SUNDERLAND v EVERTON ROAR TALENT ROSS
DAVID MOYES insists Ross Barkley can come roaring back for England – and become a Three Lions regular.
Everton midfielder Barkley (right), who Moyes gave a debut to as a teenager, was left out of Sam Allardyce’s first England squad after being kept on the bench by Roy Hodgson at Euro 2016.
But Sunderland boss Moyes, who goes up against his old club when Everton visit Wearside tomorrow, reckons Barkley, 22, is still on a learning curve – and will only improve.
Moyes said: “Ross is a really talented player.
“We gave him his debut, we gave Wayne Rooney his debut at 16 and Jack Rodwell his debut at 16. In Spain, they don’t give boys their debuts so young. “Maybe we’re a bit anxious here – I was hearing a lot about Marcus Rashford getting into the England team. “But they’re right to just keep them going. Ross had a couple of spells on loan and had to go away and come back, but he’s matured.
“Ross will play for England many more times and he will develop – there’s another stage of his career to go when he becomes one of the senior players.
“At the moment, he’s really still one of the boys progressing and he’s finding his way.” ASHLEY WILLIAMS always had his finger on football’s pulse – even when he was a kid.
Everton’s new £10million defender was just nine years old when he wrote to the makers of the table football game Subbuteo to ask why there were no black players in the England team he played with.
After all, boyhood heroes such as John Barnes and Des Walker had been mainstays of the national team for years.
Williams, 32, said: “I asked my mum why there were no black players in the England teams.
“There was no John Barnes or Des Walker and I wanted to know why.
“My mum thought it was a good question, so I wrote to the company that makes Subbuteo.
“I wasn’t stood on a mountain shouting about it. I was just a kid asking a question.
“But they changed it. They introduced black players – and they also sent me a load of Subbuteo stuff. The only problem was that I didn’t play the game properly and broke most of it!”
Williams captained Wales to the Euro 2016 semi-finals in the summer. Although the last- minute 2- 1 defeat to England in the group stages now rankles as the most disappointing game of his career. And Williams revealed it was difficult to slip back into a normal life after the Dragons’ heroics, until Everton launched a successful bid to prise him away from Swansea.
“We were all on a bit of a downer,” he added. “You have that massive high and then the first thing I was asked to do when I got home was to change a dirty nappy.
“I went on holiday and I was back at Swansea working on my fitness when Everton came in. It’s good to have a new challenge at this stage of my career.”
Williams spent eight years at Swansea after a career that began with Hednesford To Town and Stockport County.
He developed into a natural le leader of men for both club and co country, with a subtleness that h his team-mates appreciate.
Williams said: “One thing I have learned is that you don’t justu shout for the sake of it.
“When people say that you s should talk more, they don’t mean it’s OK to start shouting for absolutely no reason.
“It’s about getting to know playersp and knowing which buttons to press.
“You can talk to some players in an aggressive manner, but with others you have to be a little bit quieter.
“At the end of the day, being a leader of the team means getting the best out of the lads around you – so you have to find the best way of doing that.”