Hard to argue with this Daily Mail list was probably surprisingly easy to assemble!

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10. Keith Curle (3 caps, 1992)
Never an obvious candidate for international football, Curle had spent his formative years on the boggy pitches of the lower leagues.
Graham Taylor’s scatter-gun approach to selection saw the Manchester City player appearing at right-back, only to be replaced by the left-midfielder Andy Sinton.

9. Stuart Ripley (2 caps, 1993-1997)
Given the amount of talent that England had to select from, Ripley’s selection can only go down as a clerical error.

8. Steve Guppy (1 cap, 1999)
I don’t know if you ever heard about the problems England have on the left side of the team? Well, Steve Guppy wasn’t the answer. Ever.

7. John Fashanu (2 caps, 1989)
Proclaimed himself Nigerian but with many Arsenal and Liverpool players absent due to a rescheduled league decider, Fash the bash nabbed a couple of England caps in a handful of days. Oh, the shame.

6. Francis Jeffers (1 cap, 2003)
Another player that showed promise but delivered precisely nought.

5. Geoff Thomas (9 caps, 1991-1992)
A workman-like and honest player which, in Graham Taylor’s era was all you needed to make you a regular.

4. David Nugent (1 cap, 2007)
A 100 per cent scoring record for England. Whatever.

3. Seth Johnson (1 cap, 2000)
It’s tricky trying to decide just what to make of Johnson’s career but the fact that he managed to make it on the field with an England shirt on will forever remain a mystery.
One start against Italy in 2000 was enough to leave many an Englishman scratching their heads.

2. Carlton Palmer (18 caps, 1992-1993)
The zenith of Graham Taylor’s poor decision making and symptomatic of the hole the national side found themselves in during the era.

1. Michael Ricketts (1 cap, 2002)
Ricketts was Bolton’s first England player for 40 years but, given his debut, you can bet he wished he hadn’t bothered.

A pointless wandering-about-the-pitch performance in a friendly with Holland during which he looked off the pace and left you wondering how he had managed to find form for his club. (Daily Mail)

Andy Sinton could have scraped onto this list, David Hirst likewise. Who would you have added?


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