Great news, well done Jose, thoroughly deserved. If he and Clyne and Pellè all play in the forthcoming games, that means that every single one of our first-choice starting XI, as well as a lot of our backup players, will have represented their country at senior level.
Without checking, I would say that is a pretty safe assumption. Can't think of another time from the past.
Portugal's central defenders... Pepe - (Real Madrid) Ricardo Carvalho - (AS Monaco) Bruno Alves - (Fenerbaçhe) José Fonte - (Southampton)
I still have it fixed in my memory of seeing 3 internationals in the Saints side in the match programme, and thinking wow..! The example I picture always looks like this: Eric Martin Joe Kirkup Denis Hollywood Hugh Fisher John McGrath Jimmy Gabriel - Scotland Terry Paine - England Michael Channon Ron Davies - Wales Frank Saul John Sydenham Just seeing those three countries represented would get me excited. It counted for nothing that the only current international amongst those three players was Ron Davies, because the other two had played their last games. Channon was years from becoming an England star, and if memory serves, that's how his name appeared in the programme until he established himself. The established others were less formal [Jimmy, Terry, Joe, etc..]. Amazing what pops out of the head occasionally football-wise.
There must have been a time in the Keegan era that we would have had a lot of internationals. Mills Watson Nicholl Ball Keegan Channon but never a cvomplete side.
Of all our international call-ups, this one makes me the happiest. Jose has been on the journey, grown with the club and unlike the rats, didn't look to dessert what many thought was a sinking ship, instead he signed a new contract, earned the captaincy and has continued to improve as a player and leader. Well done that man!
