that one of the first to come on board was Stuart Pearce, who is a player I really look up to. "Chris Waddle has been fantastic too and said straight away that he would try to get Gascoigne to play." Gascoigne did not need asking twice, especially having made clear his desire to wear the national shirt once more. Speaking after Everton's FA Cup win over Leyton Orient, Gascoigne said: "I don't want to be too big-headed, but I know it was a good performance. I've already sent the video to Sven. "But I must stop talking about England. Walter Smith is down on me about it. He says I have to get into the Everton side first before thinking about England, and he's right. "But I was joking afterwards that I can put on and take off 15 years at will.
Parkinson's Reading team will be boosted by the presence of former Royals favourites Stuart Lovell, Shaka Hislop and Dylan Kerr on the substitutes bench. Reading boss Alan Pardew believes that winning the Second Division title in Parkinson's testimonial year would be an appropriate tribute to midfielder Parkinson. "If we could parade the championship trophy before the game then it would be a fitting tribute," said Pardew. He added: "If we have not gone up then Parky will probably have replaced me as the manager anyway. " | | Internet links:  The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Other top Reading stories:  Links to more Reading stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||
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