YOU’RE ALL IN THE SHOP WINDOW!
Fairclough’s on the lookout for future England stars
PAUL FAIRCLOUGH has a message for Non-League players eligible for England C: We’re watching you!
With a training camp in October ahead of November’s International Challenge final in Slovakia, Fairclough and his scouts are busy watching games for a 22-man squad.
The Three Lions boss will see 23 different teams in action in the opening 12 fixtures of the season as he looks to assemble the finest Under 23 English players for the tough test against Slovakia U21s.
From the side that qualified for the final by beating Estonia last November, seven players are now not eligible having moved into the Football League.
And three of the squad who played against Panjab FA and Jersey FA in the summer – Ross Fitzsimons, Callum Howe and Kevin Lokko – have also stepped up to the League.
Keeper Fitzsimons has joined Notts County from Chelmsford City, Howe won promotion with Lincoln City and while Lokko is at Dagenham & Redbridge, the fact he’s on loan from Stevenage excludes him from selection.
It means the door is open for plenty of new caps and Fairclough is excited about his upcoming choices. “We’re going to have a lot of debutants,” Fairclough said. “Their first game will be a ferocious affair against a top quality side in Slovakia – what a way to make your England debut in a cup final. “I’m managing to watch 23 teams in the opening fixtures, plus the TV games and the lads we already know about. We’re out and about and the reports are coming in. “We’ve got to move so quickly because I’ll have to put a squad together by September 22. The camp will consist of 22 players – but if they’re still not quite right we’ll call-up other in-form players as well for the final squad.”
It’s been a golden summer of success for England age group sides with the U20s winning the World Cup – as well as the Toulon Tournament – the U19s winning the European Championships and the U17s reaching the European final.
Challenge
And Fairclough would love his side to add to Wembley’s trophy cabinet.
“It would be nice for us to carry that on,” Fairclough said. “It will be a real challenge because Slovakia were really not happy about how they finished up in the U21 European Championships. They’ll be really up for the game. It’s exciting.”
Fairclough also explained his plans to look further down the Pyramid for players too.
“I’ve got plans for a second camp in the New Year some time for Step 3 and 4 players,” Fairclough said.
“I’ve got people looking at that level now so we’ll pick 22 players to give them the FAEngland C experience. We’re all about promotion and developing players from Step 3 and 4 too.
“In the past we’ve picked many players from Steps 3 and 4 but I really want to broaden us and get us out to more players so they really feel they’ve got a chance.
“We’ve got an FA game against the Western League coming up in October to celebrate their 125th anniversary so I’m putting together a Step 3 and 4 side of U23 players for that game. It will be a great occasion.”