That was the chant bellowing out of the visiting Wolves fans at White Hart Lane last Saturday and it could be giving England manager Fabio Capello food for thought as he continues to build a young, new squad.
This time last year, any suggestion of Matt Jarvis being considered to play for England was brushed off as a joke due to his lack of quality in his end product, despite his pace and ability to constantly track back and support his full-back. But at the turn of the year last season, just as Wolves were becoming a side increasingly difficult to beat, Jarvis stepped up in his game and improved on his final ball, and scored some crucial goals at Hull and Burnley in the process.
Looking back to four years ago at the tender age of 20, Jarvis was plying his trade at Gillingham as first team regular for a fourth season at the Priestfield Stadium and was beginning to catch the eye of a host of Championship clubs. Back then, not many people would've believed he'd become an England hopeful in the future, but one man believed in him, Gillingham chairman Paul Scally, who believed that his then biggest club asset would be playing for England by the time he was 24, the same age Jarvis is now. Scally was so confident that Jarvis would play for England that upon selling him to Wolves, he added a clause to the deal that the Kent club would recieve a windfall for their contribution towards unearthing Jarvis' potential, should Scally's prediction come true.
Taking a step back at the thought and looking at the current England squad and his chances of a call-up and it's not going to be easy with competition for the wide positions heating up. Manchester City's James Milner and Adam Johnson are in great form for country as well as club, Arsenal's Theo Walcott is always improving, Villa's Ashley Young has not been given a fair crack of the whip at international level and there's also Spurs' Aaron Lennon to consider, despite not receiving a call-up to the squad since the debacle in South Africa. However, one winger whose international days could be numbered is Shaun Wright-Phillips. Now goodness forbid if SWP's old man reads this and comes down on me like a ton of bricks as he has so much love for his boy, but SWP's place in the squad could well be hanging a thread after recent unimpressive cameos and the good form of his fellow Manchester City and England wide-boys restricting him to more substitute appearances than starts. Overall, for Jarvis to be called up, Capello has to take a look around smaller ponds a bit more often, or the winger might have to play for a bigger club to fulfil those international aspirations.
Jarvis' quest to break into the England squad is not as clear-cut as some Wolves fans make out, but he's improving game-by-game and he'll continue to knock on Capello's door. I'm not saying he is gonna oust the best wingers England has to offer or win tens of caps, but he is just as deserving of at least a call-up and probably a cap.
'Grobs'
Well, if I remember correctly, there were rumors that he was on the provisional squad for the Euro Qualifiers, but it might have been just rumors.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to Jarvis though, and UTW!