John BARNES

By early 1988 Steve Hodge had dropped out of favour after some poor luck at club level, and Barnes was unquestionably England's first choice left-sided midfielder, a role he enjoyed as it didn't offer the restrictions and ludicrous expectation of an out-and-out winger and allowed John the freedom to cut inside and be creative, and also do some intelligent running for the team without the ball. Of the six warm-up games of 1988, Barnes played in five and his club understanding with Beardsley was replicated at international level, no more so than against Scotland in the Rous Cup crunch match at Wembley when a stunning dummied movement between the two left the opposing defence in bits for Beardsley to score the game's only goal. Manager Robson gave John his prized England No.11 shirt and a guaranteed starting role in the side for the European Championships, Barnes winning his 40th cap (he was now England's most capped black player by some distance) as England opened their group at the European Championships against the Republic of Ireland in Stuttgart. Something was evidently not right from the very beginning with England's star players, but especially Lineker, Barnes and Beardsley, looking lethargic and weak.

The Irish won 1-0 and, hoping it was a blip, Robson kept John in the team for the now vital game against the much heralded Dutch in Dusseldorf (see photo above, John battling for possession with Dutch right back Berry Van Aerle). Barnes barely got a kick as Holland out-thought and outplayed England to the extent of a 3-1 win and an early and dismal exit from the tournament. As if to give John a chance to make amends, Robson kept him in place for the pride-only third match against the Soviet Union, but this was England's worst display of the lot. Barnes himself put it down to fatigue after a hard and virtually ever-present season with Liverpool, with expectations at club level matching those in his England shirt for the first time in his career. Robson ditched a number of senior England underachievers immediately, but Barnes - still not 25 - was never likely to be one of them while his club form was so consistent and devastating. Robson took another brief look at Hodge, while Arsenal's Brian Marwood played precisely nine minutes of international football against Saudi Arabia before being omitted again (even though he knocked in two crosses comparable with Barnes' efforts against Argentina - the opposition's less prestigious status was decidedly a factor, however) but, in the only other game of the back end of 1988 - an inaugural World Cup qualifier against Sweden which ended 0-0 - John was in the team. (Matthew Rudd)

As 1989 beckoned, John Barnes was undoubtedly still one of England's main forces. He scored in a friendly in Greece in February before getting the opener against Albania - settling a nervous team down in the process - as England got their first win of the qualifying group. Barnes missed the summer Rous Cup games because of the delayed end to the League season after the Hillsborough disaster (Liverpool were preparing to play Arsenal in a title decider as Robson was putting his end-of-season squad together) but he was back at the start of June for a massive World Cup qualifier against Poland at Wembley, sidefooting home a controlled volley from a Gary Stevens cross for the second goal in a 3-0 win. The emergence of David Rocastle and a minor injury worry for Barnes meant a brief return to the left wing for Chris Waddle in late 1989 as England sealed their World Cup place with a goalless draw in Poland. John won his 50th cap in 1990's first warm-up game, a 1-0 win over Brazil at Wembley, and scored in the penultimate squad-shaper at Wembley in a 2-1 defeat to Uruguay before Robson named him in his squad for Italy. The opening game, a 1-1 draw with the Irish (the photo above is just prior to the game), was Barnes first start in a World Cup finals and his 54th cap; he would duly start the two remaining group games which saw England's passage through to the second round against Belgium, whose shackling tactics at the back led to Robson withdrawing Barnes' natural width in favour of an extra striker in Steve Bull, and England won 1-0 after extra-time. In the first half, John had seen a tremendous volleyed goal disallowed for offside, which replays suggested was incorrect. The quarter-final was eventful but a quieter outing for Barnes, who was replaced by Beardsley late on as England scraped past Cameroon 3-2. Two consecutive substitutions were an unsubtle hint to John, who had also taken a knock, and he wasn't picked nor used as a substitute for the semi-final as England went out to West Germany on penalties. While the first four penalty takers - Lineker, Beardsley, Platt and Pearce - were all exponents of the art at club level, the final penalty taker Waddle wasn't, and there's little doubt that Barnes would have been among the five penalty takers instead of his fellow winger had he been on the pitch. (Matthew Rudd)

