Santa Man’s Shoes
Leighton Baines, John Stones, Luke Shaw, Kieran Gibbs, Ryan Bertrand, Danny Rose, Nathaniel Clyne, Aaron Cresswell, Kyle Walker, Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Ben Chilwell, Eric Dier, Kieran Trippier, Bukayo Saka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Tyrone Mings, Tyrick Mitchell, James Justin, Reece James, Levi Colwill, Fikayo Tomori, Rico Lewis, Joe Gomez, Adam Wharton, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Lewis Hall, Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Above is an exhaustive list of footballers that have played left-back (or left wing-back) for England since Ashley Cole’s international retirement in 2014. It is a varied and sobering inventory that veers wildly between promise, conservatism and desperation, which is a neat synopsis for England’s journey over the 11 years that has taken in everything from major tournament finals to a 4-0 loss to Hungary in 2022, the country’s worst home defeat in 94 years.
Next off the production line and ready to be thrown into the grinder is Djed Spence, who has gone from Tottenham outcast to the verge of becoming the first Muslim footballer to represent England in a little under nine months. Following some excellent displays for Spurs en route to their Bigger Vase triumph, continued good form in pre-season in which he pocketed both Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and PSG’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and a brilliant start to the season under Thomas Frank, Spence’s confidence is at an all-time high, with the 25-year-old channeling the energy of Leon Knight in baiting his opponents with a Social Media Disgrace post – “Bring me your favourite winger” – after locking up Manchester City’s attackers during Tottenham’s 2-0 win at the Etihad last month.
But as anyone who has attempted to carry four pints without a tray can attest, confidence is a fragile thing and, following his England call-up, Spence admitted this week that his self-belief had not always been so strong. Spence’s arrival at Spurs in 2022 was tainted by comments made by the then-head coach, Antonio Conte, who pointedly described Spence as “an investment of the club” and someone “the club decided to buy”, remarks that hurt the Londoner.
Decked in his new England training gear, Spence said on Tuesday: “I was on such a high going into the club. I’d done really well, got promoted with Nottingham Forest. I [was] buzzing to sign for Tottenham. So to hear comments like that wasn’t nice. It does shatter your confidence a bit. I almost came crashing down because of comments from the manager and not playing. I was in a difficult space.”
Since those “really bad days”, Spence has certainly got his mojo back, explaining earlier this year (in an interview where he wore wraparound sunglasses throughout) that he is yet to “come up against anyone that has really tested me”. Spence’s new-found confidence can only be a good thing for England and Thomas Tuchel. We’ll have to see if it is still intact by the time Andorra right-winger Aron Rodrigo Tapia (subs, pls check) is done with him.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust are continuing their campaign to protest the mismanagement of their club and are asking home fans to boycott the game. They’ve reached out to us and asked for our support. In solidarity with their cause, the travelling Mariners are encouraged to join the boycott by refraining from buying any pints, pies, or other items inside the stadium. They would also appreciate it if our fans wore last season’s yellow shirt to show our support for their black and gold campaign. Football clubs belong to their communities and must be protected from poor ownership and management” – hats off to Grimsby fan group the Mariners’ Trust for backing their Wednesday counterparts in their forthcoming Carabao Cup tie.
after newsletter promotion
I was watching an interesting short film yesterday on the Fourth Tier Club Ue Sant Andreu in Barcelona (as I’m still bored during international fortnight). It turns out that they would have gone out of business in 1977 but Salvador Dalí did a painting for them, unsurprisingly called ‘Gol’, which they auctioned off for four million pesetas and it paid off all the club’s debts. A doff of the cap to the late, great surrealist” – Noble Francis.
West Ham has ELEVEN supporters groups [Wednesday’s news, bits and bobs, full email edition]? Are the styled on the PFJ, JPF, etc of Life of Brian fame?” – Z Snook.
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Z Snook. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewed here.
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