Football Matters: England, Where Were They Then? Part Two

PART TWO

The England 23 – Where Were They Then?

Joe Hart - Goalkeeper Age Now - 29 Age in 2007 - 20 Club Now – Manchester City Club Then – Manchester City (on loan to Tranmere Rovers and Blackpool)

England's current number one made his debut in 2008 but will already have been on everyone's radar for an international future after his move from Shrewsbury Town to City in 2006. That first cap came in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago as a substitute for David James. He's won two Premier League titles with City in 2012 and 2014. At international level he was an unused member of England's 2010 World Cup squad but by the time we got to the Euros in 2012 he was England's number one and still is (despite a few flappy performances).

Fraser Forster - Goalkeeper

Age Now - 28 Age in 2007 - 19 Club Now - Southampton Club Then – Newcastle United (youth team)

Forster really seemed to fly under the radar until he first joined Celtic on loan from Newcastle then moved to Scotland full time in 2012. He won three Scottish Premier League titles with them in 2012, 2013 and 2014 before moving back to England with a £10m move to Southampton. His first cap came while he was still in Scotland against Chile in a friendly in 2013 and he's won five caps since to establish himself as the current back up to Hart. Once he's fully fit though I expect Jack Butland to start challenging that position.

Tom Heaton - Goalkeeper

Age Now – 30 Age in 2007 - 21 Club Now - Burnley Club Then – Manchester United (on loan at Swindon Town)

With their history of making stars out of their youth team there has always been a lot of focus on United's youth and reserve team players in games like Football Manager. Many young players are marked as promising players or even wonderkids before they've even made a senior appearance. Heaton was more of a promising player I was aware of and it fits with the expectation of the time that he made no senior appearances for United before leaving in 2010 to join Cardiff City after being released. He was loaned out to six clubs in his time at United which allowed him to gain experience if nothing else. His later moves to Bristol City and present club Burnley were both at the end of contracts as free transfers and most of his career has been spent in the second tier of English football. It's hardly what you'd expect from and England international and shows the lack of depth we have in that position (as I mentioned in an earlier blog).

Nathaniel Clyne – Right Back

Age Now - 25 Age in 2007 - 16 Club Now - Liverpool Club Then – Crystal Palace (youth team)

I don't recall Clyne being highlighted as a future star back in 2007 and he didn't gain any international recognition until 2009 when he player for the U19 team a year after he made his Palace debut. As the years have passed Clyne has grown at both club and international level. In 2011 at the age of 20 he was voted the Crystal Palace player of the year before moving to Southampton in 2012. He really shone in Saint's 2014/15 campaign and earned a £12.5m move to Liverpool and another impressive season would for me see him get the nod over Walker but I'm not sure who Hodgson will pick. His England debut came in November 2014 in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia.

Kyle Walker – Right Back

Age Now - 26 Age in 2007 - 17 Club Now – Tottenham Hotspur Club Then – Sheffield United (youth team)

There's no way Walker would have been predicted for the England squad back in 2007 as he was just a young lad in the Sheffield United youth team. After starring for the Blades at the end of the 2008/09 season he earned a £9m move to Spurs which was a fee for both Walker and Kyle Naughton (now at Swansea City). Since then he has earned the accolades of PFA Young Player of the Year 2011/12 and the position of right back in the PFA Team of the Year in the same season. His England U19 debut came before he even made a Sheffield United first team start and was a great U21 player before his first senior cap came in November 2011 in a friendly win over Spain. He missed Euro 2012 through injury and was not in the World Cup 2014 squad so this is his first tournament.

Ryan Bertrand – Left Back

Age Now – 26 Age in 2007 - 17 Club Now - Southampton Club Then – Chelsea

I certainly remember Bertrand being touted as an excellent prospect when he was in the Chelsea youth team but I can't recall which year he first appeared on the radar. Like many young players at Chelsea he had a mixed early career – suffering from being loaned out from 2006 to 2015 to seven different clubs but also benefiting from the experience that garnered. He moved to the latter of those, Southampton, in a £10m at the end of the January window in 2015. Personally I'd have loved him to stay at Chelsea as I think he'd be great as the main left back with Cesar Azpilicueta back on the right but that horse has bolted. He's played for England at every level from U17 to U21 and played four games for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Since his England debut the same year in a friendly against Italy he's earned eight caps and has a great future ahead of him.

