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Opinion

Why the fascination with England selection for Newcastle United fans?

5 years ago
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We now have the latest international break and England selection.

The first of a number of largely pointless two week breaks with no proper football, tedious fortnights without Premier League club football.

You also bizarrely, for me, have yet another pointless discussion amongst many Newcastle fans and media about whether certain players should have been included.

I can’t think of a single tangible benefit of having  any of Newcastle’s players selected by England.

It was different in the heady days of the 90s, with the England captain in our midst and a whole host of players helped by Kevin Keegan into the national team, the likes of Lee, Howey, Venison, Ferdinand, Batty and so on, some of them already England internationals when they arrived, others not.

The last World Cup there was a lot of speculation about whether Lascelles and/or Shelvey could make it, the thing is, even if they had been included they would have been the very final selections, with almost zero chance of getting a game.

We then have even had the ludicrous situation earlier this year when after only a handful of games for Newcastle, some idiotic fans and local media were asking whether Sean Longstaff should have made it into a Gareth Southgate squad.

At the age of 21 and just getting to grips with now playing in the Premier League, that is enough to cope with.

Plus, the last thing we want is our best young players going away and mixing with players from clubs that have such unimaginable things, as water facilities that don’t involve climbing into a kids’ paddling pool and wheelie bin.

I have just seen that Isaac Hayden has been asked about England (see below) and potentially could/should he have got into Southgate’s squad.

He has become one of our key players and why would anybody want this extra distraction for the player and risk of injury, especially with Newcastle’s season looking so precarious.

Plus, whilst the midfielder has done well, it is still very early days.

Isaac Hayden was decent in the Championship season, then poor after promotion, getting 15 PL starts but none after 20 January 2018.

Last season,, Hayden started in the September home defeat by Arsenal in September but then only injuries gave him a chance at Anfield on Boxing Day.

He took it with both hands and played really well in the second half of last season but as a Premier League player, he has only really impressed these past 25 games including the four this season.

Lets get Newcastle up the table and get Isaac Hayden to continue his form at the same level for a decent while longer, before anybody pushes for an England chance.

Isaac Hayden asked by the Shields Gazette about England aspirations:

“I do think about it.

“I think the issue is that with the way that England play, they tend to go with a lot more attacking ‘flair’ type of players in that area.

“They rarely restrain themselves, from what I see looking in from the outside.

“Gareth only really has one or two players who can play in the more (defensive) position.”

“Unfortunately, for me, I’ve got Jordan Henderson, the Liverpool captain and Champions League winner, who in the last couple of years has really stepped up his game to the levels where he is now.

“Then you have obviously also got Declan Rice, who is 20, and who has quit the Ireland, so it’s difficult to leave him out.

“It’s difficult for me to get in there but I think the most important thing for me is to just keep playing the games I’m doing.

“If I’m playing the games and performing to the required level, then if I get in, I get in.

“If not, I will carry on playing and working.”

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