Mark WRIGHT

If ever a defender displayed all the attributes required of someone expected to keep an international opposition under lock and key, then Mark Wright was probably the closest England came to being a sum of all these parts. Elegant and composed on the ball, Wright was also quick, strong, fearless and had a fine knack of anticipating play ahead of him. His emergence as a youthfully exuberant but brave centre back in an emerging Southampton side of the early 1980s prompted Bobby Robson, anxious to find Terry Butcher's long-term partner at the back, to throw him into the final Home International tournament for his debut at just 20 years of age.

Wright partnered Alvin Martin in the 1984 defeat against Wales at Wrexham, and subsequently had to wait to follow up his opening cap as Robson decided not to take him on the summer tour of South America, using the triumvirate of games to pair Dave Watson and Terry Fenwick together. Wright was back in the autumn as England beat East Germany at Wembley (the photo above is during the game), and he formed a solid and promising understanding with Butcher, although the quality of the opposition didn't give too much away. But Robson liked what he saw and paired them for the first two of England's qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup as Finland and Turkey were dispatched 5-0 and 8-0 respectively. Again, Mark was calm and solid, but the opposition lacked a real edge to test him.

In 1985, Robson paired Wright with Butcher for a 2-1 friendly win over the Republic of Ireland a goalless World Cup qualifier in Romania, before Fenwick was brought back into the fold. Watson and Martin were still competing heavily, and as England struggled out of a summer tournament in Mexico but continued to breeze through their qualification campaign, much debate began about how many centre backs would go to the World Cup finals and who they would be. Butcher was a shoo-in but the rest represented an inexperienced, largely undecorated bunch of talent who required much faith placed in them. By the end of 1985, Mark had eleven caps and started the final three qualifiers - two draws and a 5-0 win - alongside Fenwick, with Butcher injured, but it was Fenwick and Martin who got the lion's share of pre-tournament friendlies and Wright, along with Watson, was upset and frustrated as he just missed the cut for Mexico. (Matthew Rudd)

England's progress to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1986 nevertheless didn't shroud the fact that they were short of a world class central defender. Terry Butcher was set in stone, but Terry Fenwick and Alvin Martin, both given chances, were not impressive against the very highest standard of attacker. Mark Wright therefore earned his expected recall in the autumn of 1986 as England were underway in their bid to reach the 1988 European Championships. Only Wright and Watson were now candidates to partner Butcher, with Martin and Fenwick cast aside - Martin would not return, Fenwick just once in an injury crisis - and now Mark had his real opportunity.

The emergence of the young but headt srong Tony Adams gave the rest food for thought, but Wright stuck around when fitness allowed and picked up his 16th cap in a catatonic 0-0 draw against Scotland in the 1987 Rous Cup, after which he left Southampton for an upwardly-mobile Derby County. Adams had started to impress but before anyone could get too embroiled in the who's in/who's out debate, disaster struck Bobby Robson and England's plans when Butcher broke his leg in the winter of 1987 while playing for Glasgow Rangers, ruling him out of the finals, for which England had just qualified. Wright, Watson and Adams were now, as a consequence, all shoo-ins for the finals provided they stayed fit (despite a fine cameo from precocious but second-string debutant Gary Pallister in the spring of 1988) and it was just a question of who would start in West Germany.

Gradually, despite Watson's best efforts, Wright and Adams seemed to emerge as a trustworthy double act, and with all three in the squad, it was they who were named as England took to the field against the Republic of Ireland in Stuttgart. England were a defensive shambles in the early stages, with Ray Houghton scoring, although Wright was subsequently given little to do as England battered the Irish goal for the duration of the game without success, losing 1-0. The 3-1 defeat to Holland in Dusseldorf which followed exposed Adams far more than it did Wright, although it was Mark who was dropped for the pride-only final game against the USSR in Frankfurt, which England again lost 3-1. Wright, however, would enjoy an upturn in his England fortunes thereafter. (Matthew Rudd)

It remains one of football's great mysteries why Tony Adams was dropped without warning from the England reckoning around the period in which qualification for the 1990 World Cup was in progress, especially as he was proving to be an outstanding captain and leader in an Arsenal side set to win the league title. Meanwhile, Mark Wright was also suffering, largely through injury, but also through Bobby Robson's discovery of something new at the back. Terry Butcher was now benefitting from the arrival of the super-paced Des Walker, whose rawness complemented the ageing Butcher's more leggy but still inspirational presence in England's defence.

