He gave an interview talking about how he used to get homesick on preseason tours etc and it seems Capello saw that and didn’t notice it was the past tense and picked Stephen Warnock instead. Weirdly the press didn’t make a big deal of it at the time considering how James Maddison, reserve midfielder, was the subject of much angst for the World Cup.
His treatment at the 2014 World Cup was appalling as well. Left to defend against two Italians all game, it was his fault that he didn’t ask for help from Welbeck or Gerrard.
and excellent on free kicks, but as a defender his weakness was the diagonal ball over the top ...... his heading and jump was average at best.
I liked him, but always suspected he was a bit nervous on big occasions and when he pulled out of the England WC squad, it raised a few eyebrows.
Certainly a top player, but not world class in my opinion.
For me..... Nev, Rooney and Ball are the stand out choices in my lifetime.
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