Andros Townsend continued his impressive form for Newcastle since his January move from Tottenham Hotspur with an exquisite free kick to secure a 1-0 win over Palace.
In the aftermath of Saturday’s dramatic win, I give you 5 concrete reasons why Andros deserves a seat on the plane:
- Form
Roy Hodgson has come out time and time again in the run up to major tournaments saying that he will deliver on his word to pick people on form rather than pick people playing for so called big clubs. Yet, not always has the England manager delivered on this. The likes of Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott, and Ashely Young have been known to get the call up based on playing for Man United and Arsenal. Any England fan will tell you that Walcott has been bang average in an Arsenal and England shirt for a long time living off his hat-trick against Croatia in 2008. Thankfully, in recent times, Roy has started to pick players on merit. Danny Drinkwater, Jamie Vardy, and Delle Alli showed that picking on form is vindicated, so Roy should make a bold call and turn to Townsend.
Vardy scores his first international goal, a smart back heel away to Germany in the March friendly
In 11 appearances for the Toon, Townsend has a solid return of 4 goals and 2 assists to his name. He came up with a trademark solo effort against Southampton and put in a man of the match displays against Swansea and Crystal Palace. If he can continue to impress in our final 2 games then Townsend deserves to be in Hodgson’s thinking (definitely ahead of Walcott)!
- England v Montenegro
After his emergence onto the scene with Tottenham in Autumn 2012, Roy Hodgson turned to the mercurial winger for England’s must-win world cup qualifier with Montenegro. On his England debut, Townsend stood out from the crowd. A scintillating debut was capped off by a fine individual effort in England’s 4-1 win over the minnows.
He’s got history with England and has delivered from the start. With 10 caps to his name to date, this is just another reason why Andros deserves the chance to add to that tally in France over the summer.
- He can handle the pressure
At times, Townsend has dragged Newcastle single-handedly in our battle against relegation, and it’s safe to say that without Andros’ contribution relegation would be almost definite by now. He stepped up to the plate in a must-win situation last Saturday, delivered against Swansea and was the only player wearing black and white to come away with any respect against Southampton. Not only is he delivering at club level, but he has done it before on the International stage as touched upon above. From 7 starts and 3 substitute appearances for England, Townsend has registered 3 goals. I’d be surprised if he failed to meet expectations on the big stage this summer.
- Brings something different to England’s right wing department
Currently, in England’s right mid department we have the likes of Raheem Sterling, James Milner, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. All three are predominantly right-footed players, whereas Townsend cutting inside on his left foot offers something different. The Ox’s place is in doubt as it is after a lack of playing time for Arsenal, Milner’s really just a workhorse and Sterling is often more effective in a central area. Townsend has demonstrated that he can do the disciplined work back in defence, and, going forward he has out and out pace. Not only is he able to open up the pitch by going back inside (unlike our other wingers), but he can also go to the byline and clip it into the box off his right peg. Once he gets going, Townsend can be hard to stop and offers something different, whether it be from the start or off the bench.
- Can link up with former Tottenham teammates
Townsend has played with both Kyle Walker and Harry Kane whilst at Spurs. The winger would be able to continue these partnerships in the England setup, with Harry Kane seemingly a certain starter and Kyle Walker competing for the right back spot. He’s also played with likely starters Delle Alli and Eric Dier a couple of times. From a tactical point of view, the Townsend-Walker partnership would be quite an exciting prospect down the right flank. With Townsend cutting inside on his left foot, it complements the pacey Walker who can overlap and get balls into the box. As seen in the graphic (below), when number 6, in this instance Townsend, cuts inside, it plays into the hands of an attacking full back like Kyle Walker. For Harry Kane in the box, he’ll be able to latch onto crosses or create space for himself in the box, as a consequence of hours playing alongside Townsend and Walker respectively.
Yes, ultimately I’m a Newcastle fan meaning I have a belief that Andros Townsend deserves a place in the England squad. However, for those not of a black and white bias, I hope I’ve got you swaying in favour of the ‘Townsend to France’ camp.
