| If ever an England player was selected by the media, it was when Steve Guppy made the squad which took on Belgium in a friendly at Sunderland in October 1999. The Leicester City winger, already 30, had long been touted as the answer to the tiresomely overstated dearth of left-sided attackers after putting in a strong, positive season under Martin O'Neill, and certainly his ability to swing in long, pinpoint crosses had been quickly noticed by panting admirers on Fleet Street. So, with obvious reluctance, Kevin Keegan finally called him up. Given that the England coach had resisted the calls for some time and had, more tellingly, been the manager who previously released Guppy from Newcastle because he simply didn't rate him, it seemed that he was merely trying to shut up the journalists when he handed the eager wideman his debut. For his part, Guppy played his usual game of arching crosses (see photo above) and optimistic runs in England's 2-1 win, but it was obvious that he would not ever be back, even though the apparent left-sided problem continued for much of the next decade. (Matthew Rudd) |