England news: Nigel Martyn reveals who he would start at the World Cup
GETTY Jack Butland has kept five clean sheets in 29 Premier League starts for Stoke City this season
Only Peter Shilton and David Seaman have represented England at more major championship finals than Nigel Martyn. But while those two legends of the game were almost guaranteed the first-choice jersey whenever they played, from the 1992 European Championships to the 2002 World Cup – when Martyn was warming up even as Ronaldinho’s infamous deflected shot floated over Seaman – the former Crystal Palace and Leeds goalkeeper never knew if he would be called on or not. As a result, he knows how difficult one of England’s relatively untried and untested goalkeepers would find it to be thrown into the limelight when England kick off their World Cup campaign against Tunisia on June 18. England’s international history is littered with gaffes from inexperienced goalkeepers thrown into the nation’s most important games. Rob Green in the World Cup 2010 opener against USA; Scott Carson in the vital 2007 qualifier against Croatia at Wembley; right the way back to Peter Bonetti standing in for the poorly Gordon Banks in the 1970 World Cup quarter-finals.
GETTY Nigel Martyn made 23 appearances for England from 1992 to 2002
“And they were all good goalies,” Martyn said. “The mistakes were something that happened which would not have happened ordinarily because of the occasion. “It is a concern for Gareth and why he might still be tempted to go back to Joe Hart even though he is not playing. “The raw ability has to be there, without question, and Joe has certainly shown over the years that he is good enough. But then he has gone to tournaments and made mistakes. That is why there will always be question marks against him. “What is underneath him, though, is untried at international level and largely untried even on the domestic front. “Overall, though, Stoke’s Jack Butland is the one I like the most – but ideally he should be playing for one of the top six clubs and getting used to that level of scrutiny and experience.
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“What Gareth would have liked to have seen is somebody with experience to come out and grab that position. But Butland, Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope are not going to have that because they are at Stoke, Everton and Burnley respectively.” Back in the day, Stoke was perfectly good enough for both Gordon Banks and Shilton. Now with TV cameras focused on the biggest games, a goalkeeper has to be comfortable living in the fiercest of spotlights. “Playing for one of the top clubs does not make you physically a better goalkeeper, but it means you can cope better with situations that come up,” Martyn said. “The more Champions League and England games you play, the more comfortable you are in that environment. “In the build-up to the vital World Cup qualifier against Greece in 2001, I was told I was playing just the day before. But six months earlier I was in the Champions League semi-finals, so I was confident and in the end pleased with my performance that day.”
“In the build-up to the vital World Cup qualifier against Greece in 2001, I was told I was playing just the day before. But six months earlier I was in the Champions League semi-finals, so I was confident and in the end pleased with my performance that day.” Time to prepare mentally is key, though, which is why Martyn feels it is no coincidence that his worst moment in an England shirt came when he was given just 10 minutes’ notice he was going to play. “David Seaman did his calf in the warm-up,” Martyn recalled. “The warm-up for the non-playing keepers is always more intense and I can remember singing the National Anthem with sweat pouring off me because of the mad, blind panic. “I ended up conceding three goals – the second one I would consider the worst mistake of my international career, when a feeble punch cost us.”
GETTY Joe Hart has 75 England caps but has struggled to find consistency for West Ham this season