Since the Football Association appointed Roy Hodgson as England manager in 2012, only one Championship player has worn the iconic three lion’s shirt and I certainly wouldn't bank on that statistic changing any time soon.
That privileged individual was Jack Butland, the former Birmingham goalkeeper playing 45 minutes against Italy in August, 2012. That’s right, he was only rewarded with a half.
Austin is yet to make his England debut even after gaining a taste of what could be, following his call up to Hodgson’s squad that faced the Republic of Ireland and Slovenia shortly after the 2014/15 season came to an end.
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The QPR talisman has been subject to endless speculation about his future throughout pre-season and into the new season and with the transfer market coming to a close at 6pm today, you wouldn't be foolish to suggest that Austin will need to move up a division before the deadline if he wishes to be part of the squad that travels to France next Summer.
The way I look at it, the situation that Austin finds himself in isn't too dissimilar to that which has faced Watford skipper Troy Deeney and Bournemouth’s overlooked star striker Callum Wilson for a considerable amount of time now.
Many regular watchers of the Championship felt that Deeney deserved a call-up ahead of the 2014 World Cup and once more in the squad for those previously mentioned fixtures against the Republic and Slovenia. However in Roy Hodgson, England have one of the more conservative managers in International football and we shouldn't expect that to change in the future.
Therefore, it angers me to say this as an Ipswich supporter and therefore someone who has followed the Championship with a vested interest for the best part of 13 years now, but the only way I can see one of England’s most talented forward players, or any other second division player for that matter making the squad, is to leave the division at the first opportunity that comes there way.
If you oppose this view, then please tell me the last time that the cameras focused on the England boss in a Championship press box and not at the one at Old Trafford (football ground)?
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