Paul Scholes is one of the most gifted players to ever pull on an England shirt yet he retired from International football before he even reached 30. The reason? Scholes will say it is because he wanted to spend time with his family and that he wanted to prolong his club career, and I think that’s totally true, but he probably won’t mention the other reason. Sven Goran-Eriksson played Scholes out of position on the left to accommodate for two lesser players, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. However, with 170 England caps between them, Lamps and Stevie and have never formed a successful partnership and England fans have missed out on years of watching Scholesy.
Sven, Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello have all begged him to come back, but he’s turned them down every time.
Ahead of this summer’s World Cup, Scholes was asked yet again to come back and play, yet again he turned them down. England endured yet another disappointing tournament, with Gerrard and Lampard again failing to click, and thankfully, Wayne Rooney was the only United player involved in the embarrassment of it all.
Scholes obviously hadn’t been involved in any of the qualifying games so revealed he didn’t feel as though he deserved a seat on the plane to South Africa because he would be taking the place of someone who had played their part.
However, after the World Cup, Scholes revealed that he wondered whether he had made a mistake in turning the opportunity down, but really, he should be confident he made the right decision.
Capello didn’t ask Scholes to play, it was his right-hand man Franco Baldini. They didn’t give him time to think it over, he was called up the day before the squad was announced and pressed for a decision. Let’s be honest here, Scholes was an after thought. He wasn’t fundamental to their plans, he was a bit of a gamble, worth a punt, but to them he wasn’t worth being treated properly.
“I had only been given a couple of hours, so it was a bit of a rush job,” Scholes revealed. “But the World Cup is the biggest tournament you can be involved in. I wish I had gone. I did feel as though I had made the wrong decision. There was a touch of regret, but it doesn’t matter now. It’s gone.”
And this is the story of Scholes’ career. He doesn’t demand attention or fuss, he just gets on with it.
“My ideal day? Train in the morning, pick up the kids from school, go home, play with kids, have tea, get them up to bed, and then come down to watch a bit of TV. I don’t get hassled. I can go anywhere I want to. Nobody stops me from going down to Tesco. I’m recognised, of course, and I get asked for my autograph but it is never a problem. I’ve never been conscious of losing out on big money because of the way I’ve wanted to live my life. I’ve turned down big commercials because I’m shy. It’s just the way I’ve been. I did get a boot contract once. But no, I haven’t earned much outside the game. Maybe it’s because I’m not good looking enough.”
So the England set up has repeatedly treated him in a shoddy way and United have obviously benefited from this, with him playing a total of 38 games for us last season, 35 the year before that, 34 the year before and 45 the year before that. It’s hard to imagine we would have kept him playing so regularly for so long had he still be jetting here, there and everyone for England games.
The guy is a legend and even now that he’s 35-year-old, he has the ability to control any game. Capello will have watched on cringing when Scholes totally dictated the Community Shield game between United and Chelsea, wondering why on earth he didn’t put more effort in to bringing Scholes back, why he didn’t show our midfield maestro the respect he deserves.
It would be a disaster is Scholes went back now though and I’m sure he won’t. The appeal of playing in the World Cup is a lot greater than playing in friendlies and Euro qualifiers. Scholes will be 37-years-old by the time the next tournament comes along so there really would be no point him getting involved now. All it would do is take away from his club career and open himself up to criticism. With all the hype around him at the moment, the first time he didn’t play well for England the fans would be booing him and the media would rip him to shreds.
He’s too good for that bunch of mugs. Had they showed him proper respect, playing him in position and asking him properly when they wanted him to return, you would understand Scholes being interested in playing again. As it is, he’s well rid.
Man Utd News 24/7
Totally agreed. I don’t think the national team would be far better with Scholes, it’s full of basterds outshining his world-class attitude ‘cos he’s not as assertive as he should in that team. Scholesy doesn’t need it, United > England, forever.
United > England.
Also, Scholesy is a fucking legend.
I hope he plays just one game for england, just to show how much better the england team would be with him on their side.
Scott: “He’s too good for that bunch of mugs. Had they showed him proper respect, playing him in position and asking him properly when they wanted him to return, you would understand Scholes being interested in playing again.”
