The club over country debate is one that has raged on since the time football began and not just in terms of the England side and their players.
Which should a player prioritise? Should they stay fit for their country and not exhaust themselves during the season, which Neymar was accused of doing before injury curtailed his season? Should they keep themselves back like Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini were accused of doing in the FA Cup final – or should a Steven Gerrard approach be favoured, with a club being favoured over any international badge?
That's a debate for another day, but there's another issue that domestic football has caused on the international scene, and it's one Rio Ferdinand has been open about since he hung up his boots and became a pundit.
Rio noted that he didn't like speaking or socialising with some of his fellow England players, who played for his domestic rivals – because he didn't want them having an advantage for Chelsea, Liverpool et al once the summer was over and the Premier League season started up again.
It's something he noted played a huge part in the England squad never quite clicking, and it's been a huge issue with other sides as well, most notably Spain before the infamous thawing in relations between the Real Madrid players and the Barcelona ones.
Much as Jose Mourinho tried to once again cause havoc during his time in Spain, Iker Casillas and Xavi did their best to prevent it, and make sure the national side weren't affected by club politics, something that ultimately went a huge way in costing Casillas his place at the club and any shot of a relationship with Mourinho.
Things are different with La Roja now, and while Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique take great pleasure in the other's misfortune and wind rival fans up with aplomb, it's not vitriolic for the most part, and the Spanish side exist fairly harmoniously.
The same can now be said for the England side, with manager Gareth Southgate noting that things aren't what they once were in terms of club factions, and players from Manchester United talk to those at Liverpool, and vice versa.
Club rivalries don't impact the closeness off the field, and the likes of Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all get on well – and it helps the side. Of course, some are closer than others, with Southgate noting Rashford and Jesse Lingard live in each other's pockets, but as a whole, the team bond well and Southgate takes much heart in that.
So he should, with the England side struggling in major tournaments in the past and being seen as the ultimate let down – but now, with imposing personalities like Joe Hart out of the picture, the younger and quieter players can make their own mark on and off the field.
It's that which England fans should be most excited about ahead of the World Cup in Russia, and anyone who didn't think the club factions caused an issue in the past only needs to heed Ferdinand's words to understand that it may not have been the sole reason England struggled and the players could never gel, but it was certainly a large part of it.
The crop of players coming through now are different, it's the age of social media and banter, and they all know each other from coming through the ranks at international and club level– and it's only going to help serve the national side, with friendship the key on and off the field.
Working as a team and having each other's backs goes a long way, and it's been key for other sides in the past. While England may not be favourites for the World Cup, or even have many people in their corner, the first step to getting other people to believe in you and take you seriously is to believe in yourselves and each other– and for the first time in a long time, England have a national side who are doing that.
