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Of Arsenal's impassable defence of almost 15 years, it remains tough to accept that only Tony Adams enjoyed a long and distinguished England career of the outfield players. Right back Lee Dixon, along with Nigel Winterburn, Steve Bould and, later and to a lesser extent Martin Keown, had to make do with chances here and there, depending on fitness and form of those ahead of him in the pecking order. Dixon's rise to prominence in Arsenal's 1989 title-winning team was unfortunately timed for his England aspirations, with Gary Stevens the long-term incumbent to the No.2 shirt and QPR's Paul Parker the established back-up, even though he wasn't actually playing at right back for QPR at the time. Dixon therefore had to be patient but was given his debut in the famous friendly against Czechoslovakia at Wembley in April 1990 in which England won 4-2 and Paul Gascoigne and Steve Bull both put in performances which sealed their places on the World Cup plane. The same couldn't be said for Dixon, who did nothing wrong but was still a clear third in the pecking order, with Stevens and Parker sharing the right back duties for the remaining three warm-up games and the competition itself. Lee's turn was imminent though. After the World Cup, Graham Taylor took over as England coach and instantly installed Dixon as his first choice right back, usurping Stevens and Parker in one fell swoop. Lee's second cap came in a 1-0 win over Hungary at Wembley; he then played superbly in a 2-0 win over Poland in England's first qualifier for the 1992 European Championships and followed it up with a stout display in Dublin as England scrapped out a 1-1 draw against the Irish (see photo above). In the return at Wembley, Dixon even managed to score a goal - something England right backs have a poor record in, though the shot he struck from the edge of the area took a heavy deflection. The game ended 1-1 again but Lee seemed established, playing in six of the remaining matches of 1991, including two more European Championship qualifiers against Turkey (a 1-0 win) and in Poland (a 1-1 draw which booked England's place). Stevens and Parker made brief comebacks while Dixon sat out an experimental summer tour of Australasia and the Far East, allowing Nottingham Forest's Gary Charles a brace of caps. (Matthew Rudd)
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