Fabio Capello thought he would play 100 times for England...he's got three caps



Rodwell made his debut off the bench against Spain four years ago



IT IS four years today since England beat Spain, the reigning World and European champions at the time, and Fabio Capello found missing his son's wedding had its consolations.

Family ties may have been left stretched due to a mix-up in dates, but the then England manager believed he had reason to celebrate anyway. A star had been unearthed.

“He played with big confidence, without problems,” said Capello. “I knew him but I never thought a player so young, on his first exhibition, could be so ready, so good to play at this level.

“He will be very important for many years to come.”

 

The player in question? Jack Rodwell, then a 20-year-old at Everton and whose 34-minute cameo at Wembley whetted the Italian’s appetite.

He started against Sweden three days later as England triumphed again but Capello’s assumption that this was a midfielder who would be breathlessly accumulating caps over the coming years has proved misplaced.

When Rodwell appeared as a substitute for Sunderland against Southampton last Saturday, sent on to rescue the game rather than shape it from the outset, it was only his 66th club appearance since making Wembley sit up and take note of his talent.

Injury partly explains why Rodwell’s fortunes have flat-lined, while it is not simply with the benefit of hindsight that his transfer from Everton to Manchester City in 2012 can be marked down as the wrong move at the wrong time however hard it would have been to rebuff.

 

His subsequent transfer to the Stadium of Light two years later has not provided the shot in the arm that his career needs.

“Footballers have to play, it’s all about time on the pitch,” said former England midfielder Peter Reid, who played for Everton and City and managed both City and Sunderland.

“You can have top players, great coaches but the best players reach the top through playing regularly.

“It’s relevant to every young footballer. Get out there, be with a team where you are going to play, it’s as simple as that.

“Jack came up through the ranks at Everton, everyone was suitably impressed and he was a huge talent. Strong, good on the ball and an excellent prospect.

“Fair play to him, he backed himself to go to City.

“I can understand players going to City. It’s a great club, great set-up and you can win trophies. But you can’t if you’re not playing. And that’s the problem.

 

“Now he has gone to Sunderland and he’s still not playing. What is that telling you?”

Rodwell has made one appearance under Roy Hodgson which extended to six minutes when he replaced Theo Walcott in the Maracana during a 2-2 draw with Brazil in June 2013.

Yet his avowed aim made earlier this season to “get back in the England squad” appears further away than ever. Tottenham’s Ryan Mason has pushed ahead of him, Eric Dier now, too, and both trail in team-mate Dele Alli’s slipstream.

He is not the only youngster to announce himself in recent years and then retreat into the shadows.

In the immediate aftermath of England’s flawed World Cup campaign, Calum Chambers was in vogue winning three caps before he had even established himself at Arsenal.

 

Rodwell now plies his trade in the north east for Sunderland

Chambers has been included in Gareth Southgate's U21s squad for the games with Bosnia and Switzerland over the coming days.

There is Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha, too, who was impressive in the win over Liverpool last Sunday, but who has disappeared from view in an international sense after winning caps against Sweden and Scotland.

Reid sees Jamie Vardy as a role model not simply in terms of his trailblazing form, but his rise through non-league to Leicester hero.

"Jamie Vardy is a brilliant example," added Reid.

"It didn't work for him early in his career, he went through non-league, kept working, kept going and was playing every week, albeit at a lower level.

"All the technical ability in the world is nothing without the right attitude. For all the technical ability, you have to have desire and desire comes from within."

As Dier, and to a lesser extent Alli wait to see what role they will play against Vicente del Bosque's Spain here in Alicante tomorrow, there is every reason for them to keep their feet firmly on the floor.

Rodwell's situation stands as a cautionary tale, a stark reminder that a glimpse of the high-life can quite often not extend beyond that.