Dave WATSON

It's an unfortunate record for Dave Watson to hold, but it's also unavoidable and also unlikely to be beaten, if that's the right way of putting it. With 65 caps to his name, a mighty total, he remains the most chosen England player never to appear at the World Cup finals. This is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he was still playing for his country at almost 36 years old and looked, despite his ageing bones, a shoo-in for the final 22 which went to Spain in 1982. Yet while Kevin Keegan, Peter Shilton and Trevor Brooking ­ fellow veterans who also played through the last days of Alf Ramsey's tenure ­ ultimately achieved their dream, Watson was left disappointed. Had Dave's defensive prowess been discovered earlier, it's not unreasonable to suggest he could have made the 1970 finals, or at the very least played an active part in the qualifiers for the 1974 competition. But his formative years were spent as a striker, in the lower divisions, and only a move to Sunderland prompted his switch to defence and the start of his rise to prominence.

The notorious FA Cup win of 1973 and the iconic individual display by Watson started the process, and within 12 months ­ during which time England infamously drew with Poland and threw away their place at the World Cup ­ he was in Ramsey's squad for a friendly against Portugal which saw five other debutants and sounded the managers death knells immediately afterwards. Watson, still a player outside the top flight, kept in touch through the 1974 Home Internationals under Joe Mercer's bridgebuilding caretaker stewardship and seemed to become a firm favourite under permanent incumbent Don Revie, who picked him for every game in 1975 bar one ­ and in that one he came on as a sub ­ but such residency in the England defence didn't do wonders for a declining and frightened England set-up, capitulating under Czechoslovakian and Portuguese weight in the qualifiers for the 1976 European Championships. Watson, nevertheless, formed a consistent partnership with Colin Todd at England's rear, and only after picking up 14 caps did he get his chance in the First Division when he joined Manchester City, for whom he is pictured above in action. (Matthew Rudd)

An imperious run of form in Manchester City's back four, establishing him further as one of the strong, silent types of the game, enabled Dave Watson's international career to be prolonged into his 30s, and after two friendlies and an all-conquering Home International campaign in 1978, it was reasonable for him to hope he could continue towards the 1980 European Championship finals in Italy, assuming England got there. The stab started well, with a 4-3 win in Denmark which didn't do wonders for Watson's reputation as a defender who didn't concede goals, but the points were still on the board. Dave's best year duly followed, with 1979 seeing not only England's smooth path through to the finals ­ their first in a decade, and their first successful qualification campaign for two decades ­ but also a ludicrously prolific spell in front of goal for Watson.

He scored in qualifiers against Northern Ireland and home and away matches against Bulgaria, plus the opener in a Home International win, again versus the Irish, a run of four goals - his only goals at international level - in just ten games. This achievement was made all the more remarkable by his surprise switch from Manchester City to Werder Bremen, a move which did not suit Watson in the slightest and lasted less than a year before he returned to England with Southampton. At this tough time in his career, he remained a cemented choice at centre back for England and, pushing 34 years of age, had a debut at a major finals to look forward to. Watson won his 50th England cap in a 3-1 friendly win over Argentina in May 1980, primed and ready to snuff out Europe's top centre forwards a month later in the European Championships.

It didn't quite work out as such; Belgium quickly hit back from Ray Wilkins' early goal to get a 1-1 draw in Turin and then Marco Tardelli's late goal earned the hosts a 1-0 win at the same venue three days later. Watson, in a seemingly settled partnership with Phil Thompson, kept his place for the final match against Spain from which England triumphed 2-1, but the results tally was all-important and England missed out. (Matthew Rudd)

It seemed that three uninspiring, negative group games were all that would show on Dave Watson's competitive CV at international level, especially with young bucks like Russell Osman, Steve Foster, Alvin Martin and Terry Butcher waiting to take on the mantle. Yet when Greenwood regrouped the squad in September 1980 for the opening qualifier for the 1982 World Cup, Watson was still on the list, and he even played in a completely one-sided 4-0 victory over Norway. A 2-1 defeat in Romania followed in what was to become an infuriatingly inconsistent qualification attempt by England but Watson stuck around, even captaining his country for the first time in his 59th appearance as England goallessly drew the return game with Romania. Dave maintained the armband for two Home Internationals (see photo above, during the game against Scotland), during which England couldn't score, and featured flawlessly in a crucial 3-1 win over Hungary which put England's bid to reach the finals almost back on track. Greenwood then looked to the likes of Osman and Martin to help England's eventual passage through to the finals, before returning to Watson ­ now of Stoke City ­ in two of the preparatory friendlies.

Dave reached cap number 65 in a 1-1 draw with Iceland but, remarkably, had his vast experience overlooked by Greenwood in favour of Foster, with Butcher and Phil Thompson going to the finals as first choice centre backs. In the end, England's defending wasn't a problem in Spain, more their goalscoring, but it was nevertheless a kick in the teeth for a fit and ready Watson, and Bobby Robson's subsequent elevation to the top job meant that Dave's time was unsurprisingly up. He became England's seventh most capped player upon the end of his international career, and five clubs were served during Watson's distinguished tenure in an England shirt ­ a record equalled since only by Peter Shilton and David Platt ­ but it is for his other less cherishable record which is likely to keep him in England folklore for some time to come, with only Phil Neville threatening to come close. However, for as long as he played, he was clearly the best England had, and that would have been more than good enough if there had been any level of contentment in the squad around him. (Matthew Rudd)