Matt Taylor for England?
His wonder strikes regularly steal the headlines, but why has Matt Taylor never been given his England chance?
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Ten minutes gone, free kick to Bolton, up steps one of the most outstanding strikers of the ball the Premier League has ever seen. The rest speaks for itself. But why has such an eye-catching and impressive English player never been given a chance to play for his country?
Calls for Matt Taylor to be given an England chance are not exactly a new thing. It’s been murmured as his future ever since he first caught the eye of the then England Under 21 coach David Platt. Since then the calls have been led by first Redknapp at Portsmouth and now Meagson at Bolton. The whole time England’s been experimenting over a troublesome spot on the left of midfield. So how is it that an English left-sided midfielder, who strikes his way into the headlines on a regular basis, has never been given a chance?
The immediate answer may be that some see him as a one trick pony. That his long range talents are not backed up enough by other valuable attributes that make a well rounded footballer. But what then is holding him back? It’s certainly not his work rate as any Portsmouth or Bolton fan would tell you. His pace has been explosive earlier in his career, and he’s still not exactly slow. His goal-scoring ability has seen him score over 50 goals in his career, which is particularly impressive for a player that’s spent a lot of his time in defence. His touch, tackling ability and vision is hardly any worse than most other Premiership players.
Instead it may just be that he’s never held down the kind of flair that you see from players like Joe Cole and Ashley Young, or the passing or crossing abilities from players like Stewart Downing. His extraordinary long range goals are perhaps not reliable enough to be considered as a solid England hook. Without these he’s a hard working player with a decent amount of ability, but perhaps not enough to push other players out of the way. This might explain why he is not an England regular but still it does not explain why has never been given a chance. Players that can do extraordinary things are always worth a go, and Matt Taylor certainly fits into that category. If he reaches the latter stages of his career and still has no England cap to his name then it can only be considered as a chance missed for England.
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