Jack Whatmough has been called up the England under-18 squad for next Wednesdayâs friendly against Croatia. The 17-year-old defender has made four appearances for Pompey this season and took part in a Three Lions training camp in January. Blues academy manager Andy Awford said: âIâm absolutely delighted for Jack and the call-up is thoroughly deserved. âItâs fantastic for his development to go and play for England, while itâs also great that Pompey are still getting international recognition as a League Two club.â The friendly will be played at St Georgeâs Park in Burton and kicks-off at 2pm.
I'm hoping we'll see more of him and Webster next season. Whatmough has already shown he has something about him and both he and Webster look strong enough to be able to handle League 2. Could they one day be our first home grown centre half pairing since the days of Awford and Symons?
England Under 18's beaten 2-1 by Croatia, but Jack Watmough played the entire 90 minutes. "England almost took the lead in the 69th minute when debutant Jack Whatmough of Portsmouth crashed a header against the bar after getting on the end of Colkett’s corner from the right". Jack is definitely one for the future
Well, Shaw played pretty well tonight although Lallana has pretty much earned his ticket surely? Can you guys see past the local rivalry and cheer on the 4 Saints players in the England squad? Personally, I would support anyone wearing the three lions despite the disappointments. 30 years of hurt? Closer to 40 these days.
Of course we do channon, just as I'm sure you Saints fans thoroughly supported Pompey's five players - David James/Glen Johnson/Sol Campbell/Peter Crouch & Jermaine Defoe when they were all in England's international squad a few years back. Happy days, eh ?
I dont cheer the England squad on at all. My interest in football nowadays begins and ends with Pompey. But, for the record, I trace my disinterest in England's international asperations back to 1998 and Glen Hoddle's decision to choose David Batty for his world cup squad ahead of Le Tissier despite Le Tissier being on top form for his club that season and having score a hat-trick in a B internation just prior to the squad being announced. Always made me wonder whether Hoddle actually wanted to win the tournament in the first place.
Like MAJR my football interest doesn't really extend beyond Pompey nowadays. My patience with England ended in South Africa though. Can no longer dredge up any interest in the national team. Sorry.
I do agree that it's difficult to get excited about the brand of football that England play. Frankly I would rather watch Saints as we pass the ball quicker. Having said that, it's a very different thing when there are players from your own clubs acadamy taking part. I was interested to see how Crouch got on for England after his spell at Saints, but at the end of the day he was just another hired mercenary who followed the money. Seeing Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain, it seems such a long time ago that they were playing for us in the Championship/league 1, but they will always be "ours" in the sense that they started at Saints as "nippers". Shaw and Lallana are the same. Maybe to enjoy a game of footy, you have to care who wins?
At the end of the day this is just a job for them - although Jose Mourinho was a lot less kind in his take on the modern footballer. You can't help but be interested when your own lads are in the middle of it all, although I have to own up to being a bit surprised that Lambert wasn't on the national team's radar earlier as he was such a prolific scorer for you. It might be sacrilegeous to some, but I love that we're in league 2 and starting out here on our journey as a fan-owned club. Just so much to look forward to over the coming years - it's keeping me interested.
A fair ask Channon - and yes your club has my admiration for it's production line over the I guess the last decade - I am hoping that our current crop, of whom some are very very good will be our beginnings of building from within.
