With thanks to Gavin
Willacy's 'england schoolboys international players' records 1907-99' (English
Schools' Football Association 1999) which was an invaluable reference for this research.
Thanks also to Friedhelm Henke for his contributions.
|
Season 1989-90 |
Class of 1990 (born after 31 July 1974 - 15 or under on
31
July 1990):
Football League debuts (pre-Premier League era):
Neil
Mitchell (Blackpool) 1991 (Division 4) aged 16
League debuts (Premier League
era):
Andy Turner
(Tottenham Hotspur) 1992 (FA Premier League) - Republic of
Ireland Under-21 international (1993)
Nicky Butt
(Manchester United) 1992 (FA Premier League) - PFA Team of
the Year (1998)
Jamie Forrester, Mark Tinkler and
Kevin Sharp (Leeds United) 1993 (FA Premier League) -
Sharp was born in Canada
Martin Smith (Sunderland)
1993 (Endsleigh League Division 1)
Ben Thornley (Manchester
United) 1994 (FA Carling Premiership)
Danny Dichio (Barnet)
1994 (Endsleigh League Division 2)
Leo Cotterell (Ipswich
Town) 1994 (FA Carling Premiership)
Adrian Clarke (Arsenal)
1994 (FA Carling Premiership)
Phil Morgan (Ipswich Town)
1995 (FA Carling Premiership)
Richard Irving (Nottingham
Forest) 1995 (FA Carling Premiership)
Lee Brydon (Darlington)
1996 (Nationwide Football League Division 3)
Non-league
debuts:
Mark Powell (Stalybridge Celtic) 1996 (GM Vauxhall
Conference)
Full internationals:
Nicky Butt (1997) aged 22
Under-21
internationals: Nicky Butt (1994) aged 19, Martin Smith (1994)
and Danny Dichio (1995), both aged 20, and Ben Thornley (1996)
in Tournoi Espoirs de Toulon
Under-19 internationals: Nicky
Butt (1992) aged 17
Under-18
internationals: Nicky Butt and Mark Tinkler (1992), both
aged 17, Kevin Sharp and Adrian Clarke (1992), Jamie
Forrester (1993) and Richard Irving (1993) aged 17
Under-16 internationals: Spencer Binks, Leo Cotterell,
Jamie Forrester, Kevin Sharp
and Andy Turner (1990), and Richard Irving (1991), all aged 15 |
|
x |
International Selection Committee |
|
Victory Shield |
|
372 |
26 February 1990
- England 2 Northern Ireland 1
[0-0]
Hillsborough, Sheffield
(tbc) |
Smith, Boachie
Blackledge |
HW |
|
England:
S.Reeves, L.Cotterell,
K.Sharp,
M.Tinklerᶜ, M.Pugh,
L.Brydon,
N.Boachie,
M.Smith, D.Dichio, A.Turner, A.Clarke. (used:
J.Forrester, B.Thornley). (unused: P.Morgan, S.Binks). |
|
Northern Ireland arrived in Sheffield, two days after a resounding victory
against Wales, 3-0 at
Cwmbrân Stadium. It was their biggest win in Wales since 1972, and
extended their unbeaten run against them to seven matches. Their new-found
confidence then shocked England, on an atrocious Monday night of wild wind
and rain in the first half and a blizzard in the second, and they took the lead with only five minutes remaining. It would
have been their first away win against England, at the 33rd attempt, and
their first win against them since 1971, but two goals in injury-time
cruelly dashed their hopes. Three of England's starting eleven were at the
FA's National School (Cotterell, Sharp and Turner), with two more on the
bench (Binks and Forrester). This result would be Northern Ireland's only
defeat of the season. They beat Scotland, 2-1 at the Coleraine Showgrounds,
and it was enough to make them outright runners-up in the Victory Shield for
the first time since 1969. They also beat the Republic of Ireland, 1-0 at
Dungannon, after three successive defeats to them, drew 1-1 with France at
Ballyskeagh, and beat Switzerland, 2-1 in Buchs, before a 3-0 win against
Liechtenstein, in Balzers in their first-ever meeting. |
|
Smiths Challenge Cup |
|
373 |
10 March 1990
- England 1 France 1
[1-0]
Wembley Stadium, London
(23,500) |
Forrester
Bedrossian |
HD |
|
England:
S.Reeves,
M.Pugh, K.Sharp,
M.Tinklerᶜ, N.Boachie (D.Dichio),
L.Brydon,
M.Smith,
S.Binks (Nicky Butt),
J.Forrester, A.Turner, A.Clarke (L.Cotterell). (unused: P.Morgan). |
|
France's first visit to Wembley for twelve years, and a fair result as the
teams shared the new sponsors' trophy. England made three substitutions for
the first time at Wembley, though only two outfield replacements were
allowed in Victory Shield matches. |
|
Victory Shield |
|
374 |
31 March 1990
- England 3 Wales 2
[2-2]
Filbert Street, Leicester
(tbc) |
Forrester, Thornley, Thompson
Williams, Savage |
HW |
|
England:
P.Morgan, M.Powell (A.Clarke),
K.Sharpᶜ,
M.Tinkler,
M.Pugh,
L.Brydon,
J.Forrester, Nicky Butt,
I.Thompson,
B.Thornley (N.Mitchell), M.Smith. |
|
Wales were captained by Rob Page, who would lead his country to their first
World Cup finals for 64 years in 2022, as manager, but they had had a disappointing
start to the season, losing heavily to both Irish teams. The Republic had
also beaten them, 3-0, two weeks earlier, at Kilkenny, though they had
earned a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in Spakenburg, whilst England were playing
France at Wembley. Because Northern Ireland and Scotland had both lost
games, England knew that a win would give them at least a share of the
Victory Shield, but when future television pundit, Robbie Savage restored
Wales' lead, it looked as if all four home nations could be in with a shout.
England had made five changes, but fought back for the second time, and
emerged victorious once again. Six days later, Wales and
Scotland played each other out of contention in a 1-1 draw at Ninian Park,
Cardiff. Wales then played two games in Luxembourg, beating the hosts, 2-0,
but losing 4-0 to Finland, their first loss to them (apart from on
penalties). They also lost, 2-1 to France at Colwyn Bay. |
|
375 |
21 April 1990
- Scotland 0 England 0
[0-0]
Victoria Park, Dingwall
(4,000) |
|
AD |
|
England:
S.Reeves, M.Powell,
K.Sharpᶜ,
M.Tinkler,
M.Pugh,
L.Brydon,
J.Forrester,
Nicky Butt, I.Thompson, M.Smith,
N.Mitchell. (used:
S.Binks, R.Irving).
(unused: P.Morgan, A.Clarke, B.Thornley). |
|
Three weeks earlier, Scotland had defeated the Republic of Ireland by a
single goal, in the last minute at Linlithgow, and their late equaliser in
their most recent match, three days later, meant that they avoided a first
defeat in Wales since the war, but they could now only finish third in the
Victory Shield, at best, their worst placing since 1969. England needed a
point to win the title outright and to deny Northern Ireland a historic
first share. On their first trip to the Scottish Highlands, their mission
was accomplished. Scotland went on to draw, 1-1 with Switzerland in Lugano,
the first time that they had failed to beat the Swiss, in their sixth
meeting. They then lost, 4-1 to Italy, England's next opponents, in
Rodengo-Saiano. |
|
Friendly matches |
|
376 |
1 May 1990
- Italy 2 England 2
[-]
Centro Sportivo, Corte Franca
(tbc) |
Clarke, Binks |
AD |
|
England:
S.Reeves, M.Powell, M.Tinklerᶜ, S.Binks,
M.Pugh,
L.Brydon,
R.Irving, Nicky Butt, I.Thompson, M.Smith, A.Clarke. (used:
J.Forrester, B.Thornley). |
|
Italy were coached by 1982 World Cup hero, Marco Tardelli, and their late equaliser meant that they avoided defeat against England for
the first time. |
|
377 |
8 May 1990
- West Germany 2 England 0
[1-0]
Olympiastadion, München
(55,000) |
Schiersand, Lense |
AL |
|
England:
S.Reeves, M.Powell, K.Sharpᶜ, M.Tinkler, S.Binks,
M.Pugh,
L.Brydon,
R.Irving, I.Thompson, M.Smith, A.Clarke. (used:
J.Forrester). (unused: Nicky Butt). |
|
England's ninth defeat in their last ten games in Germany, but there were
signs that they were capable of getting something from their next match, two
days later. |
|
378 |
10 May 1990
- West Germany 0 England 4
[0-3]
Olympiastadion, Berlin
(40,000) |
Sharp, Binks, Smith, Tinkler |
AW |
|
England:
S.Reeves, M.Powell, K.Sharpᶜ, M.Tinkler, S.Binks,
M.Pugh,
L.Brydon,
R.Irving, I.Thompson, M.Smith, A.Clarke. (used:
Nicky Butt, J.Forrester). |
|
German television viewers were shocked by England's biggest-ever victory in
Germany, just two days after the same side had lost in Munich. A few weeks
later, the Leicester Mercury claimed that Ian Thompson had scored one of the
goals. |
|
Smiths International Shield |
|
379 |
2 June 1990
- England 1 Netherlands 0
[0-0]
Wembley Stadium, London
(39,000) |
Thompson |
HW |
|
England:
S.Reeves, M.Powell, K.Sharpᶜ, M.Tinkler, S.Binks,
M.Pugh,
L.Brydon,
R.Irving (B.Thornley), I.Thompson, M.Smith, A.Clarke. (unused:
P.Morgan, J.Forrester, Nicky Butt, N.Mitchell). |
|
England ended the season by regaining the Smiths International Shield, now
back to being without the 'Crisps' suffix. Mark Pugh went on to play for the
under-18 schoolboys, three years later, but did not make it into league
football. Dutch goalkeeper, Sander Westerveld went on to win the UEFA Cup,
the FA Cup and the Worthington Cup, all in the same season, with Liverpool
in 2001. |
|
Season 1990-91 |
Class of 1991 (born after 31 July 1975 - 15
or under on 31 July 1991):
League debuts:
Gavin McGowan (Arsenal) 1993 (FA Premier League)
Greg Strong (Wigan Athletic) 1993 (Endsleigh League Division
3)
Kevin Gallen (Queen's Park Rangers) 1994 (FA Carling
Premiership)
Tony Vaughan (Ipswich Town) 1994 (FA Carling
Premiership) - England Under-21 squad (1996)
Paul
Pettinger (Torquay United) 1994 (Endsleigh League Division 3)
after GM Vauxhall Conference debut for Dagenham & Redbridge
David Johnson (Bury) 1995 (Endsleigh League Division 3) -
under-18 schoolboy international (1992) aged 15,
England Under-21 unused substitute (1997), Nationwide League
Under-21 XI and England B international (1998), Jamaican
international (1999)
Richard Irving (Nottingham
Forest) 1995 (FA Carling Premiership)
David Faulkner
(Darlington) 1996 (Nationwide Football League Division 3)
Justin Walker
(Scunthorpe United) 1997 (Nationwide Football League Division
3)
Chris Beech (Cardiff
City) 1997 (Nationwide Football League Division 3)
Non-league debuts:
Andy Woods and Nathan Murray (Halifax Town) 1995 (GM
Vauxhall Conference)
Other debuts:
Stan Bowder (Yeading)
1994 (FA Cup) after Diadora League Premier Division debut
Under-21 internationals: Kevin Gallen (1995) aged 19
Under-18
internationals: Kevin Gallen (1992), and David Faulkner, Richard Irving, Paul Pettinger, Greg Strong,
Justin Walker and Gavin McGowan (1993),
all aged 17
Under-16 internationals: Chris Beech, David
Faulkner, Richard
Irving, Nathan Murray (captain), Justin Walker, Andy Woods and Tony Vaughan (1991), all aged 15,
and Greg Strong and Paul Pettinger (1991) |
|
Victory Shield |
|
380 |
23 February 1991
- Northern Ireland 1 England 3
[1-2]
Clandeboye Park, Bangor
(tbc) |
Herbert
Gallen (2), Murray (pen) |
AW |
|
England:
P.Pettinger, S.Bowder, A.Vaughan, N.Murrayᶜ, M.Ryan, G.Strong,
R.Irving, J.Geraghty (C.Beech), L.Goodwin (G.McGowan), K.Gallen, J.Walker.
