Rob Lee:- Adam Johnson decided to get a lot off his chest this week.
The Sunderland winger believes he should be in the England squad. He also believes the reason he’s not is because he plays for an unfashionable club.
No matter what you think of Johnson’s argument – and for the record I think he’s wrong – it did get me thinking about something I feel passionately about.
At least Sunderland have one player who feels aggrieved at being ignored by Roy Hodgson.
We don’t even have that. There is nobody on the manager’s radar.
For all Mike Williamson has had a great season, he isn’t anywhere close to a call-up, which is fair enough.
But that’s it. There is nobody else. There’s no reason why Hodgson would choose a game at St James’ Park unless he was scouting one of the opposition.
And this breaks my heart.
I don’t blame Hodgson. Newcastle would be a handy place to visit regularly if he was France manager, but he’s not.
Michael Owen was still a Newcastle United player in 2006 when he went to – and then limped out of – the World Cup in South Africa. But there hasn’t been a representative from the club in an England jersey in any finals since then.
That’s eight years. A lifetime in football. OK, some may scoff at the thought of Johnson going to Brazil. Personally, I honestly believe that if he was playing well enough then he’d be there.
Don’t give me this nonsense about Hodgson not picking him because he plays for Sunderland.
There could be three Southampton players going to the World Cup. Are they a fashionable club?
We, and by that I mean England, aren’t exactly overflowing with world-class players. Hodgson can’t afford to ignore anyone just because they are based in the North East. So if Newcastle did have one or two Englishmen good enough to play international football then there is every chance they would be going to Brazil this summer.
But it’s incredibly hard to help out the country if you don’t buy or produce English players.
I could rant about this for hours. I sometimes do.
When I was in and around the England squad, there were four or five us from Newcastle who were there, plus a few more on the fringes.
It meant Geordies would actually support the national team. There were always Newcastle flags when we played away. It was great to see.
I don’t buy into the theory that there isn’t a lot of time for the national side in the region. If you are English, you will tend to support England.
However, I do understand that’s a lot easier to do when there is at least one of your own players out there.
So how do we sort this?
Either we buy England internationals or at the very least guys who look to be in line for a cap. Or we bring through our own. Sadly, neither of these things is happening.
England players, even those who are not established, cost a lot of money. Unless there is a huge change of heart behind the scenes, that isn’t happening.
Or the academy starts producing good local talent. The fact there has been so much hype about Adam Armstrong (left) playing for a few minutes last week tells you how eager people are to see a local lad make it.
There could be two Newcastle academy graduates in Brazil. It’s just a shame that Andy Carroll (West Ham) and Fraser Forster (Celtic) don’t play for us any more. I can’t see a time in the near future when Newcastle will be represented in the national team. And that makes me sad.