Nah ! UTD > ingerland
Fuck england!!!!!!!!!!!
Scholes is the repbublik of mancunia
off topic but Portugal announce U21 squad for the Euro qualifiers v England & Macedonia. Bebe in final squad
I love Scholes.
If England need to look at a 35 year old player to help qualify for the next tournament then they are in serious trouble. Scholesy would be mad to come out of international retirement to play with that shower of egotistical shite and England would be effectively saying, we don’t want to develop the younger players whilst we have experience around even if they can’t be part of the future.
It won’t happen, for various resons and it shouldn’t.
There are so many aspects of the game today that are just depressing frankly.
I pick up the papers and I see photos and quotes from nauseating cunts like Ashley Cole and John Terry, you hear about Stevie Me getting let off for kicking the shit out of someone, you see the latest gossip about which reserve player form some mid-tier club City are about to offer £200k a week to, you read about which ever ugly no-mark journeyman has been shagging whores this week, then there’s some arsehole banging on about the 7 clubs it would be “a dream to play for”, some foreigh money-laundering crook bidding for whichever of England’s 150yr old clubs etc etc…
…and then there’s Scholesey. And you remember why you love football and why you love United.
The ginger prince is the flavour of the month at the minute, but as soon as he has a bad game, the abu media will be out in force again, mugs. I remember when Robson was in the twilight of his career, the media tried to get him a recall to the England squad, like Robbo, Scholesy should tell them to get lost.
Sack Capello
Make any former Utd player as manager and then pick the following team for England
Amos
Brown Smalling Rio
Hargreaves Scholes Fletcher Carrick Cleverly
Rooney Owen
Fletcher might be less delighted than Scholesy at that one.
1. Look at a map of the British Isles
2. Note the difference between England and Scotland
3. Look up Fletchers international history
4. Note he’s already captained Scotland
5. I give up
Scholesey is a legend. Fuck England and the majority of the wankers that play for them and their two bit manager.
Anyone can see he has been, by far, the best English player of his generation…..apart from the muppets that manage the national side of course.
United >England
@Rogy
lloooooooooooool
sorry mate
its just an automatic habit of putting Fletch in the team
Put Cleverly in the centre and Welbeck out left
Nonsense Scholsey, you’re f’ing sexy
And I see we get a two week break after the Hammers. My goodness I f’ing hate International breaks
Good article, thanks.
It’s our luck that Ingurland are disgraceful.
” I did get a boot contract once.”
Brilliant!
sums up Scholes’ attitude to public life.
@Sayyid, August 27, 2010 at 15:58
Brilliant mate
DD
n1
england needs to leave scholes alone. start figuring out plan B instead of trying to rely on a 35 year old.
great article scott..
Scholesy is a red LEGEND..I cant believe they played him out of position so that they could accommodate those 2 jokers.. one of the wishes in my life is meet him or to atleast watch him play..the way he passes the ball with pinpoint accuracy from anywhere is just unbelievable..you cant teach anyone to pass the ball like that..you either have that ability or you dont..
“My ideal day? Train in the morning, pick up the kids from school, go home, play with kids, have tea, get them up to bed, and then come down to watch a bit of TV. I don’t get hassled. I can go anywhere I want to. Nobody stops me from going down to Tesco. I’m recognised, of course, and I get asked for my autograph but it is never a problem. I’ve never been conscious of losing out on big money because of the way I’ve wanted to live my life. I’ve turned down big commercials because I’m shy. It’s just the way I’ve been. I did get a boot contract once. But no, I haven’t earned much outside the game. Maybe it’s because I’m not good looking enough.”
I really loved this quote..it shows his modesty and humility even after achieving so much success..he plays the game because he loves it so much that he’s never really bothered about the money aspect hence he’s managed to achieve so much in his career..he is my role model..i salute you sir..
Great post scott!!
This sums up how cunts r FA ..
king george, spot on!!! i dont live in England (live in the US) but that just about sums it up…
Scholes is my favorite player of all times, that I have ever watched, etc, etc…. Shining star at THE toughest position on the field!!!
Posted something similar on the Guardian, England dont deserve a player like Scholes.
