The Homme Oublié

Article by e-Southampton Correspondent Bastian Houdini

Yes of course, it's Morgan Schneiderlin.

Although actually these days maybe he's not quite as forgotten as he thought he may have been?

A recent article in L'equipe raised the question of who should be in the French national football team, the French public was asked about who they thought deserved an opportunity to play for Les Blues, and guess what…

… Morgan Schneiderlin… one of the most important players we've had at Southampton for the last five years… someone who has, at times, single-handedly provided the platform that has driven Southampton to back-to-back promotions all the way from league One to the lofty mid-table of the Premier League.

It seems like a mighty 22% of the French public thinks that Morgan should be given the opportunity to shine for the French national team just like he has at Southampton for the past six years.

Schneiderlin joined Southampton in 2007, from Strasbourg for £1.2 million, and although a few fans were slow to warm to him, which, I like to think anyway, was more down to our bad football and subsequent disastrous relegation to League One, rather than due to his own abilities, even as a teenager.

He has played for France at every level from under 16 right up to under 21 but has never played a game for France at senior level, it's a fact that has most Saints fans, and anyone else who's ever seen him play, scratching their heads in confusion.

Last season, his first season in the premiership, he gave such a sterling performance that he had the highest work rate, most tackles and interceptions in the entire Premier league, pretty much establishing himself, in one fell swoop, as one of the best midfielders in Europe.

His continued excellent performances for Southampton in the current (13/14) season and his average pass rate of 89% of passes successfully completed per game means he is only getting better.

Despite this, Didier Deschamp, the French coach continues to overlook his obvious talent and even when players are injured in the run-up to various international's, poor old Morgan is continually overlooked.

So much so the English papers have started calling for him to take British citizenship and play for England, despite it being an option that he himself has refuted with the simple statement of "but I'm French".

So, why doesn't he get a call up for France?

Some tend to think it's because he plays for a relatively unfashionable club, whom he joined at a young age and whilst the club itself was in the lower leagues in England.

Whilst I believe this may constitute some of the reason, I do not believe France would pass up the opportunity of improving their squad if they thought they could, so maybe it's another reason?

France has always produced good footballers, however in 1988 Le Centre Technique National Fernand Sastre, commonly referred to as Clairefontaine, has been churning out world-class footballers in far greater numbers and with far greater quality than all but the most exceptional individuals France could field in the past.

France's current crop of midfielders contains Nasri, Ribery, Cabaye, Matuidi, M'Vila, Pogba, Toulalan to name but a few, and that is a few, there are many, many more, although, it has to be said, despite the numbers, not many of them are of the quality of Schneiderlin.

However, that is a lot of established talent. Playing week in and week out with star international players from all over the world at some of Europe's biggest football clubs.

With the possible exception of Spain and Germany, France more than any other international team in Europe has more than its fair share of exemplary footballers, a great many of whom are midfielders. This has to be a contributing factor but it can't be the only reason.

Ultimately though, statistics don't lie, and they say that, unequivocally, Morgan Schneiderlin is one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe. So why can't one of the best players in his position in the best leagues in the world even get a game in a friendly for France?

I haven't really got a clue, there could be a number of reasons, and whether it is because he plays for Saints, because the French have so many great midfielders or any number of other "not quite good enough" reasons we could think up, I for one am not too upset about it.

Every year he stays at Southampton is a year when we don't have to find a replacement for one of the best midfielders in Europe, every year he stays at Southampton he gets better and so do we, every year he stays at Southampton we get closer to building the kind of Dynasty that means he won't leave because we are in the champions league as one of the best teams in Europe.

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