James Maddison turns 26 next month. He has one England cap, and that as a substitute three years ago. Either some have not been paying attention or he has a way of putting noses out of joint. Pitching up at a casino a day after pulling out of an England squad suggests the latter.
On the pitch the case for his inclusion was strong before he reminded non-believers of his attributes on Monday night with two goals and an assist, taking the magic metric of “goal contributions” to 27 since the start of last season, second only to Harry Kane and six more than Phil Foden and Mason Mount, two players notionally fighting for the same England space as him.
His performance against Nottingham Forest also included a Luka Modric-type intervention, picking out Jamie Vardy with a raking pass in his own half that led directly to the second goal buried by the lively Harvey Barnes. And before all of that while the game was still goalless, he rinsed Renan Lodi in the box in a manner even the Brazilian would have respected.
The drumbeat for Maddison to board the plane for Qatar grew louder as the contest unfolded, culminating in a post-match love-in conducted by Jamie Carragher, in which Maddison articulated his art. This gave a sense of Maddison as a serious operator, a player who works at his game, who takes responsibility for his role and thinks about the technical elements; team shape, structure, organisation, concepts in which he was fluent.
"I don't think I could place it better"
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 3, 2022
James Maddison reacts to his STUNNING free-kickpic.twitter.com/WzwZd3fbJL
None of this should surprise, but it might in the case of those who have formed negative impressions of Maddison, their views infected by the binary judgments and snap reactions that feed the football propaganda machine. The need for Maddison’s inclusion is made more urgent by Gareth Southgate’s admission that his squad does not possess an obvious No 10 who plays the position for his club.
The anguish associated with the English experience at major competitions invariably centres on a creative void in midfield. Where is our Modric, our Pirlo, our imaginative genius in the final third who intuits space, takes the ball, sees the angles, picks the pass and bends it like Beckham into the back of the net?
Maddison would need only approximate to Modric or Pirlo to improve what we have. It might be that Foden, Mount or Jack Grealish could play that role. The point is none do for their clubs, which fuels Southgate’s reluctance to commit to any in the England setting. This leaves England short in a part of the pitch in which arguably the greatest difference is made.
The historic distrust of the Maddison type is an enduring feature of the English landscape, so much so it has reduced to a clichéd impression among our continental brethren of the English footballer as honest yeoman, disciplined, committed, a tireless runner. The maverick, the player who embraces difference, caprice, unconditional flair is not considered a founding characteristic of England’s identity.
This idea began to take shape following Sir Alf Ramsey’s preference for Geoff Hurst over Jimmy Greaves in the 1966 World Cup Final. Though the extravagantly gifted Greaves had recovered from injury, Ramsey went for the more formulaic Hurst. History tells us he succeeded, but who is to say he wouldn’t have achieved a more emphatic result had he chosen differently? You never know we might not have required the help of a Russian linesman to see Jules Rimet in the cabinet.
The roll call of under-appreciated ballers since 1966 makes the heart ache. This list of long-haired Seventies lotharios earned just 28 caps between them; Tony Currie (17), Stan Bowles (5), Frank Worthington (4) and Alan Hudson (2). Duncan McKenzie was never called up. Little wonder England failed to qualify for the World Cup in that dismal decade.
In that exceptional midfield three-ball that followed in the Eighties – Bryan Robson, Ray Wilkins and Glenn Hoddle – guess who won the fewest caps? Robson, a dynamic, box-to-box aggressor with an eye for goal played 90 times for England. Wilkins hit raking passes with velvet feet in 84 appearances. Hoddle was beautifully balanced, the consummate creator who had the ball on a string and, like Maddison, scored spectacular goals. A total of 53 caps was an insult to a player as gifted as any in the post 66 period.
Maddison has been a victim of historically negative thinking that seems more concerned with why he should not be picked at the expense of the obvious qualities that might place him at the centre of things. A nine-game England audition that began with the destruction of Forest continues at Bournemouth on Saturday. For some he has already done enough. England hit the ceiling against Modric in Russia and Marco Verratti and Jorginho at Wembley. The midfield solution in Qatar is right under Southgate’s nose.
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