Home   >   Humor   >   Four former England internationals playing in the Football League!

Four former England internationals playing in the Football League!

By on October 18, 2015

Where do English footballers go as they pass their prime? Increasingly, they’re flocking to America and Major League Soccer, with others heading elsewhere abroad, living to fight another day. A few others quit near the top and turn to punditry to make a living. Yet more disappear into large, soul-eating jackets as the sit on the substitute benches of big-money clubs. Finally, many aging players drop into England’s lower divisions for the past few years of their career. Call it a fall from grace or last hurrah, it takes a true love of football to drop into the lower division to find playing time. Richard Lewis takes a look at a few men who have traded the glamorous of the World Cup for cold Tuesday nights in England’s lower tiers:

Joe Cole sent to Coventry!

Injuries have derailed Joe Cole’s career, not two years removed from the heights of Liverpool and Chelsea (even featuring in the Champions League during a successful loan stint at Lille in 2011), and an emergency loan move to third tier Coventry City marks his latest step down. England fans will remember Cole most fondly for his long-rang goal in their 2-2 draw with Sweden at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but the veteran midfielder struggled to get playing time under Tim Sherwood since joining Aston Villa a year ago.

Even Coventry’s official Twitter account seemed as bemused as many fans. Some fans may have thought it was a joke, but the Premier League winner is really joining Tony Mowbray’s men for the next four weeks. Coventry released official footage from their offices when the signing was announced:

This is a club that were forced out of their own home, the Ricoh Arena, and made to play at rivaling Northampton’s ground, not so long ago. Currently, they sit fifth in League One with a game in hand and another loan star, Adam Armstrong, has been stellar up front, deserving looks from his parent club, Steve McClaren’s Newcastle United.

Derby Bent over backwards to sign dangerous Darren!

Speaking of Steve McClaren, it was the former England boss who first brought former Aston Villa striker Darren Bent to Derby County. Aston Villa have been offloading aging squad managers and Bent finally left on a permanent deal over the summer. It was McClaren, in his final days at the club, who bent over backwards to make sure the former Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland man chose to join the Championship outfit.

Bent also played for Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic earlier in his career and England may remember him most for his goal in their 3-1 away win over Switzerland back when Fabio Capello was still in charge of the proceedings. Stoke winger Xherdan Shaqiri scored a memorable consolation strike for the Swiss that day.

Current Derby manager Paul Clement completed the signings of Bent and Tom Ince and Bradley Johnson also joined for a club-record fee on deadline day from Norwich City, despite the fact that he hadn’t quite learned the name of the club yet.

Downing back in his homeland!

The former Aston Villa (yes, another one!) and Liverpool winger Stewart Downing departed West Ham United over the summer for another spell with Championship club Middlesbrough. He joins one-goal England wonder David Nugent at Boro, who earned his one and only international cap under, you guessed it, Steve McClaren. (Granted, the then-Preston striker basically stole Jermain Defoe’s goal, smashing the ball home from one yard.)

Downing commanded a hefty £5.5 million transfer fee (potentially rising to £7 million) over the summer to return to his boyhood club. The thirty-one-year-old earned thirty-five caps over the course of his international career with the Three Lions, including a World Cup Quarterfinal finish in 2006 and a Euro 2012 knockout round berth. However, he scored a grand total of zero goals for England. Downing was no Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard, but did enjoy two major tournaments with England and will look to gain promotion this season with Middlesbrough.

Upson is a Don!

Who was England’s joint-top scorer at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa? It’s a question just as good as any to make sure that the name Matthew Upson doesn’t run through your mind, but indeed he did grab a goal with his headed finish in their 4-1 (though any England fan will tell you it should have been 4-2) defeat to Germany. The single goal levels Upson’s World Cup goal tally with that of England’s all-time top-scorer Wayne Rooney.

The 36-year-old centerback has joined Championship side MK Dons. The former West Ham man is hoping to help keep Karl Robinson’s side up this campaign, with the Dons likely to be embroiled in a relegation fight after gaining promotion from League One in May.

Over the course of his career, Upson has played for Stoke City and Leicester City in the top flight, and also played for England’s Under-21s. The former Arsenal man may have rarely played for the MK Dons this season, but he will be remembered for his time in Premier League at Upton Park, where he made one-hundred-and-thirty appearances.

Homepage photo credit: Kevin Walsh, via Flickr

About Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis can relate almost anything to football and quite often does! You may have seen Richard's previous ideas and work in the BBC Match of the Day Magazine, from 2011 to present. He is a Manchester United and England fan, but has gone to see Leyton Orient play with his O's season ticket in the 2013/14 campaign. Aside from football, Richard has written articles on Doctor Who and studies English Language and Linguistics at the University of Westminster. Aspiring sports journalist.