The Top 10: Footballers Who Played Better for England Than They Did for Their Clubs
This is a special list suggested by my friend and colleague Jon Davis, and edited by him. I know nothing about football, so any errors of fact and interpretation are entirely his fault. Here they are, then, most recent players first...
1. Jordan Pickford. At the 2018 World Cup, Pickford became the first England goalkeeper in what seemed decades to come out victorious in a penalty shoot-out, alongside some other great saves. His performances at Everton since have been error-strewn. The first of a trio picked by Gareth Southgate, nominated by John Fuchs, Mark Conrad and Lee Copestick.
2. Kieran Trippier. From his average performances at Spurs, who knew that he possessed a dead ball delivery reminiscent of David Beckham? A great 2018 World Cup was followed by a poor domestic season, though his star is apparently rising at Atletico Madrid. Nominated by Steve.
3. Harry Maguire. Solid performances for Leicester led to a surprising world-record move to Manchester United and a so-so 2019-20 season, but he was called up for England and had a great 2018 World Cup. Aided by eagle-eyed VAR decisions, he was a huge danger in the opposition box. Another from Lee Copestick.
4. Danny Welbeck. Sixteen goals in 42 appearances for England is a fine return for an injury-prone player who was never really first choice at Manchester United, Arsenal and now Watford. Nominated by Jack Brown and Patrick O’Flynn.
5. Peter Crouch. Tall bloke who spent most of his career outside the traditional big clubs but scored a fantastic 22 goals in 42 appearances for England. Nominated by Ashley Sweetman, Chriswiltshire, James Mills, The G-Ape and Chetun Patel.
6. Darius Vassell. A fair player somewhat inexplicably loved by Sven-Göran Eriksson, and who never really let him down. Nominated by Jon Davis.
7. Darren Anderton. A fine player for Terry Venables who only ever seemed to be free of injury in the weeks before a major tournament, and therefore fresher than most. Another one nominated by Jon Davis, exercising editor’s privilege.
8. David Platt. Twenty-seven England goals places him 13th on the all-time scorers list. He was plucked from relative obscurity by Bobby Robson and vindicated his clever old boss by looking world class in the 1990 Italian sun. Nominated by Tim Shipman and Mr Barkley.
9. Gary Lineker. One who shone at World Cups, winning the Golden Boot at Mexico 86 and narrowly missing out in 1990, including a nerveless performance against Cameroon, but who won only an FA Cup, a Copa del Rey and a Cup Winners’ Cup at club level. Nominated by Greg Pearce.
10. Bobby Moore, Sir Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. West Ham won the World Cup with Moore captaining, Hurst the only player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final and Peters scoring the other. As a Hammers season ticket holder born after 1966, and with “fortune always hiding”, they surely they fit the bill. Jon Davis allowed this cheating triple nomination from Brendan Gill, Paddy Briggs, Ryan McCormack and himself.
Honourable and dishonourable mentions: David Beckham – great for both but the most consistently excellent England player of his generation (nominated by Dean Bullen); Stuart Pearce – “He was a great player for his club but even more committed for England; I don’t know his politics, but he was Mark Francois’s Brexit bulldog in a bottle whenever he took to the pitch for England,” said Mick O’Hare; John Barnes – who was the reverse, playing better for his club than for England (nominated by Mark Newlands); and Michael Owen – because he should have been playing for Wales (nominated by the Welsh nation).
Next week: Twitter jokes.
Coming soon: Unlikely shared interests of political leaders, after Jonathan Aiken recalled Harold Wilson and Richard Nixon singing Gilbert and Sullivan together.
Your suggestions please, and ideas for future Top 10s, to me on Twitter, or by email to top10@independent.co.uk