Danny Rose – Left Back

Age Now - 25 Age in 2007 - 16 Club Now – Tottenham Hotspur Club Then – Leeds United / Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs bought Rose from Leeds in 2007 for around £1m after the Yorkshire club were relegated from the Premier League. His last loan spell away from White Hart Lane was in 2012/13 to Sunderland and in the three seasons since he's been a regular starter for Spurs. Personally I didn't have him tagged as a future England played back then and to be fair I wouldn't have even put him down as a prospect a couple of seasons ago. He's really improved over the last three years and made his debut against Germany in a friendly in March 2016.

Gary Cahill – Centre Back

Age Now - 30 Age in 2007 - 21 Club Now - Chelsea Club Then – Aston Villa (on loan to Sheffield United)

As Cahill was playing in the England U21 side in 2007 he would certainly be considered for a senior call up in future but he really didn't come to prominence until his excellent performances for Bolton Wanderers after joining them in January 2008. His England debut came in September 2010 against Bulgaria and he moved to Chelsea in January 2012 in a £7m deal. That made him part of the Champions League winning squad the same year as he played alongside David Luiz in the heart of the defence. He won the Europa Cup with them the year after and the Premier League in 2014/15. He was in England's 2014 World Cup squad and should still start against Russia despite his iffy season for Chelsea which improved once Jose Mourinho left.

Chris Smalling – Centre Back

Age Now - 26 Age in 2007 - 17 Club Now – Manchester United Club Then – Maidstone United

He was playing for England U18 schoolboys back in 2007 but at Maidstone United I'd be surprised if he was predicted for an England career ten years later. His moved to Fulham who were at the time in the Premier League in 2008 would have put him on the radar though. After only 18 games for the London club he impressed United enough to buy him for an undisclosed fee in January 2010. and that's when the game producers took note and upped Smalling's ratings and attributes. He won the Premier League with them in 2011 and 2013 and just this season was named as the team's Player's Player of the Season. His England debut came in September 2011against Bulgaria and he was part of the World Cup squad in 2014 but only played in one game. For me he's a guaranteed starter as I not only think he's England's best centre back at the moment but would probably have made my team of the season for 2015/16 if I had done one (perhaps a future blog?). He now has 25 caps and one international goal.

John Stones – Centre Back

Age Now - 22 Age in 2007 - 13 Club Now - Everton Club Then – Barnsley youth team

Obviously at age 13 was more likely to be playing Football Manager or FIFA than appear on any wonderkid lists but that probably changed once Everton paid Barnsley about £3m for his services in January 2013. In the three years since he's played for the England U19, U20 and U21 sides before making his senior debut in May 2014 against Peru in a friendly. He's already got ten caps under his belt in a position usually reserved for the elder, more experienced players. His three excellent seasons at Everton have made him a very public target for Chelsea and many fans expected his signature in the summer of 2015 but the window closed with no business taking place. It was the same in January as Chelsea baulked at Everton's valuation at over £30m which was apparently the Blues' last offer for him. Whether he's now on Antonio Conte's shopping list remains to be seen but he'll be eager to play in France to show what he can do.

Eric Dier – Centre Back / Defensive Midfielder

Age Now - 22 Age in 2007 - 13 Club Now – Tottenham Hotspur Club Then – Sporting Lisbon youth academy

Like Stones he would have been far from England consideration in 2007 and even more so since he was overseas in a Portuguese academy after moving there with his parents when he was seven years old. Dier was actually playing at Everton before Stones as he went there on loan in 2011 and helped them win the U18 Premier League. His Sporting B debut came in August 2012 in the Portuguese second division and three months later he was playing for the first team in the Primeira Liga such was his progress. By this time he was on the England squad lists having played for the U18 in 2011 and going on to play for U19, U20 and U21. In August 2014 he moved to Spurs for £4m and has grown into a first team regular due to his ability to play in a number of roles. His England debut came for Roy Hodgson in November of last year against Spain and since then he's played six more times and scored one goal.

Dele Alli – Central Midfielder

Age Now - 20 Age in 2007 - 11 Club Now – Tottenham Hotspur Club Then – MK Dons youth team

It's been a meteoric rise for Alli from two full seasons in the Dons side from 2013 to 2015 to then signing for Spurs, breaking into the first team and earning not only his first full cap but a key role in the Euro 2016 squad. His MK Dons debut came in December 2012 and by the time he moved to Spurs in the February of 2015 he'd worked his way through the England youth ranks. Alli made his Spurs debut against Manchester United in August 2015 and in his first season he racked up 46 games and 10 goals. His first cap came in October 2015 as a substitute against Estonia and he's already going into Euro 2016 with eight caps and one goal. Much of England's campaign could depend on whether he can maintain that excellent form.

