Robbie FOWLER

He was the most natural goalscorer of his generation, yet something didn't click between Robbie Fowler and international football and, despite frequent chances afforded to him by three different coaches, he failed to deliver for England. Fowler had spent a teenage season in the Liverpool first team scoring for fun and the rave reviews were such that England coach Terry Venables opted to take a late, late look at him prior to the 1996 European Championship finals, which England were hosting. Fowler scurried and skipped in his usual way, though chances in his three caps - two as sub - prior to the tournament were few and far between. Venables put him in the squad though, knowing that a fearless youngster with a real gift was a handy thing to have in reserve if his team were being weighed down, and Robbie dutifully sat on the bench, watching and learning form the fantastic example set by Alan Shearer on how to lead an international forward line. He was a late sub for Teddy Sheringham in the rapturous 4-1 in over Holland and also came on to try to supply extra firepower in the 0-0 struggle against Spain in the last eight, which England won on penalties.

That was the end of his tournament, with England's own end to come at German hands in the semi-final, but there was real hope ahead. Injury and off-field difficulty, plus the untouchability of Shearer, meant that new coach Glenn Hoddle didn't look again at Fowler until March 1997, and he responded with the opening goal - his first for his country - as England defeated Mexico 2-0 in a Wembley friendly [(the photo above is during the game)]. More restrictions and troubles then kept him away from England duty until November that year, by which time qualification for the 1998 World Cup was secure. But he scored again - the first in a 2-0 win over Cameroon in another Wembley friendly. The emergence of his much younger Liverpool team-mate, Michael Owen, then overshadowed Fowler's progress at both levels and Owen was an irresistible prospect for England's hopes in France in the summer. Any hope Fowler had of making the trip was dashed by injury whilst Owen duly made the cut and the rest is history. (Matthew Rudd).

Although England went out of the 1998 World Cup in the second round, Michael Owen became an international superstar and Robbie Fowler was still waiting to regain his place in the queue, something Glenn Hoddle wasn't able to give. He selected Fowler as a substitute against the Czech Republic in November 1998 - having picked the 35 year old Ian Wright ahead of him - before his own farcical departure from the job paved the way for Kevin Keegan, a known Fowler fan, to take over. The Alan Shearer effect was still a problem for Robbie, as well as his own capacity to lose his footballing focus, and Keegan faithfully called Fowler up for squad after squad but didn't pick him until Bulgaria came to Wembley for a qualifier for the 2000 European Championships. Robbie was ineffective and was replaced in the second half by Emile Heskey, and England drew 1-1. He started the next two qualifiers - a 6-0 win against Luxembourg (the photo above is during the game) in which he didn't score, and a 0-0 draw in Poland - before Keegan took a look around. England qualified via a two-legged play-off against Scotland, but Fowler didn't feature. He scored in a warm-up game against the Ukraine at Wembley and made the squad for the finals in the Low Countries, but didn't get a kick as England exited in the group phase. Shearer's retirement, followed soon by Keegan's resignation, seemed to open a new door for Fowler and he scored a fine goal in a friendly against Mexico at Derby as England impressed new coach Sven Goran Eriksson with a 4-0 win.

Later, as the campaign to reach the 2002 World Cup approached a climax, Robbie scored his best England goal, a divine run from deep when he nutmegged a San Marino defender before chipping the onrushing goalkeeper. Opposition quality notwithstanding, this was the sublimest of goals and showcased what Fowler - who shortly afterwards left Liverpool unwisely for Leeds - was about. Sadly, he never did it with any real frequency at international level, scoring in a 2-1 home defeat to Italy prior to joining his team-mates on the plane to the Far East, where Fowler notched his last England strike in an acclimatisation friendly against Cameroon. His only involvement in the tournament was as a half-time sub for Owen in the second round victory over Denmark, and upon England's exit in the quarter-finals and Fowler's move to a mediocre Manchester City side, Eriksson decided to look elsewhere. Fowler was later critical of the Eriksson regime in his autobiography, but ultimately a player with so much talent who didn't use it enough had nobody to blame but himself. (Matthew Rudd).