David BATTY

David Batty's career at international level was one which divided supporters; many saw the combative midfielder as a necessary evil, blessed with spoiling tactics and a tank-like tackle which was highly valuable in the more competitive zones into which international football often strayed; others felt he had little to offer beyond an over-zealous streak and an average level of distribution. But, given that Batty was liked by all of the clubs he turned out for, it's fair to say his time on the England scene was merited.

As a Leeds United player and hero, he became his club's first England international for nine years when Graham Taylor handed him his debut against the Soviet Union at Wembley in a post-season tournament in May '91. He stayed in the side for the next game, a 2-2 draw with Argentina, and his central midfield partnership with Geoff Thomas was bemoaned in some circles as the least creative in England history.

But Batty's game was very much as a winner of balls rather than purveyor of them; like Nobby Stiles before him, his job was to allow his more skilful team-mates the room to play. Taylor took Batty on the 1991 summer trip to Australasia and the Far East, and he played in three of the four games, winning them all. His first competitive fixture came in a 1992 European Championships qualifier against Turkey which England edged through 1-0 but despite then playing just one more game before the tournament itself, Taylor named him in the squad for the finals in Sweden.

For all the injury concerns and late withdrawals the England coach had to deal with, Batty's inclusion was seen as something of a surprise. He did little wrong in his two appearances but England were clueless as a team and exited after the group phase. England's subsequent campaign to qualify for the 1994 World Cup was eventful, calamitous and ultimately unsuccessful, but David played little part.

Taylor put him in the team which drew 1-1 with Norway and then thumped San Marino 6-0 at Wembley but in the end England failed to qualify for the finals in the States and Taylor departed. His successor, Terry Venables, picked Batty - now a Blackburn Rovers player - for his opening game against Denmark but although he did little wrong, he wouldn't be recalled for a year as Venables exploited the luxury of automatic qualification for the 1996 European Championships (as hosts) by selecting many players and seeing who could be cajoled and coached into the international groove, ready to take on the pressures of a home tournament.

Batty played against Japan (see photo above) and Brazil in the 1995 Umbro Trophy tournament but by the time the European Championships came along, by which time he had joined Newcastle United, he had long been off Venables' radar. (Matthew Rudd)

Glenn Hoddle's appointment after Euro '96 immediately heralded David Batty's return in the opening qualifier for the 1998 World Cup, coming on as a substitute in Moldova for Paul Gascoigne and thereafter he was rehabilitated, starting all bar one of England's qualifiers, and even featuring as a substitute during the one he didn't begin - a 2-0 win in Poland.

Batty was an outstanding physical colossus as England tigerishly fought out a goalless draw in Italy to earn their place in the finals and Hoddle regularly picked him for the warm-up games prior to naming his squad, which included David. He had 31 caps by the time he lined up for the opening match of the tournament, a 2-0 win over Tunisia which saw a diligent and mature performance from Batty, who even started the move which led to Paul Scholes' clincher in the 2-0 victory.

It was rare that David was directly involved in goals; even rarer that he scored them. When England lost 2-1 to Romania (the photo above is during the game - photo G. Herringshaw. ©.  22/06/98.) in their next group match, Hoddle unleashed David Beckham to the centre of England's midfield for the do-or-die third game against Colombia, and Batty was sacrificed, though he did appear as a substitute for Paul Ince as England went through with a 2-0 win.

Beckham's red card in the vintage second round battle with Argentina forced Hoddle into a change designed to tighten England's midfield, and Batty came on to shore up the centre of the park to great effect. Sadly, he missed the crucial penalty which sent Argentina through to the last eight, though many refused to blame David, instead asking why a man so notoriously unfamiliar with taking shots at goal was allowed to step up to the spot.

This was Batty's 35th England game and only seven more would follow, though six of these were qualifiers under Hoddle and then his ex-Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan for the 2000 European Championships. David, now again a Leeds player, did little wrong as always, but after England's goalless draw with Poland which put them in a play-off against Scotland, Keegan decided to go for a typically gung-ho midfield which left no room for a 30 year old Batty. He then suffered a long-term injury which left a gap for Paul Ince's return to prominence and the emergence of Steven Gerrard, and David's respectable England career had ground to a halt, never to restart. (Matthew Rudd)