How long can England ignore Aaron Cresswell because of the kit he wears?

Aaron Cresswell has been one of West Hams most consistent players, in one of their best ever seasons; definitely their best since the days of Mcavennie, Devonshire and Bonds at least. Ironically two of those players were also overlooked for England, whilst widely regarded as top quality players, in the prime of their careers.

Roy Hodgson has capped more débutantes for his country, than any other England manager in the past. Yet Cresswell cannot get a look in, even though he has been, arguably, the best performing English Left Back throughout the last two seasons in the Premier League. Perhaps even more importantly than his form, is that he has been a virtual ever-present for his club, chalking up a lot more game time than other candidates.

Players who perform week-in, week-out, are not getting selected, yet those who are used as squad rotation at the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United are being handed international starts on a regular basis. This appears to be on the merits of the club they represent, rather than what they put in on the pitch.

Cresswell is not an ‘academy graduate’ who was scouted for a top club and had to time to ply his trade in friendlies and reserve team matches, he had to graft and scrap his way through the lower leagues starting with Tranmere Rovers, before his subsequent moves to Ipswich Town and West Ham United – he knows how to work hard in order to garner success.

With Ashley Cole gone and Leighton Baines not getting any younger, Luke Shaw yet to recover from that horrific leg break – why is Aaron Cresswell still being overlooked? He has all the credentials required;

• He is young enough to be blooded for the future, but old enough to have valuable experience.
• He plays for a team competing with the big boys and looking to qualify for European football, for the second season in a row.
• He has proven he is a hard-working professional who does not shirk responsibilities, or fail to track back when an attack breaks down.
• He has shown his flair going forward with a number of wonderful strikes this season (Aston Villa and Leicester both spring to mind).

Does he need to move to a club lower down the table than West Ham? Such as Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton or Southampton, in order to break into the England squad?

Liverpool are reported to be interested in the young left back, so would he need to move to back to his home city, and play at Anfield; warming the bench for a side he has beaten three times this season, in order to play for his country?

That seems somewhat unreasonable to me!

My biggest concern is that players will move to clubs and rot on benches in an effort to represent their countries, thus leaving us with an international team full of people who do not regularly complete 90 minutes of competitive football. Surely that will have a detrimental effort on the sides results?

Aristotle said that; «The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.». This seems to apply on a domestic level, you need look no further than Claudio ‘the Tinkerman’ Ranieri and his band of ‘journeymen’ on the verge of Premier League Glory (and not by chance, deservedly so, in every way, shape and form), whilst Chelsea and their £400 million squad languish in middle table obscurity.

Internationally, the same should surely apply? Football does not stop being a TEAM game, because it is played under a different banner. The principles are the same, and we, as a nation, seem set on picking the best individuals, or the most expensive signings, rather than the players who function better in practicality, ultimately; football, is played on grass, not paper.

Perhaps I am just being negative, but I am searching for the reason that we have had so many ‘world class’ players over the years, and still failed to achieve anything – since that famous night at Wembley half a century ago.

Perhaps we are playing the wrong players, perhaps we are playing the right ones, and they are simply not good enough.

I am a firm believer in playing the players that are right for the team, people who will work hard for one another, and those full of passion and the desire to succeed – everything I have seen of Aaron Cresswell shows me he has those attributes, in abundance, and the talent to go with it.

Put him in the squad, pick him for a friendly, take him alongside another left back to the Euros, take a gamble, but do it soon – before another Englishmen ends up on a; «Best players not to be capped for England» list.

I would be interested in hearing anyone’s opinions on this, let us know how you feel about Roy Hodgsons selections, or Aaron Cresswells claim to a spot. You can get us in the comments section here, or over on Twitter @BeautifulDebate.

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