To the person above posting a United/England 11
Firstly, Fletcher? Facepalm
Carrick? The Carrick of 2010? Please…
Cleverly isnt there yet
Neither is Amos
Neither is Smalling
Brown is not international class
You do know that you can support your team and still be objective right…
What you’d give for a 28 year old Keano to play along side Scholes these days….stay home and mind the shop….do a bit of the leg work for him……let Scholesy pull the strings……
Is nobody else bored to tears with the Scholes/England stories lately? Who gives a fuck?
@Mozza79
I do. I remember before Euro 2008 all the media stories about Scholes’ lack of goals for England, how the press relentlessly hounded Scholesy and questioned his place in the side. Don’t you remember the: What does Paul Scholes actually do headlines?
Well now they realise don’t they.
Since Scholes retired England have looked awful in every major tournament they’ve played in. They’ve proved entirely incapable of keeping the ball in midfield and being able to control the rhythm of a game and indeed the tempo of their own passing.
Spain have Xavi, Italy have Pirlo, England had Scholes and decided he wasn’t dynamic enough…
…You don’t know what you got til its gone, eh?
This begging for Scholes to return is vindication of what Scholes gave England and having slated him and driven him out I’m glad to see the naysayers finally recognise his genius.
He is a great player and a true legend of the game. Never greedy with money, extremely content with what he has and he acknowledges that. England can go fuck themselves, fucking joke of a football nation. I would be extremely delighted if all of our players turned their backs on them. FA are cunts too. United > England.
@Mozza79 What a pointless comment. Why even bother making it?
I found this article to be a brilliant summary of the Scholes-England situation. The writer has summed up perfectly how I and most other United fans feel about the whole sorry mess. Stupid twats like Eriksson, McClaren and Capello treated Scholes with a pitiful lack of respect and the English media and the ABU nation didn’t give two hoots, they were just glad there was one less “Man Yoo” player in the England squad. World Cup 2010 has made the English media realise what a laughing stock our national team is and suddenly they are demanding Paul Scholes be called up? What a joke.
Personally I would have loved to see Scholes playing at one last World Cup. Shame on Capello for his half-hearted attempt to bring Scholes back. Never mind, at least they’ve got Super Gareth Barry – now there’s a player to build a World Cup winning team around! 2014 – IT’S COMING HOME! LOL
How can Capello consider calling Scholes to the England team? He is older than Beckham, whom Capello declared too old. Say what you will about Fabio, but never say he isn’t subtle.
Honestly, Capello seems to be missing things. A lot.
Scholes is a legend.
And it will be every nation’s loss to not have a classy United player in their ranks. France will be much less without Evra, Scotland’s heartbeat is Fletcher, Bulgaria will miss Berbatov for sure, Hernandez provides tremendous pace to the Mexico team, England will lack the only person wanting to win in Rooney, and so much more.
In his defence, I know what Mozza79 means – England aren’t playing so well, Scholes is on a great run of form (not that he’s not always been good but I think his last 6-9 months have been spectacular), so every sports journalist “spots a story” and writes about how good England would have been with Scholes. I agree it’s a bit dull. The above article however is a great counter to this low quality journalism and really tells is it as it is. I never tire of reading about Scholes and reminiscing on his many career (so far) highlights, but I do wish sports journalists would put in a bit more work into their stories. As correctly pointed out, these journalists are the same ones who would run the “Scholes too old for England” stories if he went back and results went against them.
Keep doing what you’re doing Scholesy – we love you for it….
Excellent article. Schholsies comment that he didn’t feel it was right for him to go at the expense of someone else, as he not been involved in the prelim games, is indicative of the man. It’s what marks him as a human being (as opposed to some self-adoring, money-grubbing bastard), a guy who, despite his wealth and fame, is totally down to earth and the sort of guy you’d love to spend some time chatting to. He and Giggs personify the meaning of the term “role model”.
I thought it was extraordinary that Capello made that last-minute appeal to Scholes. It didn’t surprise me he wanted Scholes in the team — if England had Scholes, maybe they would have actually functioned as a team, rather than a collection of individuals who just happened to wear the same uniform. But to make that appeal when he did revealed Capello’s own insecurities and doubts about the squad, and that surprised me. It smacked of last-minute panic, and I didn’t expect that of Capello. I expected he would have had his doubts resolved much earlier — or, if he didn’t, to keep them under his lid.
