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BARRY LANDY

From Meadow Lane to Manaus: how the Football League made England’s World Cup squad

When Roy Hodgson names his final England squad for the World Cup in Brazil next month, many will undoubtedly bemoan big club bias in its selection. Liverpool, Manchester City and United are sure to dominate, as has been the norm for so long.

Naturally so, others would argue. The cream of the crop generally end up at one of the bigger sides in the Premier League, and with the emergence of the Merseyside clubs this year, that top echelon has extended further, potentially offering more English players the opportunity to contest championships and play in European competition.

This is no time for the debate on growing numbers of foreign imports into the game. At the very top of English football, a David Silva here or an Eden Hazard is good for the game. In the bottom half of the top flight and the Championship too, it’s bog standard arrivals from beyond Britain that hamper any progress, be it of academy products or clubs themselves.

In England’s squad for last month’s friendly with Denmark at Wembley, 24 of the 29 players involved were from teams who currently sit in the Premier League’s top eight. Allegations of club bias are illogical given teams, like Southampton in particular, have previously never held any sway in seeing their players considered for international consideration.

Only four years ago, were ColU travelling to St. Marys in League One. Southampton are in the top half of the Premier League on merit with their English contingent playing significant roles.

Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Jay Rodriguez and Luke Shaw are shoe-ins for the final 23 man squad, with Jack Cork, Callum Chambers and Nathaniel Shaw worthy of memorable mentions for their performances this year.

The former three – the Saints holy trinity – have all spent their formative years playing in the Football League. For Lambert, that was the best

part of 13 years prior to his Premier League debut and ascension to England regular.

But is this a trend? Could the Football League be the breeding ground for England stars of the future? Is a few years having lumps kicked out of you, or doing the kicking in the Championship or League One, more beneficial to a player’s development that the cosy confines and atmosphere of a Premier League academy?

Whilst by no means a conclusive study, look at the England squad from the Denmark game.

Thirteen of those players played at least one full season in the Football League, be it on loan or at their club. Players as key as Joe Hart, Leighton Baines and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have played for clubs as diverse as Shrewsbury, Wigan Athletic and Southampton.

Other clubs represented in that panel

include Burnley (Rodriguez), Watford (Foster), Cambridge United (Ruddy), Yeovil Town (Caulker), Bournemouth and West Ham (both Defoe).

In order not to skew the figures, I haven’t included short term loans undertaken by the likes of Ashely Cole (Crystal Palace), Frank Lampard (Swansea City) and Danny Welbeck (Preston North End).

They may be at big clubs now, but these players have served their apprenticeships and with 83% of the current England squad having been harvested from the Premier League’s top eight clubs, their call-ups owe more to form than affiliation.

With the odd exception. That argument is for another day. For now, the Football League can take pride in its collective role in any on-pitch success this summer.

www.downinthebox.co.uk | @BarryLandyDITB

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Barney RonayThe Guardian