‘It was all weird… no one really spoke’: Former Fulham star Sean Davis claims England’s golden generation didn’t talk to each other and squad was split between northerners and southerners as he opens up on why he ‘HATED’ his only senior call up
- Sean Davis was given his only call-up for the England senior squad in 2003
- England fell to a 3-1 loss to Australia and Davis admits he ‘hated’ the experience
- He says the players didn’t speak and he went home instead of staying at the hotel
- Davis also claims Sven-Goran Eriksson said nothing after their Australia defeat
- He admitted having a better time going to a nightclub after the game took place
Former Fulham star Sean Davis has admitted he ‘hated’ his one and only experience of being called up to the senior England squad.
The retired-midfielder was called up by Sven-Goran Eriksson for England’s shock 3-1 friendly defeat to Australia at Upton Park, back in February 2003.
Davis says he left the team’s hotel in Canary Wharf and returned the following morning and that he had a ‘better time’ going to a nightclub after the game.
Sean Davis was an unused sub in his only England call-up but played at Under 21 level
The former Fulham midfielder ‘hated’ the experience of being called up for the senior side
‘I hated it, I hated the experience,’ Davis said in the latest On the Judy Podcast.
He added: ‘So they pick you up ago to a hotel in Canary Wharf. It was all weird no one really spoke.
‘I’m looking around thinking this is my first time in the England squad, no one really came up to me and said anything.
‘So I’m thinking this is a weird situation so I actually went home, stayed at home and came back in the morning. I didn’t stay in the hotel as you were rooming up by yourself anyway.
‘Not like you were allowed to do that but I was just like ‘you know what this is long I don’t want to be sitting in a room by myself’.
‘I went home, came back, went down for breakfast. All the southerners on one side of the table, all the northerners on the other side of the table.
Francis Jeffers scored for England on the night but they fell to a 3-1 defeat at home to Australia
Davis described how the squad was split between the northern and southern players
‘It’s not me being bitter this is just how I saw it. And then we trained but not everyone trained and then the next day we did a little pattern of play – wasn’t involved in that.
‘There was 24 players, three didn’t play which I think was me, maybe Scotty Parker and Matt Upson. But then after the game they lost 3-1, people were just getting changed and going home.
‘I don’t think I even heard Eriksson say anything. So I was just alright, get in the shower and straight out.
‘All of my family were there and I felt sorry for them as they travelled to Upton Park from south London which is a bridge of a drive. I ended up having a better time going to a nightclub after.’
Davis added that manager Sven-Goran Eriksson said nothing after the 3-1 loss to Australia
Davis was an unused substitute in the defeat to Australia as Eriksson played an experimental side, where he changed the entire team at half-time.
Arsenal striker Francis Jeffers scored for England, but goals from Tony Popovic, Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton handed the Socceroos the victory.
It was the one and only call-up for Davis who would go on to play 198 times for Fulham, before going on to have spells at Premier League sides Tottenham, Portsmouth and Bolton.