Ross Barkley – Central Midfielder

Age Now - 22 Age in 2007 - 13 Club Now - Everton Club Then – Everton youth team

Barkley has been with the Toffees since he was eleven years old and has played for them at every junior level since. He made his Everton debut in the first game of the 2011/12 season against Queens Park Rangers and has made 140 first team appearances already as well as 17 games on loan to Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United in 2012/13. For the past three seasons he's been a permanent fixture in the Everton squad and after playing for every England level he made his senior debut in September 2013 against Moldova in a World Cup qualifying game. He now has 22 capes and 2 goals at the age of 22.

Jordan Henderson – Central Midfielder

Age Now - 25 Age in 2007 - 16 Club Now - Liverpool Club Then – Sunderland youth team

Although maybe not on the England radar in 2007 it can't have been long after when he first started appearing as a promising player on Football Manager. I think he was originally believed to be a wide player or attacking midfielder but now he's more of an all rounder in the middle of the park. He made his Sunderland debut against Chelsea in November 2008 and was a regular for them in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 season before he was bought by Liverpool. He joined the Reds in June 2011 and made his debut for them against his former side at the start of the following season. Since then he's grown in stature and is now the Liverpool captain although many fans outside his own club have mixed views on his ability and whether he should be in the England team. Personally I like him. He's not world class but until some of the younger players develop he's one of the best we've got. His senior England debut came in November 2010 against France, ironically playing alongside former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard whose armband he would later acquire. Henderson now has 26 England caps.

Adam Lallana – Attacking Midfielder

Age Now - 28 Age in 2007 - 19 Club Now - Liverpool Club Then – Southampton

Having made his senior Southampton debut in August 2006 it's surprising that Lallana wasn't on the Daily Mail list as he had also played for the England U18 and U19 teams when the list was done. Like Henderson, I remember hearing more about Lallana as a promising player around 2010 roughly. At that time Saints were down in League One but had some young players with great potential. He helped the to successive promotions in 2010/11 and 2011/12 to get back in the Premier League. After a great 2013/14 season where he was shortlisted for the PFA Player of the Year award and won the Southampton players and fans awards he signed for Liverpool for a reported £25m. His England debut came in November 2013 in a friendly against Chile and he now has 23 caps. He was in the 2014 World Cup squad with fellow Saints Rickie Lambert and Luke Shaw.

James Milner - Midfielder

Age Now - 30 Age in 2007 - 21 Club Now - Liverpool Club Then – Newcastle United

The third consecutive Liverpool midfielder on our list was certainly on everyone's radar from a very young age. He came through the youth ranks at Leeds United after playing for amateur teams in the Leeds areas of Rawdon and Horsforth (where I lived for a while). He became the youngest player to score a goal in the Premier League when in December 2002 he put the ball in the net against Sunderland. After that everyone was talking about the exciting young midfielder from Leeds. Unfortunately for him Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League and he was sold to Newcastle United as the club needed the money. He was with them until signing for Aston Villa in August 2008 for £12m and I have to say until I researched his history I'd forgotten he was at Newcastle at all for some reason. He was an impressive winger then and is still regarded as a wide player but as he's not got the pace he used to have I see him more as a utility attacking midfielder. After Villa he joined Manchester City and then on to Liverpool in June 2015 on a free transfer. He's been a key player for every team he's played for since 2002 and is approaching his 600th career club game. Despite all the early promise as a youth player he didn't make his England debut until August 2009 against Netherlands in a friendly after playing an amazing 46 times for the U21 team. He was a member of the England squads for World Cup 2010, Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014. He has 60 caps and 1 goal.

Jack Wilshere – Central Midfielder

Age Now - 24 Age in 2007 - 15 Club Now - Arsenal Club Then – Arsenal youth team

I'm sure Arsenal fans will have been aware of the potential of young Jack Wilshere in 2007 even if he wasn't old enough to feature in FM or FIFA games yet. He was an exciting prospect all through his schoolboy and youth career and he was in the 2008/09 Arsenal senior squad at the age of 16 and made his debut in September 2008 against Blackburn Rovers. Unfortunately the level of his talent is match by how injury prone he is and his eight seasons for the Gunners have been blighted by long spells on the sidelines. Even last season he broke his leg in pre-season and only returned for the last three games of the season, just in time to be included in Roy Hodgson's squad which many see as a risk. He England senior debut was against Hungary in August 2010 at the age of 18 making him the 10th youngest player to play for the Three Lions. He wasn't in the Euro 2012 squad but was with England at World Cup 2014. He now has 31 caps and 2 goals which could have been higher if not for injury. Let's hope he can put those days behind him and get back to playing on a regular basis for club and country.

