Why Bentley playing for England is so important to Rovers fans

By: Dan Clough | February 6th, 2008

People often forget when they are busy slagging Blackburn Rovers off for buying the title in 1995, having low attendances and being a bit scrappy at times that Blackburn is, essentially, a small and industrial working class town existing in the shadows of many huge North West clubs.

With a population of just over 100,000 and teams from big cities like Liverpool and Manchester taking a lot of fans and players it is a big thing when Blackburn players are recognised in such a way that David Bentley was against Switzerland.

Given a start on the right wing in England’s new look 4-5-1 formation, Bentley’s full debut couldn’t have gone much better. He looked good on the ball and was eager to impress the new manager as he endeavoured to fill the huge boots of England legend David Beckham.

It’s not often these days that a Rovers player gets such an accolade as a starting place in the England side. Indeed (I think, haven’t bothered to look it up) Alan Shearer was the last person to start for England while plying his trade at our beloved club and few of our talented players get the recognition they deserve.

For years now with the England regime as it was (Sven/McLaren) you had to play for a big city club to earn an England call up. Despite being in the form of their lives for Rovers players like Chris Sutton (who was ignored by Glenn Hoddle after refusing to play in the B team against Norway – Why he wasn’t given the first team remains a mystery as he was one of the league’s top scorers at the time), David Dunn, Matt Jansen and David Thompson were never given the chance they deserved to represent their country on a regular basis.

Now, with a new manager and a completely new regime, it looks as if that may change. Every player in the Premier League is on an equal footing. Whether they play for Manchester United or Derby County, they still have to face the same opposition throughout the season and should be given the chance to represent England if their talents are worthy.

Capello has given Bentley that chance after being outstanding this season. He’s not even taken into account his dropping out of the under 21 squad, which on reflection was one of the best decisions he could have made given his form this season, and stuck him on the right wing, ahead of Shaun Wright-Phillips, for a full ninety minutes.

Well done David Bentley, thank you Fabio Capello, and long may this continue!