Top 5 club footballers who were not effective on the international stage

John Barnes – ENGLAND (79 Caps 11 Goals)

Barnes was arguably the most talented technical player of his generation. He had a brilliant club career for both Liverpool and Watford and yet when he finally retired from international football, there was a sense of “what might have been”. Anybody who was at the Estádio do Maracanã on 10 June 1984, certainly had a first-hand experience of Barnes technical prowess. The goal he scored, when he outpaced and out-thought several Brazilian defenders was one that brought him worldwide adulation and also a sense of heavy expectation.

In his early England days, he was subjected to racial abuse and whilst that didn’t help, the fact was that, more often than not, he was played out of place and the system never quite suited him. It was thought that the appointment of Graham Taylor, his old mentor and manager at Watford, would be able to get the best out of him, but that turned out to be a false dawn.

Bobby Robson famously described him as the “Greatest enigma” of his career and that certainly describes his international career. And although he was England’s former most capped black player, there was a sense that his best days were for his club and he couldn’t go that extra mile, for his country. And whether it was as a result of “rigid” formations, focused on speed and aggression or him being isolated out wide, England certainly didn’t get the best out of him, just like how they didn’t get the best out of Glenn Hoddle or Chris Waddle.

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