Raheem Sterling – Attacking Midfielder

Age Now - 21 Age in 2007 - 12 Club Now – Manchester City Club Then – Queens Park Rangers youth team

It shows how young the England squad is that so many of them were between 12 and 17 when the original prediction was made in 2007. Hopefully most of the players 24 or under will still be on the England scene in eight years time when we get to the 2024 European Championships. I'd certainly expect Sterling to be one of them but in the space of little over 12 months he's gone from Liverpool hero to Man City zero. Although born in Jamaica and therefore eligible to play for their national team he moved to England when he was seven and started playing for the England U16 while part of QPR's youth team in 2009. Liverpool bought him in February 2010 before he could play for the London club's first team and he made his Reds debut in March 2012. He only made three appearances in that 2011/12 season but for the following three seasons he was a regular fixture in the side making 126 games and scoring 23 goals. In 2015 though he very publicly fell out with Liverpool over a contract dispute and some of the fans that had been singing his name were now booing his presence. City came in with £44m and Sterling swapped red for blue. Statistically he's done okay since with 11 goals in 47 games but his performances have been hot and cold and the general public appears to have turned against him. His senior England debut came in November 2012 against Sweden in a friendly. He was part of the 2014 World Cup squad aged just 19 years old and now has 23 caps and 2 international goals. If he can have a great tournament he could turn the tide of opinion back in his favour, especially as he is really the only decent wide player Hodgson has taken to France.

Wayne Rooney – Attacking Midfielder / Striker

Age Now - 30 Age in 2007 - 21 Club Now – Manchester United Club Then – Manchester United

Let's face it, anyone doing a list of England's Euro 2016 squad in 2007 would have included Wayne Rooney. He'd already been in the England team since 2003 having made his debut in February as his country's youngest ever player in a friendly with Australia at the age of 17 years and 111 days. Just 200 days later he was the youngest to score for England too against Macedonia and this is while he was still an Everton player. After 77 games for the Toffees and 17 goals Manchester United paid just over £25m for the man who would go on to be their captain in August 2004. Whether you love him or hate him (and I've done a share of both over the years) there's no denying that about ten years ago he was the one English player who seemed to have the world at his feet. He had skill, strength, agility and passion. Unfortunately the passion gave way to suspect temperament that too often let him down (his red card at World Cup 2006 for example) and over the years the agility went as he seemed to gain weight without matching physique. I could probably do a whole blog about the rise and fall of Wayne Rooney but a player who was such a great striker up to the age of 25 should still be a fantastic striker at the age of 30. Instead he's gradually dropped deeper and deeper in the United and England formations to now be regarded as a midfielder and not a striker. Many England fans say he doesn't deserve a starting place in the team despite him being the national captain and some went even further and said he would not have been on their plane. I can't think back to a previous England captain who has had more than 50% of the country not wanting him in the side but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case now. Personally I can't stand Rooney at all but I still would have him on the plane and still would start him against Russia. If he fails to perform in that game then fair enough, drop him but I think he can still do what we need. I must say though I watched the F A Cup final carefully to see why so many fans had been knocking him lately and he didn't do a lot in that game to impress but when he did it was brilliant. He has the form of a winger now, flatters to deceive for much of a game then springs some brilliance to justify his selection just before he's about to be hauled off. Anyway, I'm off on a tangent and away from the topic. His record speaks for itself – 111 caps and 52 goals.

Harry Kane - Striker

Age Now - 22 Age in 2007 - 13 Club Now – Tottenham Hotspur Club Then – Tottenham Hotspur youth team

The former Arsenal schoolboy joined Spurs from Watford in 2004 to go into their academy. It's been a short spell in the spotlight for Kane but then when you think about it that's the same for a number of these lads. In his development years he had spells with Leyton Orient in League One, Millwall and Leicester City in the Championship and Norwich City in the Premier League with his most prolific being 9 goals in 27 games for Millwall. He stayed with Spurs for 2013/14 and with occasional games scored 4 goals in 19 games. In the 2014/15 season though he started scoring and hasn't stopped since to the point where he scored 59 goals in 101 games in the last two years which is impressive at his age. He reminds me a bit of Alan Shearer too (or former Spurs striker coach Les Ferdinand, now at QPR) as he is one of those striker who seems to have a bit of everything in his game: strength, aerial ability, power, pace, vision, touch. After the first season we all waited to see if he would be a one season wonder but then last season he scored 25 league goals against 21 the season before and put that thought to bed. His England debut in March 2015 against Lithuania in a Euro qualifier and scored after just over a minute on the field. He has 5 goals in 12 caps and hopefully will add to that in France where I expect him to play from the start.