(unused: A.Woods, D.Faulkner). |
|
The England team arrived in Northern Ireland for an overnight stay, having
delayed the kick-off with their late arrival, two years earlier. England
were sporting a new Smiths Crisps-branded Ribero kit, with red socks, and
were bigger and stronger than their opponents. Unusually, all of the
starting eleven had been born in 1975 (the earlier part of the academic
year), with only one player (Bowder) born after October. Beech, Irving,
Murray and Walker were all from the FA National School. Having finished
runners-up in the previous year, with only one home game, Northern Ireland
failed to win a point, with two at home, and lost all nine fixtures in 1991
(not including the short matches in the Montaigu tournament). They went
down, 1-0 to the Republic of Ireland at Drogheda, and played Switzerland
twice as part of the Northern Ireland Schools' FA's diamond jubilee
celebrations in the Gilbey's Ulster Games. Previously unbeaten at home
against them, they lost, 1-0 at Dungannon, and 2-0 at the Junior
International Stadium in Belfast. Three further defeats followed on the
continent; 5-0 to the Netherlands in Musselkanaal, and twice to Germany (4-2
in Wilhelmshaven and 2-0 in Hildesheim). |
|
381 |
9 March 1991
- England 2 Scotland 1
[0-0]
Wembley Stadium, London
(21,000) |
Murray, Irving
Fotheringham |
HW |
|
England:
P.Pettinger, S.Bowder, A.Vaughan, N.Murrayᶜ, M.Ryan, G.Strong,
R.Irving, J.Geraghty (C.Beech), L.Goodwin, K.Gallen, J.Walker. (unused:
A.Woods, D.Faulkner, G.McGowan). |
|
Seven days earlier, Scotland had beaten Northern Ireland, 2-0 at Petershill
Park, Glasgow in their opening match of the Victory Shield, but an unchanged
England team beat them, thanks to two goals in a minute, the second of
which, from Richard Irving, in his second season with the under-15s, was a
breathtaking curler into the top corner, after he had stopped the ball going
out of play at the touchline. ITV had begun to show the March internationals
at Wembley live again, as well as those at the end of the season, and they
were rewarded with great entertainment, as England also won the Smiths
Challenge Cup outright for the first time, as well as two Victory Shield
points, though in reality, they were a little lucky. Kevin Fotheringham's
late reply saw him go on to score in every international match of that
season. Four days later, Scotland entertained Belgium for the first time,
and beat them, 3-0 at Falkirk, and on the following afternoon, Wales threw
their hat into the ring with a comprehensive 4-1 victory against Northern
Ireland at Ferney Park, Ballinamallard, their first win in Northern Ireland
since 1967. |
|
Friendly match |
|
382 |
27 March 1991
- England 2 Switzerland 0
[0-0]
Recreation Ground, Chesterfield
(tbc) |
Gallen (2) |
HW |
|
England:
A.Woods, S.Bowder, A.Vaughan, N.Murrayᶜ, M.Ryan, D.Faulkner,
R.Irving, C.Beech, L.Goodwin, K.Gallen, J.Walker. (used: J.Geraghty,
D.Johnson, G.McGowan). (unused: P.Pettinger, G.Strong). |
|
A routine victory for England, but it took them over an hour to break down
the Swiss defence. Two more FA National School students (Faulkner and Woods)
made their first appearances. Switzerland were back in the United Kingdom in
the following month, but after beating Northern Ireland twice, they were
thrashed, 6-1 by Scotland at Perth. |
|
Victory Shield |
|
383 |
3 May 1991
- Wales 1 England 0
[1-0]
Somerton Park, Newport
(tbc) |
Mann |
AL |
|
England:
A.Woods, G.Strong, A.Vaughan, N.Murrayᶜ, M.Ryan, D.Faulkner,
R.Irving, D.Johnson, G.McGowan, K.Gallen, J.Walker. (used: J.Geraghty,
L.Goodwin). (unused: P.Pettinger, S.Bowder, C.Beech). |
|
Wales had begun their season by losing at home to the Republic of Ireland
for the first time, in a shattering 4-1 defeat at Abertillery, although they
had won by the same score in Northern Ireland in the Victory Shield, before
losing, 2-0
at Abergavenny
on the Netherlands' first visit to the province. Scotland went on to win in
the Republic for the first time, by 1-0 at Limerick, after beating Wales,
2-0 at Hannah Park, Shotts, giving England at least a share of the title,
but needing a point to retain it outright in a country where they had not
been beaten since 1969. David Mann's first-half finish on a Friday afternoon
was enough to give Wales their first share of the title, since it became a
four-nation competition. The result also gave the Scots a share, and they
could claim a moral victory with the best goal difference of the three
winners. Wales's season ended, however, with a crushing 5-1 defeat to France
in Lille, three weeks later. |
|
Friendly matches |
|
384 |
22 May 1991
- Belgium 1 England 5
[0-3]
Regenboogstadion, Waregem
(tbc) |
Gallen (2),
Johnson, Irving, Vaughan |
AW |
|
England:
P.Pettinger (A.Woods), S.Bowder, A.Vaughan, N.Murrayᶜ, G.Strong,
D.Faulkner,
R.Irving, D.Johnson, C.Beech, K.Gallen, J.Walker. (used: J.Geraghty,
L.Goodwin, C.Jackson). |
|
England's first win in Belgium was also their biggest victory against them.
Jackson came in as a late replacement for the injured Mark Ryan, the oldest
member of the squad. |
|
385 |
25 May 1991
- Netherlands 1 England 1
[1-1]
Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht
(tbc) |
Irving |
AD |
|
England:
P.Pettinger, S.Bowder, A.Vaughan, N.Murrayᶜ, G.Strong, D.Faulkner,
R.Irving, D.Johnson, C.Beech, K.Gallen, J.Walker. (used: C.Jackson).
(unused: A.Woods, J.Geraghty, L.Goodwin). |
|
A much tougher game to end the short tour, but the English defence held firm
under some heavy Dutch pressure in the second half. |
|
Smiths Crisps International Shield |
|
386 |
8 June 1991
- England 1 West Germany 3
[1-1]
Wembley Stadium, London
(43,511) |
Gallen
Fensch,
Ratkowski, S.Hahn |
HL |
|
England:
P.Pettinger, S.Bowder, A.Vaughan, N.Murrayᶜ (J.Geraghty), G.Strong,
D.Faulkner,
R.Irving, D.Johnson (L.Goodwin), C.Beech, K.Gallen (C.Jackson), J.Walker.
(unused: A.Woods, M.Ryan). |
|
German football had not yet merged into one national entity, so it was the
former federal republic that beat England, 3-1 for the second Wembley match
in succession, as they regained the Smiths Crisps International Shield. |
|
Friendly match |
|
387 |
10 June 1991
- England 2 West Germany 2
[1-0]
Valley Parade, Bradford
(7,000) |
Gallen (2)
Michalke, Ricken |
HD |
|
England:
A.Woods, G.Strong, A.Vaughan, J.Geraghty, D.Faulkner, G.McGowan, R.Irving, D.Johnson, C.Beech, K.Gallen, J.Walkerᶜ.
(used: S.Bowder, C.Jackson, M.Ryan). (unused: P.Pettinger, L.Goodwin). |
|
With Kevin Gallen ending his season with nine goals from eight games,
England restored some parity, two days after their Wembley defeat, in Dave
Bushell's last match as team manager. Captain, Nathan Murray had to miss out
because of a head wound sustained at Wembley. |
|
Season 1991-92 |
Class of 1992 (born after 31 July 1976 - 15 or under on
31
July 1992):
League debuts:
David Beresford (Oldham Athletic) 1993 (FA Carling
Premiership)
Danny Murphy (Crewe Alexandra) 1993 (Endsleigh
League Division 2) aged 16 after Autoglass Trophy debut - PFA Division 2
Team of the Year (1997)
Stephen Hughes (Arsenal) 1994
(FA Carling Premiership)
Phil
Neville (Manchester United) 1995 (FA Carling Premiership)
after FA Cup debut - England B international (2007)
Neil Cutler (Chester City) 1996 (Endsleigh League Division 3)
Graeme Power (Bristol Rovers) 1996 (Nationwide Football League
Division 2)
Jamie Howell (Torquay United) 1997 (Nationwide
Football League Division 3)
Michael Black (Millwall) 1997 (Nationwide
Football League Division 2)
Steven Blaney (Brentford) 1998
(Nationwide Football League Division 2) - Welsh under-21
international (1996)
Clinton Ellis (Bristol Rovers)
2000 (Nationwide Football League Division 2)
Non-league
debuts:
Iain Brunskill (Leek
Town) 1997 (GM Vauxhall Conference)
Full internationals: Phil
Neville (1996) aged 19 and Danny Murphy (2001)
Under-21
internationals: Phil Neville (1995) aged 18, and Stephen
Hughes and Danny Murphy (1997), both aged 20
World Youth Championship: Danny Murphy
(1997)
Under-18
internationals: Phil Neville (1992) aged 15, Albert Clarke
(1992) aged 15 or 16, and David Beresford, Neil Cutler, Jamie
Howell, Stephen Hughes, Graeme Power, Danny Murphy and Ross
Taylor (1994), all aged 17
Under-16 internationals: David
Beresford, Albert Clarke, Neil Cutler, Clinton Ellis, Jamie
Howell, Stephen Hughes, Ian Smith, Iain Brunskill, Phil
Neville and Ross Taylor (1992), all aged 15 |
|
Victory Shield |
|
388 |
28 February 1992
- England 2 Wales 2
[1-0]
Turf Moor, Burnley
(5,722) |
Neville, Clarke
Parsons,
J.Thomas |
HD |
|
England: N.Cutler, I.Smith,
R.Taylor, M.Black,
Phil Neville, I.Brunskill, J.Howellᶜ,
S.Hughes, C.Ellis, Danny Murphy, D.Beresford. (used: A.Clarke).
(unused: E.Collins, G.Power, S.Goodridge). |
|
A Friday-night start for the Victory Shield, as Dave Bushell's assistant,
Steve Avory took over as the new manager and saw Wales continue to pose a
real threat to England in the 1990s, taking the lead in the second half,
before England salvaged a point, with three minutes left. Six members of the
starting line-up (Beresford, Cutler, Ellis, Howell, Hughes and Smith) were
from the FA's National School, plus goalscoring substitute, Anthony 'Albert'
Clarke. Wales remained unbeaten, drawing 1-1 with Scotland at Morfa Stadium,
Swansea, three weeks later, and then beat Northern Ireland by a single goal
at the Athletic Ground, Clydach Vale, leaving England needing to win both of
their remaining games if they were to regain the Victory Shield outright.
