In March 2021 Ollie Watkins scored on his debut for England, after coming on as a substitute in a routine 5-0 win against San Marino. In the grand scheme of footballing events perhaps one consigned to history, but what stood out for me was the raw pleasure from current Villa captain Tyrone Mings as he rushed to celebrate the goal.
Many Villa fans may have a complicated relationship with the national team, but what came across that night was the pride we often feel when ‘our players’ pull on the Three Lions and represent their country. The Villa link transcends the bare realities of an England game and instils feelings of pride and pleasure as we see the players we watch week in and out make that step up and force themselves into a wider, national conversation.
Mings and Watkins are now back in the England squad together for this international window and it has made me think more about – over my own supporting years and beyond – the many players that have represented England whilst a Villa player.
There are 76 players that have been called up for England whilst playing for Villa – and at the time of writing those 76 players have won over 400 caps in total. Interestingly, many of the 76 – 63 in fact – won their first cap whilst at the Villa, which could suggest that often (and certainly in modern times) many England players have emerged at Villa before moving on. Ashley Young, Gareth Barry, David Platt and James Milner are just four examples of players who have significantly added to their total England caps after leaving the club. Of the 76 players only 3 have captained England, and all pre World War Two – Howard Spencer, Billy Walker and Frank Moss.
The player that won most England caps as a Villa player, with 42, is actually current England manager Gareth Southgate – 20 or so ahead of the aforementioned Platt and Barry in the pecking order. It’s difficult to disassociate Southgate’s England career with that fateful night at Wembley in 1996, when he was of course a Villa player. Whilst the empathy with Southgate that night extended far beyond Villa fans, I would argue that as a Villa fan we were somehow more protective of ‘our man’ – a heady mix of tribalism creeping into an England conversation. I am sure the same would be true of Arsenal fans when Saka face a similar fate at Euro 2020. This is essentially what I am getting at – whatever the ins and outs of supporting England or not the fact that a Villa player is involved changes those emotions.
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Another then Villa player, Darius Vassell, also missed a penalty for England in Euro 2004 against Portugal. Although he apparently told Sven Goran Eriksson at the time that he was ‘too scared too fly home’ his relatively lower profile has rather led that miss to being consigned to the annals of history. I remember at the time, living in America, explaining to an American friend that this was a player for ‘my’ team, to which he seemed confused as to why I was advertising that with an element of pride, given he had just missed the penalty. Again, this shows that inherent link we have as Villa fans with Villa players playing for England. America lacks that same affinity of club versus country where the structures and opportunities to witness a national sporting objective are less. It’s a little surprising that with the exception of David Platt, Vassell is the player that has scored most for England whilst being capped as a Villa player in the post war era – 6 goals to Platt’s 7.
There are many intriguing threads that you can make through Villa players and their England careers. Two Villa stars – David Platt and Gerry Hitchens – moved directly from Villa to Italian clubs (Bari and Inter respectively). Platt really came to the fore as an England player during Italia 90, a tournament that undoubtedly facilitated his ultimate move to Bari. Although he played another year for Villa post the World Cup, it clearly was a watershed moment. Hitchens joined Inter Milan for the 1961 – 62 season, although he made his England debut earlier that Summer. He scored after just 90 seconds in his debut – an 8-0 drubbing of Mexico. He then scored two more against Italy in Rome, two weeks later. Although more immediate than Platt again this exposure brought him to the attention of Inter who paid the then princely sum of £85,000 to sign him. Salient to remember that from a selfish perspective, performance for England can often lead to ultimate disappointment for Villa fans.
To finish up, I was intrigued to try and work out what was the biggest contingent of Villa players to be picked for England in the same squad. By my reckoning the most ever selected simultaneously is 5 – which happened in both 2008 and 2011. In 2008 the quintet was Scott Carson, Curtis Davies, Ashley Young, Gabby Agbonlahor and Gareth Barry. In 2011 Young and Gabby were still there, joined by Darren Bent, Stewart Downing and Kyle Walker. Across those squads three of the players were actually on loan at Villa at the time – bonus points for who, and where they were on loan from!
I’ll certainly be hoping Mings and Watkins make it onto the pitch at some point over this international break, representing Villa and England at the same time.
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