Graham Taylor's appointment as England coach after the World Cup was a boon to Barnes, who was still only 26 and had many years still to give England, and the arrival of his former Watford mentor to the top job was enough to ensure that he was allowed to give them. He played in Taylor's first two matches, reaching 60 caps in the process, and played in the first five games of 1991 (including the 2-2 draw against Argentina at Wembley in May '91 during which the photo above was taken   © G H.), during which time England made a healthy start to their qualification campaign for the 1992 European Championships with two wins and two draws. Taylor chose to take less experienced players on England's summer tour of Australasia and the Far East and Barnes was excused in favour of the untried Mark Walters and John Salako. Injuries then kept him out for the rest of 1991, during which time England achieved their qualification target, but he returned to pick up a 66th cap against Czechoslovakia in March 1992 and a further appearance followed in the final warm-up game in Finland, just eight days before the first game of the finals in Sweden. However, it became obvious that Barnes and the European Championships simply did not get on. After being part of a team which failed to qualify for the 1984 tournament, and then being entirely unable to play his natural game four years later, this time his hopes of continental glory would be ruined by injury. A ruptured Achilles tendon in Helsinki put paid to his place in the squad and the less enthralling Andy Sinton and Tony Daley (Taylor had steadfastly ignored Waddle, despite his headline-grabbing displays for Marseille) shared wide duties as England won none, scored only one goal and went out with a huge whimper. (Matthew Rudd)

Though some worried for Barnes' career as a whole with such an injury, he fought back and was in Taylor's plans as soon as he had proved his match fitness with Liverpool at the start of 1993. He played in a 6-0 mauling of San Marino during a stunted World Cup qualifying campaign but was clearly struggling to make an impact, though nothing justified the awful booing and jeering he received from England's supporters, frustrated at the side's showing in the first half before the onslaught after the break produced the scoreline. The achievement of attaining a 70th cap against Holland in a crunch qualifier two months later was horribly overshadowed by some appalling reactions from the crowd when his name was announced during the build-up, but he responded in the best way possible by curling home a magnificent free kick in the very first minute. England still chucked away a two goal advantage to draw the game but Barnes - and Taylor's faith in him - was vindicated. That said, he didn't ever turn on top form for England again, although many wondered about his absence from the side as a sacrifice to allow for an extra defender when England went to Norway and crucially lost 2-0. Daley was no longer a threat - he never really was - while Sinton was very much a squad filler. However, Taylor had a look at Manchester United's exciting Lee Sharpe during a staid summer tour of the USA (which included a bad defeat against the hosts) and John was not involved in the last three qualifiers which ensured England would not be going back to the USA the following summer.

Taylor was sacked and Terry Venables appointed, and a 30 year old Barnes wondered if there was a future for him. With no qualifying campaign ahead because England were hosting the 1996 European Championships, Venables could afford to experiment and tinker at length with his squad and formation, and as 1994 progressed it became increasingly obvious that John was being scaled down to the status of a bit-part player, even though there seemed to be no naturally left-sided player to replace him. He played three in a row at the end of the year but Venables had begun to formulate his 'Christmas tree' system which didn't include Barnes but instead relied on powerful running from full backs to widen attacks. John made three final appearances in 1995 (the photo above is during the 0-0 draw against Uruguay 29th March 1995. Photo G Herringshaw ©), the last of which was in a goalless draw with Colombia. He ended up with 79 caps, eleven goals and one or two defining moments which would take their place in England folklore as well as his own memory bank. Received wisdom still claims that he was largely a failure for England, which is both cruel and inaccurate. What he was, however, was an enigma - but one England would rather have had than not. Nobody, not least Barnes himself, should have any regrets about the service he gave to England. (Matthew Rudd)