In this article we look at 9 players who were never capped for the England national team, some of these may surprise especially if you remember the late 80’s and 90’s and the players who were capped
There can be many reasons for this – we only picked 1 keeper in the list but when you consider the longevity of the English keepers such as Peter Shilton and David Seaman many good keepers in that era were never called up.
Paul Davis
He played 447 times for Arsenal, scoring 30 goals in the League and seven goals in the cups.
He also won various trophies with the successful Arsenal team of the 80’s and 90’s but never won a full cap for the national team.
Ron Harris
An absolutely brutal defender in the 70’s, he had the nickname ‘chopper’ for obvious reasons.
Harris captained Chelsea to FA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup success, and also made a club record 795 appearances.
He was only ever called up for the England Under 23’s
Steve Bruce
I was amazed at this one considering his success at Manchester United I thought he would have a t least one cap.
The central defender spent nine seasons at Old Trafford, he playing more than 300 games and scored over 30 goals, winning three Premier League titles and nine other trophies
He did play for England B but that was about it – he supposedly was offered a chance when he was 34 but turned it down as he thought it was simply a gesture rather than based on his current ability.
Not sure if that’s true but he should have had double figures caps for England.
Kevin Campbell
Another Arsenal player – did the England managers not like them.
He was never the greatest striker in England and maybe that’s what went against him in an era where England did have excellent strikers.
Campbell managed 148 goals in 499 games in total. He did play for both England under-21s and England B, but never got called up for the first team.
Tony Coton
Again Tony Coton had the misfortune to play in an era where England had giants in the net such as Peter Shilton and David Seaman
501 appearances but known for his time between the sticks at Watford, he only managed 1 England B appearance.
Billy Bonds
Another remarkable case of not getting even one cap.
He played for West Ham United with whom he spent 27 years as player and manager. He played 799 first-team games in a career spanning 21 seasons.
Bonds was capped twice at England Under-23 international level and was on the bench as a non-playing substitute for the senior international team for a World Cup qualifying match against Italy in November 1977.
Jimmy Case
He won four league titles and three European Cups as part of Liverpools’ side of the 1970s and early 1980s. No England call up
He also played for Brighton and Southampton. Just the 1 Under 23 cap.
I did see off the field controversy when he was at Liverpool, maybe that wen’t against him.
Kevin Nolan
Maybe not the greatest midfielder in the world he still made a significant contribution at Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United and West Ham United.
Considering some of the players who were called up between 1999 and 2015 when he was at those clubs slightly surprising not to even get 1 cap.
Nolan had been called up to the England Under-18s and Under-21s.
Howard Kendall
In 1967 he joined Everton, where he played in midfield with Alan Ball and Colin Harvey, the trio gaining the nickname “The Holy Trinity”.
With Everton, Kendall won the First Division title.
Kendall never played for England at senior level despite being included in several squads, but won caps at Schoolboy, Youth and Under-23 level