Conversely, it was a miserable end to the season for Wales, as they lost
first meetings with both Czechoslovakia and Austria, by 2-0 on a short
continental tour (in Lanžhot and Thaya, respectively), and then hosted the
four-team Garden Festival Tournament over three days in May at Ebbw Vale,
losing all three matches. They began with a crushing 5-1 loss to Belgium
(the eventual winners), before Switzerland avoided defeat in Wales for the
first time with a 3-1 win, and the Republic of Ireland continued their
successful recent run of results against the Welsh, with a 2-1 victory,
after they had been crushed 6-3 by Switzerland in their opening match, but
recovered to hold Belgium to a 2-2 draw. |
|
Smiths Crisps International Challenge Cup |
|
389 |
7 March 1992
- England 0 Netherlands 0
[0-0]
Wembley Stadium, London
(20,443) |
|
HD |
|
England: N.Cutler, I.Smith,
R.Taylor, M.Black,
Phil Neville, I.Brunskill, J.Howellᶜ,
S.Hughes, C.Ellis, Danny Murphy, D.Beresford. (used: A.Clarke,
G.Power). (unused: E.Collins, S.Goodridge). |
|
The Dutch came to defend and avoided defeat at Wembley for the first time,
in front of the lowest attendance yet at the national stadium for a
schoolboy international. It was less than a quarter full, though it was also
live on ITV, as the trophy was shared for the second year in succession. |
|
Victory Shield |
|
390 |
10 April 1992
- England 3 Northern Ireland 0
[2-0]
Goldstone Ground, Hove
(4,000) |
Howell (2), Murphy |
HW |
|
England: E.Collins, S.Blaney, G.Power,
Phil Neville,
I.Brunskill, J.Howellᶜ,
S.Hughes, S.Goodridge, C.Ellis, Danny Murphy, A.Clarke. (used: M.Black). |
|
Northern Ireland were keen to avoid another season of monotonous defeats,
but began in February, losing 1-0 to the Republic of Ireland at Solitude,
Belfast, and had to endure another run of nine defeats, before the cycle
could be broken. They lost 2-0 on three occasions in March; to France in
Saint-Germain-en-Laye, to Switzerland in Grandson, and to Germany at Derry,
as part of the annual Gilbey's Ulster Games festival. Surprisingly, it was
the first time that the Germans had avoided defeat in Northern Ireland,
and they beat the Republic of Ireland by a single goal, two nights later, at
Dundalk. Northern Ireland then condensed all three of their Victory Shield
fixtures into an eight-day period. After four games without a goal, they
raced into a 3-1 first-half lead against Scotland at Mourneview Park,
Lurgan, only to lose 4-3. The loss to Wales was only two days before they
met England on a Friday night, where the hosts built up their confidence to
register their first win of the season, and to set up the clash with
Scotland as a mouthwatering prospect to determine the destiny of the Victory
Shield. Northern Ireland ended their season with a first trip to Austria to
contest the Styrian Panther Trophy, but lost again to Switzerland, by 1-0 in
Bad Radkersburg, and 2-1 in their first meeting with Denmark, in Spielberg,
before finally contesting a goalless draw in their first meeting with the
hosts, in Graz. |
|
391 |
1 May 1992
- Scotland 0 England 1
[0-0]
Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
(7,048) |
Neville |
AW |
|
England: N.Cutler, S.Blaney,
R.Taylor,
I.Brunskill, Phil Neville,
S.Goodridge,
J.Howellᶜ,
S.Hughes, C.Ellis (D.Beresford), Danny Murphy, A.Clarke. (used: I.Smith). (unused: E.Collins,
M.Black, G.Power). |
|
Scotland had lost, 1-0 to the Netherlands in Nieuwleusen, before defeating
Northern Ireland, and faced England in a game which was a winner-takes-all
decider on a Friday night. A draw would produce a second successive
three-way tie for the Victory Shield, with Wales, but it was England who
secured a third successive title, thanks to Phil Neville's second-half
header. England's defence had to negotiate the last five minutes after
Hughes went off with concussion, when both substitutions had been made.
The younger Neville brother would go on to have a
stellar career with Manchester United and England before managing the
England women's team in 2018. |
|
Friendly matches |
|
392 |
5 May 1992
- France 2 England 2
[2-0]
Stade Lucien Ferrari, Laon
(tbc) |
Murphy, Brunskill |
AD |
|
England: N.Cutler,
I.Smith, R.Taylor, I.Brunskill, Phil Neville, S.Goodridge, J.Howellᶜ,
S.Hughes, D.Beresford, Danny Murphy, A.Clarke. |
|
An impressive recovery from the new Victory Shield champions. Three days
later, France were in Scotland, and this time it was they who came back from
a two-goal deficit to draw at Kirkcaldy. |
|
393 |
12 May 1992
- Germany 1 England 1
[1-0]
Olympiastadion, Berlin
(51,000) |
Röttger
Clarke |
AD |
|
England: N.Cutler,
S.Blaney, R.Taylor, I.Brunskill, Phil Neville, M.Black, J.Howellᶜ,
S.Hughes, D.Beresford, Danny Murphy, A.Clarke. (used: C.Ellis). (unused:
E.Collins, I.Smith, G.Power, S.Goodridge). |
|
England met the re-unified Germany for the first time, in a change kit of
red shirts, with white sleeves, white shorts and red socks, and played their part
in an entertaining draw. |
|
394 |
14 May 1990
- Germany 4 England 1
[3-0]
Ernst-Grube-Stadion,
Magdeburg
(13,000) |
Krauβ,
Neville OG,
Röttger,
Schmidbauer
Murphy |
AL |
|
England: E.Collins,
S.Blaney, G.Power, I.Brunskill, Phil Neville, M.Black, J.Howellᶜ,
S.Hughes, D.Beresford, C.Ellis, A.Clarke. (used: S.Goodridge, Danny Murphy,
I.Smith, R.Taylor). (unused: N.Cutler). |
|
England were well beaten on their first trip to eastern Germany, two days
later, and were two goals down after only twelve minutes on a very warm day. |
|
Smiths Crisps International Shield |
|
395 |
6 June 1992
- England 1 Italy 1
[0-1]
Wembley Stadium, London
(44,000) |
Goodridge
Totti (pen) |
HD |
|
England: N.Cutler,
S.Blaney (I.Smith), R.Taylor, G.Power (S.Goodridge), I.Brunskill, Phil Neville, J.Howellᶜ,
S.Hughes, D.Beresford, C.Ellis, Danny Murphy (A.Clarke). (unused: E.Collins,
M.Black). |
|
Despite winning the Victory Shield, England only won two out of their eight
matches, their worst return since 1979, and not the ideal start for the new
team manager. As Italy escaped England without defeat for the first time,
England left it until four minutes from time to salvage a share of the
Smiths Crisps International Shield, when substitute, Steven Goodridge scored
the equaliser. Italy had led from the second minute, when Francesco Totti,
who, 14 years later, was to win the World Cup with Italy, converted a
spot-kick. |
|
Season 1992-93 |
Class of 1993 (born after 31 July 1977 - 15
or under on 31 July 1993):
League debuts:
James Dungey (Plymouth Argyle) 1994 (Endsleigh League Division
2) - aged 16
Richard Wright (Ipswich Town) 1995 (FA Carling
Premiership) - Nationwide League Under-21 XI (1998), PFA
Nationwide League Team of the Year (1999, 2000)
Michael Millett (Wigan Athletic) 1995 (Endsleigh League
Division 3)
Andy Ducros (Coventry City) 1996 (FA Carling
Premiership)
Andrew Fotiadis (Luton Town) 1996 (Nationwide
League Division 2) - under-18 schoolboy international
(1995) aged 17
Lee Hodges (Exeter City) 1996
(Nationwide Football League Division 3) - PFA Division 3
Team of the Year (2001, 2002, Scunthorpe United)
Emmanuel Omoyinmi (Bournemouth) 1996 (Nationwide Football
League Division 2) - born in Nigeria
Marlon
Broomes (Swindon Town) 1997 (Nationwide Football League
Division 1)
Stephen Clemence (Tottenham Hotspur) 1997 (FA
Carling Premiership)
David Hilton (Darlington) 1997
(Nationwide Football League Division 3)
John Curtis
(Manchester United) 1997 (FA Carling Premiership) after
Coca-Cola Cup debut - England B international (1998)
Paul Teather (Bournemouth) 1997 (Nationwide League Division 2)
Andy Duncan (Cambridge United) 1998 (Nationwide League
Division 3) - under-18 schoolboy international (1994) aged
16
Jamie Cassidy (Cambridge United) 1999 (Nationwide
League Division 2)
Non-league debuts:
Andy Futcher
(Doncaster Rovers) 1999 (Nationwide Conference) after
Intertoto Cup debut for Wimbledon in 1995 - England
Under-18 unused substitute (1995)
Other debuts:
Leon Bell (Chemsford City) 1999 (FA Cup) after Ryman League
first division debut for Braintree Town in 1998
Full
internationals: Richard Wright (2000)
Under-21
internationals: Marlon Broomes, Richard Wright and John Curtis
(1997), all aged 19 and Stephen Clemence (1998) aged 20
World Youth Championship: Marlon Broomes (1997) aged 19 and
John Curtis (1997) captain, aged 18
Under-18
internationals: Michael Millett, Stephen Clemence, Andy
Ducros, Marlon Broomes and John Curtis (1995), all aged 17,
and James Dungey, Jamie Cassidy and Richard Wright (1996)
Under-16 internationals: Marlon Broomes, Jamie Cassidy,
Stephen Clemence, David Hilton, Paul Teather, Andy Ducros,
Andy Futcher, John Curtis and Richard Wright (1993),
all aged 15, and Michael Millett (1993) |
|
Friendly match |
|
396 |
13 February 1993
- England 1 Republic of Ireland 0
[1-0]
Elm Park, Reading
(3,143) |
Cassidy |
HW |
|
England:
J.Dungey, A.Futcher, D.Hilton, M.Millett, J.Curtis (A.Duncan), M.Broomesᶜ,
J.Wynter, L.Hodges, A.Ducros, E.Omayinmi (S.Clemence), J.Cassidy.
