Newcastle United Fan View: England's loss is Magpies' gain

I’ve written a lot about England over the years on here and not much of it has included many positives. As a kid, I used to love watching England play and some of my best footballing memories are from watching England in Italia 90 and Euro 96.

I worshipped the players back then; Lineker, Platt, Gazza, Shearer, you name it, if they wore an England shirt, they were one of my heroes. Not now though, not now in the slightest. I feel absolutely nothing for the English national side these days – I will watch them mainly because I am a football fan but lose, win or draw, it barely registers with me.

Back in 1990, I was a Newcastle fan and attended the odd game with my Dad but it was the England side I had in my heart. I had the strips, the player posters and I looked forward to the World Cup. I am not sure when the switch to club over country began but I suspect it was around the time Newcastle United were competing with the very best in the early to mid 90s. I remember the likes of Cole, Lee, Fox, Venison and Howey getting England call-ups and being thrilled for them but I ended up watching the England team play just to see the Newcastle players in action.

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The last Newcastle United player to play for England was Andros Townsend in 2016, prior to that it was Andy Carroll in 2010 and then we have the crock Michael Owen back in 2008. So, in a decade, two players from Newcastle have represented England and, given Townsend was only at the club for six months, you could argue that Carroll was the only significant call-up in the last 10 years.

I think this is genuinely the reason why I don’t have much time for England these days – I really find it hard to get behind and support the likes of Lingard, Rashford and Vardy, I don’t feel anything for them and I think perhaps the way I feel about England now is similar to how a lot of fans have become detached from football as a whole.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I completely understand why there have been so few Newcastle United players called up to the national team; this isn’t some kind of conspiracy post, quite frankly none of our English-born players have deserved a call-up due to their woeful performances and the mismanagement from the likes of Pardew, Carver, Kinnear and McClaren. That is until now, though.

When the latest “experimental” England squad was announced a week ago, many expected Jonjo Shelvey and Jamaal Lascelles to get the nod from Gareth Southgate who had went on record to say players will be picked on form. Shelvey and Lascelles have both been in outstanding form recently and they are a major reason why we have started to pick up some points in the Premier League. Whilst we are certainly not clear of any relegation danger, both players have performed magnificently over the last month or two, and both players have been singled out for praise by both Sky and BBC pundits. Both deserved to be called up and I would love to hear the reasons why Southgate overlooked the pair.

Neither player has performed consistently enough to warrant a guaranteed World Cup squad place, but given the squad was experimental, it provided a perfect opportunity for both players to get some game time to prove their worth. Lascelles is a young, powerful, calm and classy English centre back who just happens to be club captain. Shelvey, whilst certainly having some faults with his temperament, has proven to be a creative force in the centre of the field, unlocking teams with 50-yard pin-point passes each game. When you see the likes of Livermore, Mawson and Tarkowski get the nod ahead of them, you have to question why the Magpies’ duo have been overlooked? As stated above, Shelvey certainly has his on-field demons but when the likes of Livermore was involved in WBA’s recent stolen taxi debacle, I do question the logic of Southgate’s picks.

The World Cup in Russia is just months away and the chances of a Newcastle player being in the England squad is slim to none. That said, Newcastle have some crucial fixtures coming up and England’s loss is most certainly Newcastle United’s gain. Seeing Shelvey or Lascelles in an England shirt this June may well have piqued my interest in the competition a little, but sadly this seems to be as likely as Sunderland staying in the second tier of English football this season.