10 Greatest Footballers Who Were Never Capped For England

It's not what you do for your country...

There are no shortage of headline grabbing players in the Premier League, but one of the narratives on the back pages in the last few weeks has been the excellent form of West Ham's midfield linchpin Mark Noble. The Hammers' home grown star has been in excellent form for Slaven Bilic's impressive side this season, and is due a testimonial at the club in March, a pretty rare thing for a player of just 28. When people talk about Noble, though, one other subject always rears its head: England. It seems incongruous that a reliable performer with years of Premier League experience on his CV is yet to get an England call up, especially in a world where Leon Osman gets a run-out. If there's anything to console him as he watches Euro 2016 at home, it's the fact that he's far from alone in being a talented Englishman willfully ignored by his nation. Take a look at this list of players who retired with zero England caps, and ask yourself what the managers at the time were thinking.
In this post: 
Steve Bruce
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

David is an office drone and freelance writer for WhatCulture and Moviepilot, among others. He's also foolishly writing a serialised novel on Jukepop and has his own irregularly updated website. He's available for freelance work. Reach out on Twitter to @davefox990