(unused: Richard Wright, A.Fotiadis, J.Kyte). |
|
After a seven-year break, England invited the Republic of Ireland over to
make the earliest start to a season in their history. For the third
season in succession, they were wearing a new Ribero kit, this time branded
with 'Quavers'. Six students from the FA's National School made their
international debuts (Broomes, Cassidy, Clemence, Ducros, Futcher and
Hilton). The Republic went on to beat Northern Ireland, three weeks later,
by a single goal for the third year in succession, at Drogheda. They also
beat Wales, 2-0 at the Athletic Union League Complex in Dublin. |
|
Victory Shield |
|
397 |
13 March 1993
- England 1 Scotland 2
[1-0]
Wembley Stadium, London
(18,500) |
Cassidy
O'Brien, Pollock (pen) |
HL |
|
England:
J.Dungey, A.Futcher, D.Hilton, M.Millett, J.Curtis, M.Broomesᶜ,
J.Wynter (S.Clemence), L.Hodges, A.Ducros (A.Fotiadis), E.Omayinmi,
J.Cassidy. |
|
The Victory Shield had kicked off, two weeks earlier, at Adamslie Park,
Kirkintilloch, where Scotland beat Northern Ireland, 3-0, and they followed
that up by coming from behind against the defending champions to win at
Wembley for the first time since 1980, lifting the Smiths Crisps
International Challenge Cup in the process. Once again, a worryingly small
crowd, the lowest ever recorded for a schoolboy international at the
stadium, suggested that the novelty of playing there was finally wearing off
for the coachloads of schoolchildren that typically turned up on these
occasions, for every year since 1950. It was also broadcast live on ITV. Ten
days later, Scotland lost to France for the first time, by a single goal in
Le Plessis-Trévise. |
|
398 |
22 March 1993
- Wales 1 England 2
[0-1]
Morfa Stadium, Swansea
(tbc) |
Ramasut
Clemence (pen),
Fotiadis |
AW |
|
England:
J.Dungey, A.Futcher, D.Hilton, M.Millett, J.Curtis, M.Broomesᶜ,
L.Bell, L.Hodges, A.Fotiadis, J.Kyte, S.Clemence. |
|
Nine days later, England managed to get two points on the board with a
deserved victory in a miserable season for Wales, who failed to win a point
in the Victory Shield. |
|
399 |
2 April 1993
- Northern Ireland 0 England 1
[0-1]
Castlereagh Park, Newtownards
(1,200) |
Fotiadis |
AW |
|
England:
Richard Wright, A.Futcher, D.Hilton, A.Duncan, J.Curtis, M.Broomesᶜ,
L.Bell, L.Hodges, A.Fotiadis, J.Kyte, S.Clemence. (used: J.Cassidy,
E.Omayinmi). |
|
Northern Ireland had played three home games in the past month, beginning
with their biggest-ever victory against Switzerland, by 3-0 at
Ballinamallard, but followed by a 2-1 loss to Italy at Derry, and a 3-0
defeat at Larne to the Netherlands, who were on a three-match tour. They had
also beaten the Republic of Ireland with a single disputed penalty at
Dundalk, two nights earlier, but lost to Scotland for the first time, two
days later, by 2-0 at Fort William. England's Friday-night visit, in the
following week, saw them draw level at the top of the Victory Shield in their last
game, but they knew that Scotland still had a game left, and the Scots
picked up the point that they needed in a goalless draw with Wales at
Broomfield Park, Airdrie to win the title outright for the first time since
1989. Northern Ireland thrashed Wales, 5-0 at Stangmore Park, Dungannon in
the final match of the competition to record their biggest-ever home win. |
|
Friendly matches |
|
400 |
7 April 1993
- England 0 Austria 1
[0-0]
Bescot Stadium, Walsall
(2,186) |
Hilden |
HL |
|
England:
Richard Wright, A.Futcher, D.Hilton, M.Millett, J.Curtis, M.Broomesᶜ,
L.Bell, E.Omayinmi, A.Fotiadis, J.Kyte, S.Clemence. (used: J.Cassidy,
L.Hodges). (unused: J.Dungey, A.Duncan, A.Ducros). |
|
England met Austria for the first time, in front of a small crowd, and lost
to a cross-shot from the Austrian skipper. The Austrians had also made a
first visit to Wales, two days earlier, drawing 1-1 at Cardiff Athletics
Stadium, having beaten them in their first meeting, a year earlier. |
|
401 |
18 May 1993
- Switzerland 2 England 3
[1-3]
Rapperswil
(tbc) |
Hodges (2),
Cassidy |
AW |
|
England:
J.Dungey, P.Teather, D.Hilton, M.Millett, J.Curtis, M.Broomesᶜ,
L.Hodges,
A.Fotiadis,
J.Cassidy, J.Kyte, S.Clemence. (used: L.Bell,
E.Omayinmi). |
|
England finally found their shooting boots and raced into a three-goal lead,
though they were pegged back as the game progressed. A seventh FA National
School student, Paul Teather joined the squad. Two weeks earlier, Wales had
won in Switzerland for the first time, by 4-0 in Greifensee. |
|
Smiths International Shield |
|
402 |
12 June 1993
- England 0 Germany 0
[0-0]
Wembley Stadium, London
(33,000) |
|
HD |
|
England:
J.Dungey, P.Teather, D.Hilton, M.Millett, J.Curtis, M.Broomesᶜ,
L.Hodges,
A.Fotiadis (L.Bell),
J.Cassidy, J.Kyte (E.Omayinmi), S.Clemence. (unused: Richard Wright,
A.Duncan, A.Ducros). |
|
The shield was shared for the second year in succession, as England failed
to break down the visitors' defence and stretched their unwelcome run of
winless games at Wembley to five. |
|
Friendly match |
|
403 |
14 June 1993
- England 3 Germany 0
[1-0]
Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield
(11,000) |
Cassidy, Broomes, Clemence |
HW |
|
Clemence also missed a penalty |
|
England:
Richard Wright, P.Teather, D.Hilton, M.Millett, J.Curtis, M.Broomesᶜ,
L.Hodges, A.Fotiadis, J.Cassidy, J.Kyte, S.Clemence. (used: L.Bell,
A.Ducros, A.Duncan, E.Omayinmi). (unused: J.Dungey). |
|
A satisfying end to the season with England's biggest victory. Stephen
Clemence, son of Liverpool and England's legendary goalkeeper, Ray Clemence,
made amends for his penalty miss with the last goal. A tragic footnote is
that Michael Millett had become the first outfield player of this squad to
break through into league football, with Wigan Athletic, when he was killed
in a road accident on his way home from training on the eve of his 18th
birthday, in 1995. |
|
Season 1993-94 |
Class of 1994 (born after 31 July 1978 - 15 or under on
31
July 1994):
League debuts:
Jody Morris (Chelsea) 1996 (FA Carling Premiership)
Michael Branch (Everton) 1996 (FA Carling Premiership) -
Nationwide League Under-21 XI (1998)
Mark Platts
(Sheffield Wednesday) 1996 (FA Carling Premiership) aged 16
Mark Perry (Queen's Park Rangers) 1996 (Nationwide Football
League Division 1)
Luke Weaver (Leyton Orient) 1996
(Nationwide Football League Division 3)
Neil Clement
(Chelsea) 1996 (FA Carling Premiership)
John Curtis
(Manchester United) 1997 (FA Carling Premiership) after
Coca-Cola Cup debut - England B international (1998)
Mark Wilson (Wrexham) 1998 (Nationwide Football League
Division 2)
Stuart Brightwell (Hartlepool United) 1998
(Nationwide Football League Division 3)
Mark Gower
(Barnet) 2001 (Nationwide Football League Division 3) after
Bank of Scotland Premier League debut for Motherwell in 1999
Other debuts:
John O'Toole (Barrow) 1998 (Nationwide Conference)
James Bunn (Enfield) 1999 (FA Cup) after Ryman League Premier
Division debut
Luke Staton (Barry Town) 2000
(League of Wales) after Worthington Cup debut for Bolton
Wanderers in 1999
Under-21
internationals: Michael Branch and Jody Morris (1996), both aged 17, John Curtis
(1997) aged 19 and Mark Wilson (2001) aged 22
World Youth Championship: John Curtis (captain) and Jody
Morris (1997), both aged 18
Under-18
internationals: Michael Branch and John Curtis (1995), and
Luke Weaver and Mark Platts (1996), all aged 17, Neil Clement,
Elliott Dickman, Mark Gower and Mark Perry (1996), and Stuart
Brightwell (1996) aged 17
Under-16 internationals: John Curtis (1993), Michael Branch,
Stuart Brightwell, Neil Clement, Tom Culshaw, Elliott Dickman,
Mark Gower, Jody Morris, John O'Toole, Mark Perry, Luke Staton, Mark Wilson,
James Bunn, Mark Platts
and Luke Weaver (1994), all aged 15, and John Marshall (1995) |
|
Soccer Pal Victory Shield |
|
404 |
11 February 1994
- England 2 Wales 0
[0-0]
Highfield Road, Coventry
(6,363) |
Branch (2) |
HW |
|
England: L.Weaver,
E.Dickman, N.Clement,
J.Curtisᶜ, J.Marshall, L.Staton, M.Gower,
M.Perry,
M.Platts, P.Branch, M.Wilson. (used:
S.Brightwell, T.Culshaw). |
|
England kicked off their new season on a Friday night, earlier than ever
before, and with a few more changes. The Victory Shield was sponsored for
the first time, and this was the first match to be televised live by Sky
Sports, who were to cover five of the six fixtures. England also had a new
adidas Predator-branded kit, with Walkers Crisps becoming their first full
shirt sponsor name across the chest, in red lettering. Wales had begun their
season before Christmas, for the first time, but lost, 3-1 to France at
Abertillery, after scoring first. Two weeks before meeting England, they had
ended a run of four defeats against the Republic of Ireland, with a goalless
draw at Goodwick, and they were very close to holding England, as they had
done, two years earlier, at Burnley, but Michael Branch popped up to score
twice in the last five minutes to set England on their way to a historic
season. Only Perry, Platts and Weaver of the 13 players used were not from
the FA's National School. |
|
405 |
25 February 1994
- England 5 Northern Ireland 1
[4-1]
Roker Park, Sunderland
(4,104) |
Marshall, Wilson (2),
Branch (2 (1 pen))
Kelly |
HW |
|
England: J.O'Toole,
E.Dickman, N.Clement,
J.Curtisᶜ, J.Marshall, L.Staton (J.Bunn), M.Gower,
M.Perry,
M.Platts, P.Branch, M.Wilson (J.Morris). |
|
Like Wales, Northern Ireland had begun their season before Christmas for the
first time, in November, and entertained Austria for the first time, in a
1-1 draw at Windsor Park, Belfast, two days after the Republic of Ireland
had beaten the Austrians, 2-0 at Trim. Northern Ireland's season resumed,
exactly three months later, but they were soundly thrashed by a very strong
English team, ten of whom again were schoolmates from Lilleshall. The
driving sleet and snowstorm did not stop them in another Friday-night live
TV appearance. Northern Ireland recovered well to win both of their
remaining Victory Shield fixtures, 1-0 against Wales, at Spytty Park, Newport, and 2-1
against defending champions, Scotland, at the Ballymena Showgrounds, to give
them a rare runners-up placing. They also ended a run of defeats against the
Republic of Ireland, with a 1-1 draw at Bangor, and thrashed Switzerland,
4-1 in Embrach, before going down, 5-1 to Germany in Friedrichshafen. |
|
Walkers Crisps International Challenge Cup |
|
406 |
12 March 1994
- England 3 Switzerland 0
[3-0]
Wembley Stadium, London
(12,490) |
Gower (2), Wilson |
HW |
|
England: L.Weaver, T.Culshaw, N.Clement, J.Curtisᶜ, J.Marshall, L.Staton, M.Gower,
M.Perry, M.Platts (S.Brightwell), P.Branch (A.Sullivan), M.Wilson
(J.Bunn). (unused: J.O'Toole, J.Morris). |
|
After five Wembley games without a win, England captured the new sponsors'
trophy with an extremely comfortable victory in the last schoolboy
international to be broadcast live on network television, and before an
all-time-low Wembley attendance. Over the next two months, Switzerland
conceded four goals at home to both the Republic and Northern Ireland, and
then went down, 3-0 to Scotland at Linlithgow. |
|
Friendly match |
|
407 |
9 April 1994
- Netherlands 0 England 1
[0-1]
Sportpark Burgemeester Welleman, Appingedam
(1,500) |
Gower |
AW |
|
England: L.Weaver, E.Dickman, N.Clement, J.Curtisᶜ, J.Marshall, L.Staton, M.Gower,
J.Morris, M.Platts, P.Branch, J.Bunn. (used: M.Perry, A.Sullivan, M.Wilson). |
|
England scored in the seventh minute, but were unable to add to it, despite
dominating the game. |
|
Soccer Pal Victory Shield |
|
408 |
5 May 1994
- Scotland 0 England 1
[0-1]
Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld
(6,200) |
Bunn |
AW |
|
England: L.Weaver, E.Dickman, N.Clement, J.Curtisᶜ, J.Marshall, L.Staton, M.Gower,
M.Perry, M.Platts, P.Branch, J.Bunn. (used: T.Culshaw, A.Sullivan). |
|
Scotland had won, 3-1 against Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, and
fit in a short trip to the continent to face both Austria and Hungary for
the first time, drawing 1-1 with each, in Untersiebenbrunn and Mosonmagyaróvár,
respectively, but their surprise defeat in Northern Ireland after being
ahead, meant that they had to beat England to force a three-way tie
with both teams,
for the Soccer Pal Victory Shield in the Thursday-night finale which had a
delayed screening of the full match on Sky Sports later in the evening.
England, needing just a point, regained the title. |
|
Friendly matches |
|
409 |
17 May 1994
- Germany 2 England 3
[1-1]
Olympiastadion, Berlin
(64,000) |
Rost, Majunke
Gower, Bunn, Wilson |
AW |
|
England: L.Weaver, E.Dickman, N.Clement, J.Curtisᶜ, J.Marshall, L.Staton, M.Gower,
M.Perry, M.Platts, P.Branch, J.Bunn. (used: J.Morris, A.Sullivan, M.Wilson).
