Bournemouth Fan View: Why Steve Cook should be playing for England

Yes, you heard me. Steve Cook, AFC Bournemouth’s centre back supremo, is good enough to play for England. More than good enough in fact, considering our international side’s options right now.

The softly-spoken lad from Hastings has come a long way since 2010, where he was driving along empty motorways at five in the morning to train for (then) non-league Mansfield Town – sessions which sometimes saw him playing in goal on a five-a-side pitch, wearing his Brighton and Hove Albion top as no proper kits were available.

Ever since signing for AFC Bournemouth from the Seagulls back in 2011 for a paltry £150,000 he’s gone from strength to strength however, and in my opinion deserves far more praise from the mainstream press than he’s received up to now. And he certainly deserves more attention from Gareth Southgate.

Looking back, there were concerns whether he could really cut it at Premier League level when we we were promoted back in 2015 – he often looked suspect defensively in the Championship, but was bailed out by our attacking style of play. This saw us bag a huge ninety-eight goals over the course of forty-six games, meaning we often won by simply outscoring the opposition (yes, it was a very enjoyable season indeed).

He’s proved all his doubters wrong however, and is now undoubtedly one of the first names on our team sheet – if not the very first.

Manager Eddie Howe has chopped and changed our back-line numerous times this season, and even experimented with three at the back – swapping players around and even pushing some out onto the wing (most infamously Adam Smith, who looked completely lost playing the position).

Throughout this selection chaos one player Howe has never dropped or messed around with is Steve Cook though, and that perhaps speaks volumes as to how invaluable the centre back is for AFC Bournemouth.

Yes, we’ve conceded an irritatingly large number of goals this season – but Cook has not been specifically responsible for nearly any of them, calamitous rick at Arsenal aside.

Instead during one of our many collapses this campaign – the 6-3 mauling at Everton for example, or the still-hugely-annoying 3-1 capitulation to Hull City – Steve Cook has often worn the expression of a captain of a ship caught in a fierce storm, doing all he can to stop the whole thing from sinking like a stone.

His positioning and ability to sense danger is second to none, and the number of last gasp blocks he’s made this season alone is evidence of this. He’s also made the largest number of clearances of any player in the Premier League this campaign – 277 – with his closest competitor being Ben Mee of Burnley with 260.

But I don’t think he should be called up for international duty purely for his ability to clear his lines, but because he possesses a high level of technical ability as well.

At the time of posting he’s made more successful passes this season than Kevin De Bruyne or Eden Hazard, demonstrating not only AFC Bournemouth’s commitment to a slick passing style of football – but also Steve Cook’s ability to cope with such a style, one that doesn’t simply require punting the ball long.

His technique on the ball is not to be sniffed at then – in fact the things he can do with a ball are truly sensational, as another asset in Cook’s hefty arsenal is his calmness in front of goal. I’m not just talking about in front of the goal he’s supposed to be defending either.

He has, quite simply, scored a number of simply amazing goals. Most would know him for his stunning strike against Liverpool – where he plucked a ball flying across the box and then volleyed into the bottom corner – and written it off as a one-time fluke, but as any AFC Bournemouth fan knows Cook has a habit of scoring screamers.

Whether it’s belting the ball into the top corner at Fulham in our Championship winning season, or scoring a wonderfully executed overhead kick the year before that against Ipswich – he’s been responsible for some moments that I will personally never forget as an AFC Bournemouth fan, and I can only thank him for that.

So with that in mind I’m left scratching my head at how such a talented individual isn’t selected over a player like Phil Jones, who inspires absolutely no confidence or excitement in anyone. It’s almost as if playing for Manchester United is a factor – as I’m sure if the two players swapped sides it would be Cook lining up for England, not Jones.

So go on Southgate, take a trip down south to Dean Court and see what a truly accomplished centre back looks like – and one that will only improve in the years to come. I promise you that you won’t be disappointed.