IN HINDSIGHT, BECAUSE it certainly didn’t occur to me at the time, playing international football has continually influenced my way of life. Being picked for Ireland catapulted me on to a higher stage, propelled my worth and earning capacity, was at the crux of my transfer to Marseilles — because they only wanted an international forward — and later helped me to establish a media career. Now, some of those privileges must appear the norm to many players who also benefit financially from being pursued by companies to endorse their brands.
So, with a crisp strike into the far corner of the goal, Shaun Wright-Phillips has entered a new world. He’s gone from being a club player to an international player, on the cusp of the nation’s consciousness. At this stage, he probably doesn’t appreciate how sizzling the cauldron can be, at times. The fame and adulation, the demand for autographs, the talk of the pubs and clubs and the exaltation of the media. Just as Everton would believe that the transfer value of Wayne Rooney has jumped since Euro 2004, Manchester City will think that should anyone now make an approach for Wright-Phillips, that they can seek a much higher transfer fee.
Then there are those peculiar quirks of celebrity. I remember a bizarre visit to a shop in Bromley to buy a birthday card for my wife. Flicking through the cards, I came across one depicting me winning a header under pressure from Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard. It jogged my memory about the game during Euro 88, some five or so years previous. I thought: “Bloody hell”. Is that what international football does? I’m not sure what Gullit or Rijkaard would have made of being on the same card as me.
My experiences with Ireland, surely pale by comparison with those of England players. The adoration that Gary Lineker, Michael Owen and Rooney have enjoyed has been instigated by performances for England at leading tournaments: Lineker in 1986, Owen in 1988 and Rooney in June. Paul Gascoigne was lauded after Italia 90 but destroyed by the adulation in the subsequent years.
The advent of Wright-Phillips as an international player of calibre also puts pressure on his team-mates who want to play on the right wing. He is the best player for that position, which leaves Sven-Göran Eriksson to decide where to play David Beckham, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. Owen’s arrival before France 98 could only have added to the pressure felt by Teddy Sheringham, part of an established partnership with Alan Shearer. Some people would probably not have minded seeing Sheringham slip up, if it meant Owen playing. It was probably the same for Emile Heskey when he played up front for England. That pressure and weight of expectation is part of the flipside of the lifestyle that players such as Wright-Phillips and Jermain Defoe may not appreciate can soon weigh heavily. The England team never appears settled, partly because players can lose their place after a few poor performances, and they never feel established until they have between 25 and 30 caps.
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Players are often criticised for their behaviour and not giving their worth, yet they still get a thrill from representing their country, even if the £2,500 fee that we welcomed, is a pittance now. Once on a trip with Millwall, Terry Hurlock greeted the players in the hotel foyer wearing a full England kit, soon after he had made an appearance for the B team. He was far from being pretentious, merely proud, and it was a two-fingered salute to his many detractors.
I remember David Platt coming into training at Aston Villa wearing a different England top throughout the season. I was not alone among the players in thinking that he believed he had become a big-time player after his exploits in the World Cup in 1990. Had I been manager, I may have asked him to not to do so, for fear it may lead to resentment among the players. But I realised it was his pride in being selected for his country, and by the early stages of my spell at Marseilles a few years later, I found myself doing the same as it was the norm at the club. In fact, I would occasionally wear the Ireland shirt I had swapped after a game, such as that of Gianluca Vialli.
And once a player’s career is over you need only consider the way that the media seek pundits with international experience, such as Ian Wright, who never quite established himself as an England player, something his stepson, Wright-Phillips, has the potential to do.