(unused: J.O'Toole, T.Culshaw). |
|
An exciting game saw both sides score in the first two minutes, with
England's winner coming two minutes from the end. |
|
410 |
19 May 1994
- Germany 1 England 3
[1-2]
Stadion der Freundschaft, Cottbus
(14,500) |
Eiselt
Branch, Wilson, Gower |
AW |
|
England: J.O'Toole, T.Culshaw, N.Clement, J.Curtisᶜ, A.Sullivan,
M.Perry, J.Morris, M.Gower, M.Platts, P.Branch, M.Wilson. (used:
J.Bunn, E.Dickman). (unused: L.Weaver, J.Marshall, L.Staton). |
|
A more convincing victory, two days later, after coming from behind, saw
England complete the 'double' in Germany for the first time. Sullivan and
Wilson were listed as substitutes in Gavin Willacy's book, but he only lists
nine starters (and twelve for the next match!). |
|
Walkers Crisps International Shield |
|
411 |
11 June 1994
- England 2 France 1
[0-1]
Wembley Stadium, London
(22,882) |
Bunn, Platts
Massac |
HW |
|
England: J.O'Toole, E.Dickman, N.Clement, J.Curtisᶜ, J.Marshall (M.Wilson),
M.Perry, J.Morris, M.Gower, M.Platts, P.Branch, J.Bunn. (unused: L.Weaver,
T.Culshaw, A.Sullivan, L.Staton). |
|
Mark Platts' dramatic 25-yard free-kick winner in added time at the end of
the game ensured that England completed an eight-match season with a
hundred-per-cent winning record for the first time, though they had won
eight in succession in 1975. It also secured another trophy in Steve Avory's
last match as team manager, under the new policy that the role passed on to
their assistant after every three years. France had not lost in England
since 1976. Sadly, there was a second tragic death, just over a year later,
in 1995, before that of 1993 schoolboy international, Michael Millett, when
John Marshall collapsed from an undetected heart condition, and died, five
days later, on the day before he was due to graduate from the FA's National
School. His story helped to encourage heart screening for all young
footballers to become a necessity over the following years. |
|
Season 1994-95 |
Class of 1995 (born after 31 July 1979 - 15
or under on 31 July 1995):
League debuts:
Michael Ball (Everton) 1997 (FA Carling Premiership)
Michael Owen (Liverpool) 1997 (FA Carling Premiership) -
PFA Team of the Year (1998), England B international (2006)
Kenny
Lunt (Crewe Alexandra) 1997 (Nationwide Football League
Division 1)
Wes Brown (Manchester United) 1998 (FA Carling
Premiership) - PFA Team of the Year (2001)
Shayne
Bradley (Southampton) 1998 (FA Carling Premiership)
Mark
Jones (Wolverhampton Wanderers) 1998 (Nationwide Football
League Division 1) after Worthington Cup debut
Aaron Brown
(Bristol City) 1998 (Nationwide Football League Division 1)
Jamie
Day (Bournemouth) 1999 (Nationwide Football League Division 2)
Jimmy Hibburt (Crystal Palace) 1999 (Nationwide Football
League Division 1)
Mick O'Brien (Torquay United)
1999 (Nationwide Football League Division 3)
Steve Haslam (Sheffield Wednesday) 1999
(FA Carling Premiership)
Gareth Stewart (Bournemouth) 1999
(Nationwide Football League Division 2)
Richard Cooper
(Nottingham Forest) 2000 (Nationwide Football League Division
1)
Richard Kell (Torquay United) 2001 (Nationwide Football
League Division 3)
Jamie Burt (Chesterfield) 2001
(Nationwide Football League Division 2) after Nationwide
Conference debut for Scarborough
Full internationals:
Michael Owen (1998) aged 18,
Wes Brown (1999) aged 19 and Michael Ball (2001) aged 21
Under-21 internationals: Michael Owen (1997), and Michael Ball and Wes Brown (1998),
all aged 18
World Youth Championship: Michael Owen (1997)
aged 17 and Steve Haslam (1999)
aged 19
Under-19 internationals (billed as under-18):
Michael Ball, Wes Brown and Michael Owen, captain (1997), all aged 17, Steve Haslam
(1997) aged 18, and Kenny Lunt (1998) aged 18
Under-18
internationals: Michael Owen (1996) aged 16, Michael Ball (1996) aged 17,
Gareth Stewart (1996) aged 16 and Wes Brown
(1997) aged 17
Under-16 internationals: Wes Brown, Steve
Haslam, Michael Owen, Michael Ball, Richard Cooper, Jamie Day,
Mark Jones, Kenny Lunt and Gareth Stewart (1995), all
aged 15 |
|
Victory Shield |
|
412 |
10 February 1995
- Wales 2 England 2
[2-1]
Newport Stadium
(2,762) |
W.Jones, Martin
Owen (2 (1 pen)) |
AD |
|
England:
M.Reed, J.Day, Michael Ball, S.Haslamᶜ, Wes Brown, J.Hibburt, K.Lunt,
M.O'Brien (M.Jones), Michael Owen, S.Bradley, J.Burt (A.Brown). (unused:
G.Stewart, R.Cooper, R.Kell). |
|
For the third year in succession, England's season began earlier than ever
before, and again on a Friday night, with Sky Sports providing live TV
coverage. They were wearing a slightly-different adidas kit to the previous
season, and the Predator branding was dropped. It was their new
predatory striker, Michael Owen that they had to thank, however, for
rescuing a point for England, in John Owens' first match as team manager. Half of the squad were from the FA's National
School (Ball, Brown, Cooper, Day, Jones, Lunt, Owen and Reed). Wales, who
could have selected Owen, if he hadn't left his Welsh school to transfer to
Lilleshall, beat Northern Ireland, 3-1 at Windsor Park, Belfast, two weeks
later, but then went down, 3-0 to the Republic of Ireland, at Arklow, two
weeks after that. Further heavy defeats followed; 7-3 to Scotland at Boghead
Park, Dumbarton, and 4-0 to France in Le Havre. They did manage a goalless
draw at Abergavenny when hosting Luxembourg for the first time, but they had
never failed to beat them before. |
|
Friendly match |
|
413 |
3 March 1995
- England 7 Belgium 0
[4-0]
Home Park, Plymouth
(6,360) |
Ball, HIbburt (2), Owen (3),
O'Brien |
HW |
|
England:
G.Stewart (M.Reed), R.Cooper,
Michael Ball, S.Haslamᶜ, Wes Brown, J.Hibburt,
M.Jones (R.Kell), J.Day (S.Bradley),
K.Lunt (M.O'Brien),
A.Brown (J.Burt), Michael Owen. |
|
Sky Sports were again on hand, on a Friday night, to relay England's
biggest-ever victory against Belgium, after making four changes, but they
used all 16 members of the squad for the first time in an international
match. |
|
Walkers Crisps International Challenge Cup |
|
414 |
11 March 1995
- England 1 Brazil 0
[0-0]
Wembley Stadium, London
(32,514) |
Owen |
HW |
|
England:
G.Stewart, R.Cooper, Michael Ball, S.Haslamᶜ, Wes Brown, J.Hibburt, K.Lunt,
M.Jones (J.Burt), J.Day, Michael Owen, A.Brown (M.O'Brien). (unused: M.Reed, R.Kell,
S.Bradley). |
|
A brilliant individual goal from Michael Owen gave England, again in red
socks, as in 1988 against Brazil, the victory as they retained the Walkers
Cup. Brazil included a 14-year-old future World Cup winner who became known
as Ronaldinho, and ended England's World Cup hopes in 2002. Sky Sports
broadcast a recording of the full game in the evening. Four days earlier,
Scotland had also beaten Brazil by a single goal, at Hampden Park, Glasgow. |
|
Victory Shield |
|
415 |
24 March 1995
- Northern Ireland 0 England 1
[0-0]
Castlereagh Park, Newtownards
(1,700) |
Owen (pen) |
AW |
|
England:
M.Reed, R.Cooper, Michael Ball, S.Haslamᶜ, Wes Brown, J.Hibburt,
R.Kell, K.Lunt,
M.O'Brien, Michael Owen, S.Bradley. (used: A.Brown,
M.Jones). (unused: G.Stewart, J.Day, J.Burt). |
|
Northern Ireland's season had begun brightly with a 2-0 victory against the
Republic of Ireland at Dublin's Athletic Union League Complex, but
successive defeats in the Victory Shield had left them out of contention.
They beat Switzerland, however, six days earlier, by 2-0 at Limavady, with
the Republic also beating them, 3-2, two days later, at Drogheda. Northern
Ireland then gave England a test on a Friday night in front of the Sky
Sports cameras, with future record international goalscorer, David Healy in
their ranks, and only conceded a second-half penalty to the free-scoring
Owen. Although they had failed to win a point in the Victory Shield,
Northern Ireland still won four of their remaining six fixtures They
travelled to Austria to contest the Styrian Panther Trophy, losing 2-1 to
the Netherlands in Pöllau, but then getting their first win in Austria
by beating the hosts for the first time, 2-1 in Friedberg. A 1-1 draw in a
first meeting with Croatia, in Weiz, took them to a fifth-place play-off
which they won, 3-0 against Denmark in Hartberg. Another extremely
successful trip abroad followed, with a first victory in the Netherlands, by
2-0 in Gouda, and a first win against France, by 2-1 in Évin-Malmaison. |
|
416 |
28 April 1995
- England 2 Scotland 1
[0-0]
St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
(11,010) |
Jones, Owen
Porteous |
HW |
|
England:
G.Stewart, R.Cooper, Michael Ball, S.Haslamᶜ, Wes Brown, J.Hibburt,
J.Day, K.Lunt,
M.Jones, Michael Owen, J.Burt. (used: A.Brown). (unused: M.Reed, R.Kell,
M.O'Brien, S.Bradley). |
|
England had to wait another five weeks before the destiny of the Victory
Shield was decided in a Friday-night finale shown live on Sky Sports.