Jamie Vardy - Striker

Age Now - 29 Age in 2007 - 20 Club Now – Leicester City Club Then – Stocksbridge Park Steels (now in the Northern Premier League)

I've made my thoughts on Jamie Vardy very clear over the last year so I'll try and keep this brief. Many people like him as it shows that any lower league can hit the big time with the right break and work ethic. After playing for Stocksbridge Park Steels, Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town he got his break with a move to Leicester City for £1m in May 2012. He'd scored 34 goals in 42 games for Fleetwood in the Conference so was clearly better than the division he was playing in. In his first two seasons with them in the Championship he scored 21 goals in 77 games and in their first season back in the top flight just 5 in 36. Last season, in Leicester's dreamland season where everything they touched turned to gold, he scored 24 goals in 38 which is brilliant. The team on the whole was brilliant though – Kante, Mahrez, Drinkwater, Albrighton all contributed to a fantastic season the like of which will never happen again I'm sure. They were all in the right place at the right time but the saying is 'form is temporary and class is permanent'. Vardy had a great form season to secure his place in France and I hope if he is picked that it continues as I want us to do as well as possible but I do not believe that once that momentum stops he will be that good again, especially if you take him out of the Leicester team. I could well be wrong – I stand pretty much alone in a country of Vardy fans who love his ridiculous catchphrases – and if he scores more than 20 goals next season (maybe even 15) I'll happily admit that is the case. He made his England debut in June 2015 against the Republic of Ireland and has 8 caps and 3 goals.

Daniel Sturridge - Striker

Age Now - 26 Age in 2007 - 17 Club Now - Liverpool Club Then – Manchester City

I recall seeing Sturridge in the wonderkid and promising talent lists for Football Manager games from a very young age so if it wasn't back in 2007 it can't have been long after. I certainly think if the Daily Mail did a full England squad rather than a XI he would have been in there. He made his City debut in February 2007 and scored his first goal for them in January 2008 so he was there or thereabouts at the time. His 2009 move to Chelsea never worked out which is a shame as we could really do with him right now. After 96 games and 24 goals Chelsea sold him to Liverpool in the January window of the 2012/13 season for around £12m. The issue with Sturridge is, like Wilshere, that he is injury prone and would have had a much more successful Liverpool career to date if not for his injuries. His only full season with them was 2013/14 when he scored 24 goals in 33 games but in the last two seasons he has only played in 26 out of the 76 league games, 43 games in all competitions and scored 18 goals. He England debut came in November 2011 while he was at Chelsea and was a member of the World Cup 2014 squad. He has 18 caps and 5 goals.

Marcus Rashford - Striker

Age Now - 18 Age in 2007 - 9 Club Now – Manchester United Club Then – Manchester United youth

I wonder why he wasn't on the 2007 prediction list? Oh yeah, he was only nine years old! In fact if you asked people a year ago to predict the England squad for Euro 2016 he would not even be mentioned. It's been a meteoric rise for the young lad who only made his United debut in February 2016 against Midtjylland in the Europa League and scored twice in a 5-1 win. Then he made his Premier League debut against Arsenal and scored twice again in a 3-2 win to show that his debut was no fluke and suddenly everyone was talking about him. He also scored the only goal to win the last Manchester derby and has 8 goals in 18 games for United in all competitions. That form led to his inclusion in Hodgson's pre-Euro squad of 26 when he was expected to be one of the three players left at home by most fans. On 16th May 2016 he was included in the Euro 2016 without ever playing for his country and made his debut on 27th May 2016 in a friendly against Australia where he went with the script and duly scored. He has one cap and one goal going into the tournament.

So that's my look back at the current England 23 with 'Where Were They Then?' looking back at the last nine years of their various careers. I wonder who will be in the England squad in eight or ten years from now? Perhaps a later blog will cover that. I do have another one coming soon where my friend and I predicted the England players that might make World Cup 2018 with some great hits and misses though.