Big night for Chappy

Last updated : 17 February 2004 By Tony Scholes

Chappy is one of fifteen in the squad who is uncapped at this level with seven of them set to start. That will leave the Claret on the bench hoping to get his first ever England cap at any level.

It has been a meteoric rise for the Accrington born Chaplow who just a year ago was finding his way back into reserve team football after being out with glandular fever. By the end of last season, as many of the first team squad brought their season to a premature end, he was making his debut in the First Division.

Many Burnley fans were hoping that he would get some further first team opportunities this season but after impressing almost from the off he has been a regular in the side. He has won countless man of the match awards, and with the help of this web site became the PFA’s Fans Player of the Month for December.

Then came the call up for the England Under-19s and now, even before reaching the squad, a step up to the Under-21s where he could wear the England shirt for the first time tonight at the Kingston Communication Stadium in Hull.

The Clarets haven’t been blessed with too many England internationals in recent years and although under-21 football was introduced in 1976 as a replacement for under-23 football he will become the first ever Burnley player to represent England at this level should he get on tonight.

In the old Under-23 days Ray Hankin was the last Claret to play for England when he was in the side against Wales in 1975 (with Brian Flynn in the opposition). It was Hankin’s third and last cap and he became the 16th Burnley player to win an England Under-23 cap.

Since then our only England players have been at youth level with three players winning one cap each. They were Micky Phelan (1981), Trevor Steven (1982) and finally Andy Kilner (1984). Two of them, Phelan and Steven, went on to play for England at full international level but after they had left Turf Moor.

I’m sure many of us will be glued to the television tonight as we hope to see the latest Claret to wear the three lions on his shirt.