Scotland had beaten Northern Ireland, 5-1 at Bayview Park, Methil, as well
as the 7-3 defeat of Wales at Dumbarton, and only needed a point, but their
equaliser wasn't enough as the inevitable Michael Owen struck again for the
winner, as England retained the title. Scotland ended their season by losing
to Switzerland for the first time, by 3-2 in Flums, but won, 3-1 in their
first meeting with Liechtenstein, in Vaduz. |
|
Friendly matches |
|
417 |
10 May 1995
- Austria 0 England 5
[0-5]
Stadion Lehen, Salzburg
(tbc) |
Owen (3), Jones, Burt |
AW |
|
England:
G.Stewart (M.Reed), R.Cooper, Michael Ball, S.Haslamᶜ, Wes Brown, J.Hibburt,
J.Day, K.Lunt,
M.Jones, Michael Owen, J.Burt. (used: R.Kell, M.O'Brien,
A.Brown,
S.Bradley). |
|
A first trip to Austria saw England overwhelm the hosts in a first-half goal
blitz, to avenge the defeat of two years earlier, at Walsall, with Michael
Owen equalling the post-war scoring record for a season, set by John Sissons
in 1961. |
|
418 |
23 May 1995
- Republic of Ireland 2 England 0
[1-0]
Tolka Park, Dublin
(2,200) |
Gavin (2) |
AL |
|
England:
M.Reed, R.Cooper, Michael Ball, S.Haslamᶜ, Wes Brown, J.Hibburt
(M.O'Brien), J.Day (J.Burt), R.Kell, K.Lunt,
M.Jones (S.Bradley), Michael Owen. (unused: G.Stewart, A.Brown). |
|
After a run of 17 games unbeaten, England crashed to a surprise defeat, when
the same two players combined, either side of half-time, to convert headers
from corners. |
|
Walkers Crisps International Shield |
|
419 |
10 June 1995
- England 2 Germany 4
[1-2]
Wembley Stadium, London
(26,500) |
Owen, Kell
Falk (2
(1 pen)), Endreβ, Goller |
HL |
|
England:
G.Stewart (M.Reed), R.Cooper, Michael Ball (M.O'Brien), S.Haslamᶜ, Wes
Brown, J.Hibburt, J.Day, K.Lunt (A.Brown), M.Jones (S.Bradley), Michael
Owen, J.Burt (R.Kell). |
|
As per the Brazil game, TV viewers had to wait until a recording of the game
was broadcast, an hour after kick-off. Three days earlier, Germany had
drawn, 2-2 with Wales at Pontypridd, but they were very much in control at
Wembley, as England slumped to a second successive defeat. Michael Owen's
twelfth goal of the season set a new post-war record, however, as he equalled Richard Bell's tally from three games in
1936. |
|
Season 1995-96 |
Class of 1996 (born after 31 July 1980 - 15 or under on
31
July 1996):
League debuts:
Scott Parker (Charlton Athletic) 1997 (Nationwide Football
League Division 1) aged 16 - PFA Team of the Year (2012,
Tottenham Hotspur)
Francis Jeffers (Everton) 1997 (FA Carling Premiership) aged
16
Stephen Foster (Crewe Alexandra) 1998 (Nationwide
Football League Division 1)
Ray Johnston (Bristol Rovers)
1999 (Nationwide Football League Division 2)
Rhys Weston
(Arsenal) 2000 (FA Carling Premiership) after Worthington Cup
debut in 1999 - Welsh international (2000)
Peter
Holmes (Luton Town) 2000 (Nationwide Football League Division
2)
Ian Fitzpatrick (Halifax Town) 2000 (Nationwide Football
League Division 3) after South African first division (coastal
stream) second-tier debut for Fortune in 1999
Kevin
Nicholson (Sheffield Wednesday) 2000 (Nationwide Football
League Division 1) - England National Game XI (2007)
Mark Maley (Blackpool) 2000 (Nationwide Football League
Division 3) after Worthington Cup debut for Sunderland in 1998
Matthew Ghent (Lincoln City) 2000 (Nationwide Football League
Division 3)
Lee Canoville (Northampton Town) 2001
(Nationwide Football League Division 2) after Worthington Cup
debut for Arsenal in 2000
Perry Taylor (Tranmere Rovers) 2001 (Nationwide Football
League Division 1)
Alex Higgins (Queen's Park Rangers) 2001 (Nationwide Football
League Division 1)
Paul Wheatcroft (Rochdale) 2001 (Nationwide Football League
Division 3) after South African first division (coastal
stream) second-tier debut for Fortune in 1999
Michael Standing (Bradford City) 2002 (Nationwide Football
League Division 1)
Non-league debuts:
Anthony Allman (Woking) 2002 (Nationwide Conference)
Full internationals:
Francis Jeffers (2003) aged 22 and Scott Parker (2003)
Under-21 internationals: Francis Jeffers (1999) aged 18 and
Scott Parker (2000) aged 19
Under-19 internationals (billed as under-18): Matthew
Ghent and Francis Jeffers (1998), both aged 17, and Scott
Parker (1998) aged 18
Under-17 internationals (billed
as under-16): Francis Jeffers and Mark Maley (1997), both
aged 16
Under-16 internationals: Anthony Allman, Lee
Canoville, Ian Fitzpatrick, Matthew Ghent, Alex Higgins, Peter
Holmes, Francis Jeffers, Mark Maley, Kevin Nicholson, Scott
Parker, Perry Taylor, Rhys Weston and Paul Wheatcroft (1996),
all aged 15 |
|
adidas Victory Shield |
|
420 |
2 February 1996
- England 2 Wales 1
[2-0]
Fratton Park, Portsmouth
(tbc) |
Wheatcroft, Taylor
Barwood |
HW |
|
England: M.Ghent, R.Weston, K.Nicholsonᶜ, S.Foster, L.Canoville
(A.Allman),
P.Holmes, Scott Parker, M.Standing, A.Higgins, P.Taylor, P.Wheatcroft. (used:
I.Fitzpatrick). (unused: R.Johnston, M.Maley, Francis Jeffers). |
|
Yet another earliest-ever start to the season, the fourth in succession, saw
England, in another new adidas kit, with navy-blue left sleeves, sponsored by Walkers Crisps, kick off
the season live on Sky Sports on a Friday night, as they established their
credentials to chase a hat-trick of Victory Shield triumphs. Only Foster,
Standing and Taylor, of the 13 players used, were not from the FA's National
School. Two weeks later, Wales came from behind to beat Northern Ireland,
2-1 at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham. It would not be enough to keep them
off the bottom of the table, however, as they then lost, 4-1 to Scotland at
Vetch Field, Swansea, with their manager, Adrian Jones, describing them as
'poseurs', before being relieved of his duties, a week later. A 1-1 draw at
Carmarthen then extended their winless run against the Republic of Ireland
to ten games. |
|
421 |
23 February 1996
- England 0 Northern Ireland 0
[0-0]
Cellnet Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
(tbc) |
|
HD |
|
England: R.Johnston,
A.Allman,
K.Nicholsonᶜ, L.Canoville,
M.Maley,
P.Holmes, Scott Parker, Francis Jeffers, A.Higgins, P.Taylor, I.Fitzpatrick. (used:
M.Standing, P.Wheatcroft). (unused: M.Ghent, R.Weston, S.Foster). |
|
After 16 defeats in succession, Northern Ireland kept out the English attack
for the first time since 1979, in another Sky Sports Friday-night encounter.
Northern Ireland followed this result with two victories, beating the
Republic of Ireland, 2-1 at Glenavy, and Scotland, in the Victory Shield,
by 1-0 at Windsor Park, Belfast, but they were firing blanks at the end of the
season with three successive defeats (2-0 to France at Derry, 1-0 in
Budapest on their first trip to Hungary, and 1-0 to Switzerland in
Effretikon). |
|
Walkers Crisps International Challenge Cup |
|
422 |
9 March 1996
- England 2 Spain 3
[1-2]
Wembley Stadium, London
(18,500) |
Standing, Jeffers
|
HL |
|
England:
M.Ghent, R.Weston, K.Nicholsonᶜ, S.Foster, L.Canoville,
P.Holmes, Scott Parker, M.Standing (Francis Jeffers), A.Higgins, P.Taylor, P.Wheatcroft. (used:
I.Fitzpatrick). (unused: R.Johnston, A.Allman, M.Maley). |
|
The ESFA's England team's only meeting with Spain at this level and the
visitors became only the second continental team (after the Germans) to beat
them at Wembley and take the silverware, in another poorly-attended fixture
at the national stadium. Unlike the Victory Shield matches on Sky Sports,
these once-showpiece games were no longer televised. |
|
Friendly match |
|
423 |
15 March 1996
- England 2 Hungary 3
[2-2]
Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
(11,734) |
Parker, Foster
Keresztes,
Hajnal (2) |
HL |
|
England:
R.Johnston (M.Ghent), A.Allman, K.Nicholsonᶜ, S.Foster, L.Canoville,
M.Maley, P.Holmes, Scott Parker, M.Standing, P.Taylor, P.Wheatcroft. (used:
I.Fitzpatrick, A.Higgins, Francis Jeffers). (unused: R.Weston). |
|
Six days after Wembley, England faced another new opponent, with Molineux
reviving memories of Honved's historic visit in 1954, but England suffered a
second successive home defeat to a superior side. Three days later, Wales
met Hungary for the first time, and beat them, 3-0 at Pontypridd. |
|
adidas Victory Shield |
|
424 |
28 March 1996
- Scotland 1 England 1
[0-0]
Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
(3,000) |
P.McDonald
Wheatcroft |
AD |
|
England:
M.Ghent, R.Weston, K.Nicholsonᶜ, S.Foster, L.Canoville,
M.Maley, M.Standing, A.Higgins, Francis Jeffers, P.Taylor, I.Fitzpatrick. (used:
A.Allman, P.Wheatcroft). (unused: R.Johnston, P.Holmes, Scott Parker). |
|
Despite a fourth successive match without a win, the draw was enough to
secure a third successive title for England, who were wearing their red
change shirts on a Thursday night in front of the Sky Sports cameras,
because Scotland's left sleeves were white, and
they had to come from behind to prevent the Scots from winning the adidas
Victory Shield. This was the first time that the competition had been
completed in March. Two weeks earlier, Scotland had beaten Belgium, 3-2 at
Dumfries, and they went on to beat Switzerland, 2-0 at Hampden Park,
Glasgow. |
|
Walkers Crisps International Shield |
|
425 |
4 May 1996
- England 1 Netherlands 0
[1-0]
Old Trafford, Manchester
(12,500) |
Parker |
HW |
|
England:
M.Ghent (R.Johnston), R.Weston, K.Nicholsonᶜ, S.Foster, L.Canoville,
M.Maley, Scott Parker, A.Higgins, Francis Jeffers, P.Taylor, P.Wheatcroft. (used:
A.Allman, I.Fitzpatrick, P.Holmes, M.Standing). |
|
The Walkers Shield was unable to be played at Wembley on the usual June
date, because the stadium had been commandeered by UEFA for the upcoming
European Championship finals, so Old Trafford stepped in as a replacement on
the May Day bank holiday weekend. Scott Parker's spectacular volley regained
the shield for England, who used all five substitutes. Two days later, the
Dutch team beat Wales, 3-1 at Colwyn Bay. |
|
Friendly matches |
|
426 |
7 May 1996
- Germany 3 England 0
[2-0]
Olympiastadion, Berlin
(70,000) |
Bäcker, Adzic, Daun |
AL |
|
England:
M.Ghent (R.Johnston), R.Weston, K.Nicholsonᶜ, S.Foster, L.Canoville,
M.Maley, P.Holmes, Scott Parker, A.Higgins, Francis Jeffers, P.Taylor. (used:
A.Allman, I.Fitzpatrick, M.Standing,
P.Wheatcroft). |
|
Another crushing defeat for England in a poor season, despite the Victory
Shield success. |
|
427 |
29 May 1996
- France 2 England 1
[-]
Stade Paul Chandon, Epernay
(2,500) |
Wheatcroft |
AL |
|
England:
M.Ghent (R.Johnston), R.Weston, K.Nicholsonᶜ, L.Canoville, A.Allman,
M.Standing, P.Holmes, Scott Parker, A.Higgins, Francis Jeffers, P.Taylor. (used:
M.Maley, I.Fitzpatrick, P.Wheatcroft). |
|
A fourth defeat for England. Nevertheless, it was the first season that all
16 members of the squad went on to appear in the top five tiers of English
football, though for most, it would only be a fleeting visit, such were the
odds of making it big in the cut-throat professional world. |
The age criteria was drastically changed at the beginning of
the 1996-97 season, to bring it into line with other countries. In each season,
squads could now include boys whose 16th birthday was in the new year i.e. those
that were in the next higher academic level than the previous under-15 squads.
Those that had their 15th birthday before the new year were also included, as
per previous years, but they were now the youngest members of the squad, whilst
the three that had played in the previous year's squad as one of the youngest
players, were now one of the oldest. Though it was still called an under-15
team, it was, effectively, now under-16.
