West Ham's vice-chairman Karren Brady, made famous by Alan Sugar's infamous TV series 'The Apprentice', has reportedly sent DVDs of Hammers stars Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble to Roy Hodgson in an attempt to prove they have what it takes to warrant a call up to the England squad.

Kevin Nolan has been in top form so far this season, scoring 5 goals and making 3 assists in 11 league games. His 5 league goals have made him the Premiership's third-highest scoring midfielder and West Ham's highest goalscorer overall. Nolan is not only a goalscorer but a talisman, captain and ball-winner as well.

West Ham have scored 14 league goals this season; Nolan has been involved in 8 of those and Mark Noble has scored another 2. Sam Allardyce's side take on Stoke at Upton Park this evening and Nolan and Noble will need to be on top of their games again if West Ham want to gain all 3 points. If the Hammers do beat Stoke tonight, they will rise to 5th place ahead of the like of Everton, Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle and Liverpool. For a newly-promoted side, this is a massive achievement and Nolan and Noble have had a massive part to play in West Ham's success.

Whether both players deserve an England call-up, I am not sure, but Kevin Nolan probably has the most reason to feel he deserves a place in the England squad. My opinion of picking international squads has always been that places should be reserved for those players who most deserve it. With Gerrard and Wilshere being the only central midfield England squad regulars to be playing noticeably well at the moment, then I think Kevin Nolan could really be a useful addition to Roy Hodgson's team.

I'm not sure whether a football club's board member sending DVDs of their players to an international manager to plead their case for a call-up is a regular occurrence in the world of football but if it is successful and the two West Ham stars are in Hodgson's next squad list then it could be a route that other Premiership clubs choose to follow.

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