Linked to this, take Leon Osman. Hardly a spectacular player nor a top drawer player, but a fairly good one who is technically sound. Should have been in the squad a while ago but instead dross like Henderson are handed opportunities, and Gareth fucking Barry still gets picked. Osman however plays for Everton (read: not Man Utd, Liverpool etc). He is a better footballer than Tom Cleverley for example IMO. The latter however plays for Man Utd.
Not saying we should be regularly playing Osman, but it's scandalous someone like him wasn't given an opportunity earlier. For me, our insistence on playing someone like Barry (of Man City royalty) over giving someone like Osman a chance earlier on sums up what's been wrong with this country's national team and set-up for quite a long time.