This weekend brought home the reality to Saints fans that it could be a few years before a Southampton player wins an England cap. 

Seeing Sol Campbell starting for England and becoming the first Pompey player to do so in 23 years, struck home the fact that it could be a long time before a Saints player represents England again at full international level.

Truth is though, we have been spoilt over the past 50 years or so, whilst Hateley was just about the only Portsmouth player to win a full England cap since the 1950's we have had a plethroa of players achieving that distinction.

Even back in the 1940's after the war, despite the fact that Saints ere a second division side, they still supplied players for the full side, BEllerington and of course Alf Ramsey,

The fifties were a bit barren for Saints on the International front, but as we hit the swinging sixties Terry Paine started a ball rolling that continued for over 40 years as Saints players featured in most International squads throughout the 70's and 80's and only started to taper off in the late 90's.

The list of players that pulled on the three lions is endless and a testament to the quality of the players we had over that time, whereas now the future looks bleak, Theo Walcott being an example of how any player that hits anything like International form will be snapped up by the big boys.

Indeed the last player to get a full England cap whislt at the Club was Peter Crouch, but even as he won it we all knew that his next caps would probably be won at a different club as proved the case.  

It has to be said though that winning an England cap is no longer the honour it once was, for the players at least, of course there are some who still deem it an honour, the likes of Steven Gerrard, but to many others its not something they would do for free, merely a passport to more endorsements, sponsorship money and of course bragging to wannabe wags in nightclubs.

Hopefull the next time a Saints player wins an International cap, the whole system and hype surrounding it will have changed for the better.         

Photo: Action Images via Reuters