Flaw in my game that has put paid to my England dreams
I DON’T SCORE ENOUGH GOALS, SAYS ALBRIGHTON
As my career has gone on, there was probably a shout when we won the league
Marc Albrighton, pictured
MARC Albrighton believes his lack of goals cost him a chance at fulfilling his England dream.
As the Three Lions take on Poland in a World Cup qualifier tonight, Albrighton can be forgiven for thinking he may have deserved at least one opportunity with the national team.
His consistent performances for Leicester City, and previously Aston Villa, have seen him rack up 278 Premier League appearances. Of current top-flight players, only West Ham’s Mark Noble has earned more without getting an England call.
But despite lifting the Premier League title and playing a key role on City’s wing season after season, the 31-year-old believes he never found the net regularly enough to quite catch the eye of the national selectors.
His best scoring season for City came in 2016-17, when he scored four times, including twice in the Champions League. With nine assists to his name that term, too, he believes that was his best year at the King Power Stadium, rather than the title-winning campaign, in which he scored twice and got seven assists.
“When I was coming through was probably my best chance,” he told talkSPORT. “When people see a young player with potential, that’s usually when they get a call-up.
“As my career has gone on, there was probably a shout when we won the league, but I actually felt I played better the following season. At the time, there were so many good wingers in there.
“The one thing that has held me back is goals. I don’t score enough goals, and when you don’t score goals, you have to be exceptional at everything else. At the time, there were probably better players getting better stats, so that’s probably one of the reasons for it.”
One City winger who has not had trouble finding the net this season is Harvey Barnes.
With 13 goals in all competitions this season, he would have been a strong contender to be called up by Gareth Southgate for the current squad had he not required a knee operation.
Despite his obvious talents and rapid improvements, there are still aspects of the game for him to learn to reach an even greater level, and for that he can look to Albrighton.
“He’s been fantastic for us this season, he’s really come on physically and technically,” Albrighton said of Barnes.
“He’s a real threat and has established himself as a top winger.
“If there is anything I can pass on to him, then great. The manager talks about my work ethic in meetings and my reaction to getting the ball back and counter-pressing, and I know that’s one thing that he’s looking to get more out of Harvey.
“If I could pass any advice on, it would be that, to get the other side of the game nailed down and then he can really go on and have a top career.”