You can hardly blame him.
Gareth Southgate’s brave new dawn at the helm of the England team may show some slight shoots of optimism and recovery from the Euros debacle under Roy Hodgson, but if we’re being honest, it has been quite an underwhelming international break for England fans, even by international break standards.
The loss in Germany followed by a routine victory over Lithuania were fairly drab affairs, and even the most optimistic Three Lions’ supporters were clutching at straws as far as positive signs go. Certainly there was room for a tad more experimentation and at least something to get us all excited.
Many were looking forward to midfielder Ross Barkley getting a runout in one of the two games to continue his sparkling form for Everton this term. But alas it was yet another squad call up for the 23-year-old that was rewarded with zero minutes on the pitch. Many were mystified and annoyed on his behalf…
Ross Barkley hasn't played a minute of international football since before Euros. Odd, given he's playing well. England 2-0 up & coasting
— Oliver Kay (@OliverKay) March 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/J_J_Fazz/status/846102329422200833
If I was Ross Barkley I'd be fuming what a waste of a week
Everton point of view great returns fully fit ready for the Derby— Mike (@Mike__1878) March 26, 2017
What's the point of picking Ross Barkley for @England ? He never get minutes? If there's no plan for him don't pick him!
— Marts ❤🇯🇲🏴🙏🏾 (@MartinSamuda) March 26, 2017
Id fuck england off if i was Ross Barkley. Always an unused sub. Whats the point in taking him? He'd be better stayin with koeman for a week
— Birch (@birch1988) March 26, 2017
For his part, Barkley has remained utterly professional and tight-lipped about his strange string of squad listings without reward. He has never complained or sulked, despite the fact that he has been called up for SEVEN games now, just to train with his England colleagues and nothing more.
But on Sunday, he showed his understandable frustration about collecting splinters instead of caps whilst on national duty by liking a tweet by those fine men and women at Squawka, highlighting the consistent waste of his ample talents…
The tweet shows Barkley’s last seven England call ups and 0 minutes minutes for him next to each of them. We can’t blame the poor fella for being slight put out by the stat, and hope it’s next time lucky for the wonderfully talented young playmaker.