But then again, when it comes to the England, why should any of us be surprised about anything anymore?
——————–> “My ideal day? Train in the morning, pick up the kids from school, go home, play with kids, have tea, get them up to bed, and then come down to watch a bit of TV. I don’t get hassled. I can go anywhere I want to. Nobody stops me from going down to Tesco. I’m recognised, of course, and I get asked for my autograph but it is never a problem. I’ve never been conscious of losing out on big money because of the way I’ve wanted to live my life. I’ve turned down big commercials because I’m shy. It’s just the way I’ve been. I did get a boot contract once. But no, I haven’t earned much outside the game. Maybe it’s because I’m not good looking enough.”
BEST QUOTE IVE EVER READ!
<3 LSHE
(Love Scholes Hate England) for those who didnt get it
Whats with this recent obsession with Paul Scholes? Are we running out of other stories. Leave him alone FFS. Damn!!!!!!!!!!
Quote: “He’s too good for that bunch of mugs.”
Sums it up perfectly. We have enjoyed a far better Paul Scholes since he retired from International duty. I only wish Wazza would do the same. I thought he would do it after this most recent drab friendly when he waved to all 4 corners of the ground, while being booed off. it’s ridiculous isn’t it?
Now the Eng-er-land army want Arteta! I just want to say “You had the greatest english playmaker in the last 50 years and you f*cked it up!”
I am only 27, and my old man would always try and teach me that England were utter shite, and United was where our hearts were. I’m glad I listened. He’d seen it all before. United>England
Lets hope Berba can show the same improvements in his conditioning and his fitness levels now that he’s retired from Bulgaria. It would be twice as bad for him, given that every home game is over 1000 miles away.
Cheers for another cracking Scholesy article. Keep em coming!
Drew Vader @ 16:14: “And I see we get a two week break after the Hammers. My goodness I f’ing hate International breaks”
I’d second that motion.
Nice to see that the FSW is already destroying the team that Mourinho built.
Benitez aka the FSW has started his familiar job of destroying Inter, just like he did at L’pool – much to our delight!!!
Fuck England fans, they’ll never see Paul pull on the England shirt ever again now. It’s Utd > England for him.
Thanks for the post. I’ve just realized that I love Scholes even more after reading that quote <3 what a humble legend! you can define him in one word "class"
plus.. if he thinks he’s not good looking, he should take a look at Ronaldinho’s face first xD
Paul made the right decision not to go to the world cup.His reason shows a thoughtful person,right character.Since he did not contribute to englands worldcup ,he did not want to take someones place in the team,someone who worked to get england to south africa. May not sound like much if u consider the ruthless decision making needed to win the world cup or any cup.use whatever players to win the games,england first or the team first.no room for sentiment or loyalty.
Contrast that with jamie carragher who told england to go hang in his book,but jumped t the chance to go to south africa,on the back of others doing the hard work getting there.Shameless.
Was wondering though when Scholes said he did regret not going,did not sit right that.
Still Paul is no angel, neither am I, but he does embody what we love about our heroes at Manutd.
Great characters,inspiration,heroes.
Would love to see his testimonial match, Zidane and him in the centre of midfield.
Steve Gerrard and Frank Lampard what a pair of dickheads just about fit to cook scholes his breakfast and then ask him how he likes his coffee. Neither of them possess anything near the technical abiltiy of scholes, nor for that matter does any english player, the last one anywhere near him was gascoigne. Scholes would walk into any club or national side in the world as Zidane has already noted. One of the greatest players to ever kick a ball.
Went to United Celtic in Toronto with family- wife and three young girls. Waited for team outside hotel and Scholes came out first and spent time with the girls and took photos.8 year old had sign saying Paul Scholes goals- offered to sign it without being asked and told her he loved it!! Classy down to earth guy. BTW Giggs and Sir Alex both spent time talking to them as the rest of “fans” were professional autograph hounds. Now girls want to watch every game!