Andros Townsend has little time to dispel doubts about England worth

Three years to the day since the exhilarating high of an international debut that briefly turned him into a national treasure, Andros Townsend is likely to be sitting on the bench when England play Slovenia on Tuesday. The buzz that once surrounded the winger has disappeared, replaced by the nagging suspicion that his talents were overestimated when he first burst on to the scene, and he will know that he is fortunate to be there. But for Raheem Sterling’s withdrawal with a calf injury, Townsend would not have been part of Gareth Southgate’s first squad.

He has his admirers. Roy Hodgson, who threw Townsend in at the deep end by giving him his first England start in that crucial World Cup qualifier against Montenegro, was intrigued by what he had to offer, that sense that he is always capable of changing a game with an explosive moment here or there, while Rafa Benítez enjoyed working with him at Newcastle United. Although Townsend could not save Newcastle from relegation and joined Crystal Palace in the summer, Benítez sent him a congratulatory text message after his England call-up.

Even though he is 25 now, the perception is still of a player with exciting potential. Townsend is quick and energetic and he has a fearsome shot, as Montenegro discovered when he marked his debut with a brilliant goal from long range. He electrified Wembley by creating England’s opener and he gave another fine performance when he helped Hodgson’s side qualify for the World Cup with a victory against Poland four days later. A star was born. Or so it seemed.

True, he has suffered from bad luck at times, his progress stalled when a foot injury ended his hopes of going to the World Cup in Brazil. “Looking back on it I got injured at the wrong time when I was flying high,” Townsend says. “Then for a year or two I could not get back to the form I wanted to.”

Yet Tottenham Hotspur were hardly devastated when Townsend left for Newcastle in January and, while he is proving that he is a decent Premier League player at Palace, it is debatable whether he can cut it at the highest level.

Indeed the more he played for Tottenham, the more doubts developed. Was there enough variety to his game? Was he a one-trick pony? Had defenders worked him out? Those who watched him on a regular basis at White Hart Lane came to bemoan the predictable way that Townsend would cut in from the right and shoot erratically with his left foot.

Irritated by his lack of playing time last season, Townsend’s days at Spurs were numbered when he clashed with the fitness coach, Nathan Gardiner, in the aftermath of a 3-1 home win against Aston Villa in November last year. Mauricio Pochettino was not impressed.

“It was an extremely difficult time in my career,” Townsend says. “It was obvious I was not going to play at Spurs. I did not have a future there. I had the incident and didn’t play at all after that. It was frustration. Everyone in this room at some stage has been frustrated at work, lashed out and then regretted it instantly. We are only human. I could only apologise after that.”

There was more frustration when he moved to Newcastle, where he was held back by fitness problems at first. But Townsend was revived when Benítez replaced Steve McClaren in March. He scored four goals and laid on two assists in 13 appearances, numbers that suggested his end product was improving.

“He’s fantastic,” Townsend says of Benítez. “From day one he put his faith in me, said he believed in me. For someone like Rafa, who has won everything, who’s managed the best, to say that fills me with great confidence. I became a better player under him. The biggest criticism of me has been the goals and the assists, not being as effective as I would like.”

Hodgson saw enough to name Townsend in his initial squad for Euro 2016. Yet he did not make the final cut and told Benítez that he could not spend a season playing in the Championship.

Palace stumped up £13m and the Londoner has settled well at Selhurst Park. He scored in the recent 4-1 win over Stoke City and is optimistic about playing with Christian Benteke.

“It is the first time in my career that I have had that focal point in the box,” Townsend said. “In the past I would have to take somebody on and get to the goalline and cut the ball back. Now, I can take a touch and if the defender backs off I can just put it into the box and you know Christian is going to be there.”

Alan Pardew has told Townsend that he trusts him with the ball as long as he works on the defensive side of his game. It is all part of making him a more rounded player. Three years on from that Montenegro game, however, Townsend is aware that time moves quickly in football. He does not have long to convince Southgate of his worth.