|
Season 1996-97 |
Class of 1997 (born after 31 December 1980
(i.e. in 1981 or later (16
or under on 31 December 1997)):
League debuts:
Joe Cole (West Ham United) 1999 (FA Carling Premiership) after
FA Cup debut - PFA Team of the Year (2006, Chelsea)
Rhys Evans (Bristol Rovers) 2000 (Nationwide Football League
Division 2)
Leon Mike (Oxford United) 2000 (Nationwide
Football League Division 2)
Mark Maley (Blackpool) 2000 (Nationwide Football League
Division 3) after Worthington Cup debut for Sunderland in 1998
Perry Taylor (Tranmere Rovers) 2001 (Nationwide Football
League Division 1)
Christian Hanson (Cambridge United) 2001
(Nationwide Football League Division 2)
Ian Armstrong (Port
Vale) 2001 (Nationwide Football League Division 2)
Chris
McCready (Crewe Alexandra) 2001 (Nationwide Football League
Division 1) after UniBond League Premier Division debut for
Hyde United in 2000
Michael Bingham (Mansfield Town) 2002
(Nationwide Football League Division 3)
Michael Standing
and Stephen Warnock (Bradford City) 2002 (Nationwide Football
League Division 1)
Leon Osman (Carlisle United) 2002
(Nationwide Football League Division 3)
Non-league debuts:
Chris O'Brien (Chester City) 2001 (Nationwide Conference)
Steve Flitcroft (Accrington Stanley) 2003 (Nationwide
Conference)
Full internationals: Joe Cole
(2001) aged 19, Stephen Warnock (2008) and Leon Osman (2012)
Under-21 internationals: Joe Cole (2000) aged 18 and Rhys
Evans (2003)
Under-20 internationals: Rhys Evans (2002)
Under-19 internationals (billed as under-18): Joe
Cole and Ian Armstrong (1999), both aged 17, Christian Hanson
and Leon Mike (1999), both aged 18, and Rhys Evans (2000) aged
18
Under-18 internationals: Rhys Evans (2000)
Under-17 internationals (billed
as under-16): Mark Maley, Leon Osman, Ian Armstrong, Leon
Mike, Ronnie Wright and Joe Cole (1997), and Christian Hanson, Stephen
Warnock, Chris McCready, Rhys Evans and Chris O'Brien (1998),
all aged 16
Under-16 internationals: Mark Maley and Perry Taylor (1996),
and Ian Armstrong, Joe Cole, Rhys Evans, Chris McCready,
Leon Mike and Ronnie Wright (1997) all aged 15 |
|
adidas Victory Shield |
|
428 |
13 February 1997
- Wales 2 England 3
[2-1]
Ninian Park, Cardiff
(997) |
Gall, Barwood
Cole, Mike, Armstrong |
AW |
|
England:
M.Bingham, M.Maleyᶜ, C.Hanson, G.Strange, C.O'Brien, I.Armstrong, Leon
Osman (S.Flitcroft), Stephen Warnock, P.Burke (L.Mike), Joe Cole, P.Taylor. (unused:
R.Evans, C.McCready, M.Standing). |
|
Wales started the month, and the season, losing by a single goal to the
Republic of Ireland at Frank Cooke Park, Dublin. Twelve days later, on a
Thursday night, with Sky Sports covering the game live, as usual, Wales led
twice before England fought back to win. The three England goalscorers were
the only players in the starting eleven from the National School, with Evans
and McCready, on the bench, also from Lilleshall. Captain, Mark Maley and
Perry Taylor became the first 16-year-olds to play for the team. England,
yet again, sported a new adidas kit, with an updated Walkers Crisps logo on
the chest. With funds low at the Welsh Schools' FA, Wales only played
against the countries of the British Isles. |
|
429 |
13 March 1997
- Northern Ireland 0 England 3
[0-2]
Windsor Park, Belfast
(2,500) |
Taylor, Standing, Armstrong |
AW |
|
England:
R.Evans, M.Maleyᶜ, C.Hanson, C.McCready, C.O'Brien, S.Flitcroft,
M.Standing, Stephen Warnock, Joe Cole, L.Mike, P.Taylor. (used: I.Armstrong,
P.Burke). (unused: M.Bingham, G.Strange, Leon Osman). |
|
Northern Ireland had beaten the Republic of Ireland, 1-0 at the Athletic
Union Complex in Dublin to complete a hat-trick of victories against their
near-neighbours, and then kept the Welsh forwards at bay in a goalless
Victory Shield encounter at Stangmore Park, Dungannon. They could not repeat the previous
year's draw with England, however, in another Thursday-night match, as
England overpowered them to attain pole-position in their quest for a fourth
successive Victory Shield, though Scotland subsequently won their first two
games with late winners; coming from behind to win 2-1 against Wales at Caledonian Stadium, Inverness, and
beating
Northern Ireland, 1-0 at Forthbank Stadium, Stirling. Northern Ireland's domestic
season ended with a 2-1 loss to Switzerland at Coleraine, two days after the
Swiss had drawn, 1-1 with the Republic at Waterford. Manager, Davy Cairns
then took his charges from the north to the continent, where they lost 2-0
in a first meeting with Luxembourg, but then drew, 2-2 in their first
full-length match with Belgium, in Namur. He stepped down as manager, after
18 years in the role, but sadly died just over a year later. An annual
international under-16 tournament was created in his honour in 2000. |
|
Mondial Minimes Montaigu in Vendée, France |
|
The 25th edition of the French tournament was expanded four-fold, from eight
to 32 nations, split into eight groups of four for an under-16 competition,
spread over nine days, and ending on Easter Monday. England were due to face
Bolivia in their opening match, but they were replaced by Lithuania. The
squad was the same 16 players that had already represented the English
Schools' FA, apart from R.Wright, a sixth National School student, replacing G.Strange. It is believed that
the group matches, at least, were short games of sixty minutes' duration,
but all seven games may have been of this format. |
|
- |
group G |
|
ND |
23 March 1997 -
England 1 Lithuania 1
[-]
Stade Olonnais, Les Sables-d'Olonne (tbc) |
|
|
|
|
- |
24 March 1997 -
England 2 Greece 0
[-0]
Stade Olonnais, Les Sables-d'Olonne
(tbc) |
|
NW |
|
|
|
- |
25 March
1997 -
England 3 Israel 0
[-0]
Stade Olonnais, Les Sables-d'Olonne
(tbc) |
|
NW |
|
|
|
- |
round of sixteen |
|
NW |
26
March 1997 -
England 2 Sweden 1
[1-1]
Stade Olonnais, Les Sables-d'Olonne
(tbc) |
Warnock, Standing
Stefanidis |
|
|
|
- |
quarter-final |
|
NL |
28
March 1997 -
Netherlands 2 England 0
[1-0]
Stade des Étangs, Beauvoir-sur-Mer
(tbc) |
Janssen (2 (1 pen)) |
|
|
|
- |
fifth-place play-off semi-final |
|
ND |
30
March 1997 -
England 0 Slovakia 0
[0-0]
2-3 on penalty-kicks
Stade de Saint-Georges-de-Montaigu
(tbc) |
|
|
|
|
- |
seventh-place play-off |
|
ND |
31
March 1997 -
England 1 Italy 1
[-]
4-5 on penalty-kicks
Stade Municipal,
Saint-Hilaire-de-Loulay
(tbc) |
|
|
|
|
England finish eighth in the Mondial
Minimes Montaigu |
|
|
Walkers Crisps International Challenge Cup |
|
430 |
19 April 1997
- England 0 France 0
[0-0]
Old Trafford, Manchester
(35,300) |
|
HD |
|
England: M.Bingham, M.Maleyᶜ, C.Hanson, C.McCready, C.O'Brien (G.Strange),
I.Armstrong, Leon Osman, S.Flitcroft (L.Mike), M.Standing (P.Burke), Stephen
Warnock, Joe Cole. (unused: R.Evans). |
|
With Wembley now only being used once a year, the Walkers Crisps Cup match was
switched to Old Trafford, like the previous year's Walkers Shield fixture.
France had retained the title at Montaigu, and impressed again as they
shared the trophy with England. In the French team was Djibril Cissé,
who would win the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool in 2005. France
returned to Britain, two and a half weeks later, to win in Scotland for the
first time, by 3-0 in Glasgow. |
|
adidas Victory Shield |
|
431 |
24 April 1997
- England 1 Scotland 1
[1-1]
City Ground, Nottingham
(7,361) |
Mike
Caldwell |
HD |
|
England:
R.Evans, M.Maleyᶜ, C.Hanson, C.McCready, I.Armstrong, Leon Osman, L.Mike, M.Standing, Stephen
Warnock, Joe Cole, P.Taylor. (used: P.Burke, S.Flitcroft). |
|
Honours were even in the hundredth meeting between the two, as the adidas
Victory Shield was shared in the Thursday-night climax to the competition.
Scotland had begun the season, two months earlier, by winning in Belgium for
the first time, by 4-2 in Roeselare. |
|
Friendly matches |
|
432 |
30 April 1997
- Switzerland 1 England 1
[-]
Sportplatz Risch, Ebikon
(tbc) |
Osman |
AD |
|
England:
M.Bingham (R.Evans), M.Maleyᶜ, C.Hanson, C.McCready, C.O'Brien,
S.Flitcroft, Leon Osman, P.Burke, Stephen
Warnock, Joe Cole, P.Taylor. (used: I.Armstrong, L.Mike, R.Wright). |
|
The ESFA's last meeting with the Swiss at this level was the only occasion
when they failed to win in Switzerland. |
|
433 |
13 May 1997
- England 3 Republic of Ireland 2
[2-1]
Ewood Park, Blackburn
(3,250) |
Mike, Taylor,
OG
Miller, McGill |
HW |
|
England:
M.Bingham, C.Hanson, G.Strange (C.McCready), I.Armstrong (C.O'Brien),
S.Flitcroft, Leon Osmanᶜ, Stephen
Warnock, L.Mike, Joe Cole, P.Taylor (P.Burke), R.Wright. |
|
As usual, the Irish provided a stern test and they scored first,
but a fortunate England scrambled a stoppage-time winner to end their run
of five successive draws (including at Montaigu). |
|
Walkers Crisps International Shield |
|
434 |
7 June 1997
- England 2 Germany 1
[1-1]
Wembley Stadium, London
(39,641) |
Osman, Armstrong
Bänsch |
HW |
|
England:
R.Evans (M.Bingham), M.Maleyᶜ, C.Hanson, C.McCready, C.O'Brien
(R.Wright), I.Armstrong (P.Burke), Leon Osman, L.Mike (P.Taylor), M.Standing
(S.Flitcroft), Stephen
Warnock, Joe Cole. |
|
Germany had beaten Scotland, 3-2 at Livingston, three days earlier, but Joe
Cole's brilliance inspired England to retain the shield against the
opponents with the best record against them at Wembley, in John Owens' last
match as team manager. |
Two weeks before England's first match of the 1997-98 season, Howard Wilkinson,
the Football Association's technical director published his blueprint 'Charter
for Quality' outlining the FA's future approach to schoolboy and youth football,
with an intention to provide a seamless transition from schools' football to
professional academies using FA coaching standards, rather than those of schoolmasters.
Teams were now allowed to use three substitutes in the Victory Shield matches,
all of which could be outfield players.