The two were untouchable and immovable as England qualified for the 1990 World Cup and Wright won his first cap in almost two years when he came on as a sub for Walker in a 4-2 friendly win over Czechoslovakia, a game remembered for cementing Paul Gascoigne and Steve Bull's places on the plane for Italy. For all his lack of activity on the international stage, Mark was still needed as back-up to Walker and Butcher, and Adams was not called back. In a direct contrast with the last World Cup campaign, Wright found himself going to the finals having taken no part at all in the qualifying contest. England opened with a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland and Robson immediately decided to change the system, bringing Mark into the team as a third centre back alongside Walker's pace and Butcher's indelicacy, as next opponents Holland were known for a three-pronged strike force. The irony that Wright's last international start had come in the 1988 debacle against Holland was forgotten rapidly as his turn as a sweeper worked like a dream in a nervy but fascinating goalless draw. With Butcher rested for the final group game against Egypt, Wright took centre stage alongside Walker, mopping everything up with aplomb and then rising with expert timing to glance home Gascoigne's free kick and seal a 1-0 win.

His first England goal had taken his country into the second round, for which the sweeper system was re-deployed and Butcher returned. England won nervously thanks to a famous David Platt goal, but Wright was shaping up as one of the tournament's outstanding defenders. The quarter-final tie against Cameroon was eventful as England went 2-1 down in the second half and Wright, already prompted into a shuffle thanks to a tactical substitution which saw Butcher's withdrawal, suffered a clash of heads and had to leave the field. He came back, stitched and bandaged (see photo above 1st. July 1990 © G.H.), and in order to prevent further damage with too much heading of the ball, played in a scheming midfield role which worked like a dream, allowing Gascoigne to concentrate on working England back into the game.

Two penalties from Gary Lineker did the job and England marched into the semi-finals, where Mark was heroic and calm against the opposition strikers, but West Germany did what came naturally to them in the penalty shoot-out. The lasting image of Wright came instantly after the shoot-out as chief comforter to Stuart Pearce, whose first miss had begun England's downfall. (Matthew Rudd)

Bobby Robson and Terry Butcher left England duty after the 1990 World Cup and new coach Graham Taylor installed Mark Wright and Des Walker as his central defensive partnership for the new era. Wright won ten caps between September 1990 and June 1991, with England subsequently clinching a place at the 1992 European Championships while Wright, who had joined Liverpool during this period, was injured. Gary Mabbutt had earned a surprise recall and Gary Pallister was starting to become the real contender for an England place at which his fleeting appearance of four years earlier had hinted. But Wright was set to be first choice for the finals in Sweden were he to stay fit.

The rest became something of a farce, as defender after defender suffered injuries which ruled them out of the running, Mark included. Wright's own problem came after he aggravated an old Achilles injury in a friendly against Finland just eight days prior to the tournament, and after much treatment and false hope, he withdrew. Taylor was barred by UEFA from calling up Tony Adams as the tournament had started, and England wimped out at the group stage shambolically. Wright played only once more for Taylor - a 1-0 defeat in Spain in September 1992 - before time seemed to be called prematurely on his England career. England's eventful, controversial and sometimes farcical attempt to qualify for the 1994 World Cup failed without Wright's involvement, with Taylor using a Walker/Adams partnership in the main, with Pallister on the periphery.

Upon England's demise, Taylor was dismissed and Terry Venables arrived. He used a staggering number of centre backs over the next four years, as England had no qualification campaign to consider as they were hosting the 1996 European Championships. Wright was not called up and quietly got on with playing for an underachieving Liverpool team, but his form as Liverpool ran close to the Premier League title and FA Cup (without ultimately winning either) prompted a shock recall in April 1996, a dozen years after his debut and almost four since his last cap. Wright played in a three-at-the-back system alongside Gary Neville and Stuart Pearce in a 0-0 draw with Croatia at Wembley, then did likewise as England bypassed Hungary 3-0, although he was substituted for Gareth Southgate, who would go on to be top choice for the competition itself. Wright's fitness wasn't ideal and Venables decided not to include him in his final squad, instead opting for the youthful Sol Campbell as back-up to Adams and Southgate.

The Indian summer was brief but welcome, as somehow Wright's abortive England career maintained an undercurrent of successive coaches not really appreciating him enough, and a late recall entirely based on form rather than issues with other players meant he had a proper chance to say farewell. (Matthew Rudd)