England caps can often pass by very deserving players, but these strikers from Southampton and Watford both deserve their chance.
Many fans often bemoan the fact that England call-ups are often only handed out to players from certain clubs. And while there is a certain crude logic about picking players from teams that finish higher up in the league table, it is a net that can let talented players slip through.
The 23-man squad that Roy Hodgson took to the Euros contained just six players not from traditional ‘top six’ clubs. For the sake of clarity, those clubs are: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham.
Everton (who are usually in the mix with the top six anyway) were represented by Ross Barkley and John Stones. Leicester City, who won the league, were granted just one call-up in the form of Jamie Vardy, who was also the league’s second-highest goalscorer.
England’s Jamie Vardy
The other three players came from Southampton and Burnley. Fraser Forster and Ryan Bertrand represented the former, while Tom Heaton was called up from the latter.
Of those six players, FOUR did not even feature. Neither of the Everton players saw the pitch, and Forster and Heaton were forced to play back-up to Joe Hart in goal.
Clearly there is some level of divide, regardless of who has or hasn’t been called up now in qualifying. That divide affects players from clubs outside that list in a real and negative way.
Watford’s Troy Deeney and Southampton’s Charlie Austin are two very reliable English strikers. They work hard, they score goals, and they have a defined identity.
Last season, Deeney, despite both having to make the step up from the Championship to the Premier League and being deployed in a more withdrawn role behind Odion Ighalo, scored 15 goals in all competitions.
He scored nine in the league, finishing a respectable 14th in the goalscoring charts (although level with Dmitri Payet in 12th), and leading Watford to a comfortable 13th placed finish. This season so far, he has three goals from seven games in the league.
Those stats may seem a little underwhelming, but he has outscored Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge both last season and this.
The same rings true for Austin. He has made a flying start to this season, scoring five goals from just eight appearances – and many of those were off the bench. He scored 11 goals in all competitions last season, but only played 23 times, including substitute appearances.
Despite limited game time, Austin has proved time and time again that he can score goals, and his record proves it.
Both Deeney and Austin lead by example, are strong characters and can score goals. Whether they’ll get their chance in an England shirt or not remains to be seen.
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