|
Season 1997-98 |
|
Class of 1998 (born after 31 December 1981
(i.e. in 1982 or later (16
or under on 31 December 1998)):
League debuts:
Richard Logan (Ipswich Town) 1998 (Nationwide Football League
Division 1) aged 16
Rhys Evans (Bristol Rovers) 2000 (Nationwide Football League
Division 2)
Jon Bewers (Aston Villa) 2000 (FA Carling
Premiership)
Stuart Parnaby (Halifax Town) 2000 (Nationwide
Football League Division 3) after Worthington Cup debut for
Middlesbrough
Matt Hamshaw (Sheffield Wednesday) 2000
(Nationwide Football League Division 1)
Jermain Defoe
(Bournemouth) 2000 (Nationwide Football League Division 2)
after Worthington Cup debut for West Ham United
Jay
Bothroyd (Coventry City) 2000 (FA Carling Premiership) after
Worthington Cup debut
Peter Clarke (Everton) 2001 (FA
Carling Premiership) - PFA League 2 Team of the Year
(2022, Tranmere Rovers)
Ashley Dodd (Port Vale) 2001
(Nationwide Football League Division 2)
Peter Crookes
(Halifax Town) 2001 (Nationwide Football League Division 3)
Marek Szmid
(Southend United) 2002 (Nationwide Football League Division 3)
Jimmy Davis (Swindon Town) 2002 (Nationwide Football League
Division 2) after Belgian Jupiler Liga debut for Royal Antwerp
and Worthington Cup debut for Manchester United, both in 2001
Alex Tapp (Wimbledon) 2002 (Nationwide Football League
Division 1)
Phil Senior (Huddersfield Town) 2003
(Nationwide Football League Division 2)
Ben Clark
(Sunderland) 2003 (FA Barclaycard Premiership) after
Worthington Cup debut in 2000
Daniel Nardiello (Swansea
City) 2003 (Nationwide Football League Division 3) after
Worthington Cup debut in 2001 and UEFA Champions League debut
in 2002, both for Manchester United - Welsh international
(2007)
Michael Rose (Yeovil Town) 2004 (Coca-Cola
League 2) after Nationwide Conference debut for Chester City
in 2001, England National Game XI (2002), PFA League 2
Team of the Year (2005), (2014, Rochdale)
Non-league debuts:
Chris O'Brien (Chester City) 2001 (Nationwide Conference)
Full internationals: Jermain Defoe (2004)
aged 21 and Jay Bothroyd (2010)
Under-21 internationals: Jermain Defoe (2001) aged 18, Jay
Bothroyd (2001) aged 19, Stuart Parnaby and Peter Clarke
(2002), both aged 20, and Rhys
Evans (2003)
Under-20 internationals: Jay Bothroyd, Peter
Clarke (captain) and Jimmy Davis (2001), all aged 19, Rhys Evans
and Matt Hamshaw (2002), and Stuart Parnaby, Jon Bewers and
Ben Clark (2002), all aged 19
Under-19 internationals (billed as under-18): Jay
Bothroyd, Jermain Defoe and Stuart Parnaby (2000), all aged
17, Peter Clarke, Matt Hamshaw, Richard Logan, Jimmy Davis and Rhys Evans (2000),
all aged
18, and Ben Clark (2000) aged 17
Under-18 internationals:
Jon Bewers (2000) aged 17, Peter Clarke, Rhys Evans, Matt
Hamshaw and Richard Logan (2000) and Ben Clark, captain (2000,
billed as under-17), aged 17
Under-17 internationals (billed
as under-16): Peter Clarke (1997) aged 15, Rhys Evans,
Stuart Parnaby, Peter Crookes, Jermain Defoe, Matt Hamshaw, Daniel Nardiello, Chris O'Brien,
Michael Rose, Marek Szmid, Jay Bothroyd and Jimmy Davis (1998), all aged 16,
and Jon Bewers and Ben Clark, captain (1999), both aged 16
Under-16 internationals:
Peter Clarke, Rhys Evans and Stuart Parnaby (1997) and Jon
Bewers, Daniel Nardiello, Phil Senior, Paul Thornton, Jermain Defoe and Ben
Clark (1998, billed as under-15), all aged 15
|
|
Friendly match |
|
435 |
26 November 1997
- Belgium 2 England 4
[-]
Stade Roi Baudoiun, Brussels
(tbc) |
Parnaby, Bothroyd
(2), Dodd |
AW |
|
England: R.Evans (P.Senior), B.Clark, C.O'Brienᶜ, P.Clarke, J.Bewers,
S.Parnaby, A.Dodd, A.Tapp, Jay Bothroyd, R.Logan, J.Davis. (used:
M.Hamshaw,
D.Nardiello, M.Szmid). (unused: Jermain Defoe). |
|
England's first appearance before the turn of the new year was also the only
time that they would play this early, but they were too strong for the home
team. Once again, England sported a new adidas kit, sponsored by Walkers
Crisps, and they had a new team manager in Dave Parnaby, former assistant to
John Owens. His son, Stuart scored the first goal of his single season in
charge. Four of the starting line-up (Bewers, Clarke, Evans and Parnaby) were from the
FA's National School, with all but Bewers in their second and final year. Defoe,
Nardiello and Senior on the bench were also from the final intake as the
school was to close in 1999, with responsibility for coaching switching to
the much-wider catchment of Premier League academies. There had been only 16
students per year at Lilleshall, and the FA were often accused of it being
elitist. |
|
adidas Victory Shield |
|
436 |
23 January 1998
- England 1 Wales 0
[0-0]
Gigg Lane, Bury
(2,700) |
Davis |
HW |
|
England: R.Evans, B.Clark, C.O'Brienᶜ, P.Clarke, J.Bewers, S.Parnaby,
A.Dodd, A.Tapp, Jay Bothroyd, R.Logan, J.Davis. (used: Jermain Defoe,
M.Hamshaw, M.Szmid). (unused: P.Crookes, D.Nardiello). |
|
Jimmy Davis's spectacular curling 25-yard shot, two minutes from time,
settled England's first match to be played in January, on a Friday night in
front of the Sky Sports cameras. Wales had begun their season, three months
earlier, beating Poland, 3-0 in their first meeting, at Flint, but then
lost, 3-2 to the Republic of Ireland at Goodwick. They had last beaten the
Irish in 1985, but they were to beat them again, in their next meeting, in
1999. |
|
437 |
20 February 1998
- England 3 Northern Ireland 0
[1-0]
Oakwell Ground, Barnsley
(tbc) |
Clarke, Dodd, Bothroyd |
HW |
|
England: R.Evans (P.Crookes), B.Clark, C.O'Brienᶜ, P.Clarke, J.Bewers,
M.Szmid, M.Hamshaw,
A.Dodd, D.Nardiello, Jermain Defoe, J.Davis. (used: Jay Bothroyd, R.Logan). |
|
Northern Ireland were playing their sixth match of the season, having begun,
four months earlier, with a first visit from Belgium, but lost, 3-0 at
Ballyskeagh, before a first meeting with Poland ended in a 1-1 draw at
Ballyclare. They then headed off to the continent, where they were beaten
for the first time by Austria, by 4-0 in Götzis, and lost by a single
goal to Switzerland, in Bülach. In the new year, they drew, 1-1
with the Republic of Ireland at Bangor, before defeat to England, in their
last meeting with the ESFA's team at this level.
Seven nights later, they went down, 2-0 to Wales at Ninian Park, Cardiff,
missing a penalty, and they would end the Victory Shield matches without a goal or a point. |
|
Walkers Crisps International Challenge Cup |
|
438 |
14 March 1998
- England 0 Brazil 0
[0-0]
Wembley Stadium, London
(50,787) |
|
HD |
 Robinho49 |
|
England: R.Evans, B.Clark, C.O'Brienᶜ, P.Clarke, J.Bewers,
M.Hamshaw (J.Davis),
S.Parnaby, A.Dodd (D.Nardiello), A.Tapp (M.Szmid), Jermain Defoe, Jay
Bothroyd (R.Logan). (unused: P.Crookes). |
|
England again wore red socks, as in Brazil's previous visits, and had to
face ten players for the first time in a schoolboy international, when the
Brazilian goalkeeper was dismissed for handling the ball outside of his
area, by 57-year-old referee, George Courtney. The numerical advantage was
not enough to prevent Brazil avoiding defeat against them for the first
time, and the last staging of the Walkers Crisps Cup ended in the trophy
being shared again. Wembley's
last schoolboy international at this level attracted its biggest crowd for
these fixtures in ten years, since Brazil were the visitors in 1988, in
fact. |
|
Friendly match |
|
439 |
17 March 1998
- England 1 Brazil 2
[1-1]
Cellnet Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
(14,751) |
Nardiello
Saraiva,
Eduardo |
HL |
|
England: P.Crookes, B.Clark, C.O'Brienᶜ, P.Clarke, J.Bewers,
M.Hamshaw,
S.Parnaby, D.Nardiello, M.Szmid, R.Logan, J.Davis. (used: Jay Bothroyd,
Jermain Defoe, A.Dodd). (unused: R.Evans, A.Tapp). |
|
After four clean sheets against Brazil, the South Americans fought back from
a goal down to inflict on their hosts, a first home defeat by a non-European
team. |
|
adidas Victory Shield |
|
440 |
27 March 1998
- Scotland 3 England 1
[2-0]
Stark's Park, Kirkcaldy
(tbc) |
Bruce (2 (1 pen)), Mackie
Bothroyd |
HD |
|
Rhys
Evans38 |
|
England: R.Evans, B.Clark, C.O'Brienᶜ, P.Clarke, J.Bewers,
M.Hamshaw, M.Szmid, A.Dodd, Jermain Defoe, R.Logan, J.Davis. (used:
P.Crookes, Jay Bothroyd, S.Parnaby). |
|
Poland's visit, five months earlier, had also seen them take on Scotland for
the first time, as the Scots won, 2-0 at Dumfries, but they then had a long
wait before the Victory Shield had its earliest-ever finish, with Scotland
completing all of their fixtures on three consecutive Friday nights in
March, all broadcast live on Sky Sports. They began by beating Wales, 1-0 at
the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, and a 3-0 win over Northern Ireland at
Windsor Park, Belfast gave them an identical record to England's, leading
into the decider, where they stormed into a two-goal lead, with England
picking up their first-ever red card when goalkeeper, Evans gave away the
penalty from which Scotland scored their second goal. With only ten players
for the whole of the second half, they could not prevent the Scots from
winning the shield outright for the first time since 1993. |
|
Mondial Minimes Montaigu in Vendée, France |
|
The English Schools' FA sent 18 players for their last entry into the
Montaigu tournament which was again for 32 under-16 teams. M.Rose and
P.Thornton (an eighth FA National School student) were added to the 16 that
had been playing for England since the turn of the year.
England were deliberately placed in a group that was exactly the same as
would be faced by the full international team at the forthcoming World Cup,
also in France, though they were originally paired with Israel, instead of
Colombia. |
|
- |
group G |
|
ND |
5 April 1998 -
England 0 Tunisia 0
[0-0]
Stade Emmanuel Murzeau, Fontenay-le-Comte (tbc) |
|
|
|
|
- |
6 April 1998 -
England 3 Colombia 2
[-]
Stade Jean de Mouzon, Luçon
(tbc) |
|
NW |
|
|
|
- |
7 April
1998 -
England 5 Romania 0
[-0]
Stade
Emmanuel Murzeau, Fontenay-le-Comte
(tbc) |
Logan |
NW |
|
|
|
- |
round of sixteen |
|
NW |
8 April 1998 -
England 5 Ukraine 0
[-0]
Stade
Emmanuel Murzeau, Fontenay-le-Comte
(tbc) |
Logan (2) |
|
|
|
- |
quarter-final |
|
NW |
10 April
1998 -
England 1 Republic of Ireland 0
[0-0]
tbc
(tbc) |
McDermott OG |
|
|
|
- |
semi-final |
|
AL |
12 April 1998 -
France 1 England 0
[-0]
Stade Maxime Bossis, Montaigu
(tbc) |
|
|
|
|
- |
third-place play-off |
|
ND |
13
April 1998 -
England 0 Italy 0
[0-0]
5-3 on penalty-kicks
Stade Maxime
Bossis, Montaigu
(tbc) |
|
|
|
|
England finish third in the Mondial
Minimes Montaigu |
|
|
Walkers Crisps International Shield |
|
441 |
9 May 1998
- England 1 Hungary 0
[-0]
Old Trafford, Manchester
(17,423) |
Parnaby |
HW |
|
England: P.Crookes, B.Clark, C.O'Brienᶜ, P.Clarke, J.Bewers,
M.Hamshaw, M.Szmid, S.Parnaby, Jermain Defoe, Jay Bothroyd, J.Davis. (used:
R.Logan, D.Nardiello, M.Rose, A.Tapp). (unused: P.Senior). |
|
England secured a hat-trick of Walkers Crisps International Shield victories
as they avenged their defeat of two years earlier, at Wolverhampton. Hungary
had drawn, 1-1 with Scotland, four days earlier, in Glasgow. Gavin Willacy's
book lists twelve starters, including Tapp. |
|
Friendly match |
|
442 |
26 May 1998
- Germany 0 England 1
[0-0]
Olympiastadion, Berlin
(70,000) |
Davis |
AW |
|
England: P.Crookes (R.Evans), B.Clark, C.O'Brienᶜ, P.Clarke, A.Dodd, M.Szmid,
A.Tapp, S.Parnaby, Jay Bothroyd, R.Logan, J.Davis. |
|
The ESFA's last England match at this level saw a pleasing end to the
season, with another victory and another clean sheet. Jimmy Davis had the
honour of scoring the last goal, but he was tragically killed in a car
crash, five years later, at the age of just 21. |
94 years after the Football Association had given the authority for the
English Schools' Football Association to be formed, with the subsequent
formation of an under-14 schoolboy team, three years later, it now took over the
running of, what had become, an under-15 team (with nine players aged 16 in the
ESFA's final match) in order to enable the smooth progression of players through
successive age groups of FA England teams with similar coaching methods.
Details of the following and subsequent years of, what became an under-16
team, can be found
here.
The new team would still compete in the Victory Shield and the Montaigu
tournament each season, and they would even wear adidas kits sponsored by
Walkers to honour the contracts made with the ESFA, who were still left with an
under-18 team of boys still in full-time education, plus a multitude of other
national competitions and teams for both boys and girls.
|
England
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