Why didn’t Paul Scholes play more games for England?
Paul Scholes is undoubtably one of the best players to have ever played football in England.
Manchester born and bred, Scholes made 499 appearances for Manchester United having been at the club since the age of 14.
Scholes won 25 major honours whilst playing for United and is debatably the club’s greatest ever central midfielder.
It is therefore a great surprise to note that Scholes only ever played for England 66 times.
Sven-Goran Eriksson would play Scholes on the left hand side of the midfield to accommodate the midfield pairing of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
There is no denying the Gerrard and Lampard were quality players but failing to play Paul Scholes in his correct position was a massive mistake.
Scholes retired from international football in 2004, before he was even 29 years old, as he was not happy about being played out of position. Scholes stated that his family life and club career with United were ‘more important’ to him.
It is fair to say that England missed Scholes over the next few years. The ginger midfielder could have played a vital role in the 2006 and he most certainly would have aided England’s chances of qualifying for Euro 2008.
Kieron Dyer on Scholes
Kieron Dyer has 33 caps for England. The former Newcastle, West Ham and Ipswich man played with Scholes for the Three Lions for a number of years and has recently told a story revealing just how good Paul Scholes really was.
Kieran Dyer talks about Scholes for England. He’s hit the nail on the head. It was criminal the way Scholesy was treated. @GNev2 pic.twitter.com/e2ojlfiQYC
— United In Focus (@UnitedInFocus) February 13, 2018
It’s hard to imagine that the England team could give one player a guard of honour after one training session.
It is unbelievable that Scholes wasn’t given more of a chance in the England set up and if he had been treated better, who knows how the national team could have fared.