When I first heard that Gary Cahill was in an England squad, I naturally assumed that it was some sort of vicious joke, perpetrated by the cruel people around me purely for their own sick amusement. "Hey, Tom… you know the widespread acknowledgement you've craved for the better performers on your crummy Bolton team? Well, Gary Cahill got an England call-up. [smirking] Nah, I'm pulling your leg. Wes Brown got in again."

Well this time, the joke is going to be on you. And Matthew Upson. And Jagielka and Lescott. If he gets a chance, Gary Cahill is going to be good.

Cahill has had an amazing season if everything's taken into consideration. Every week Rio Ferdinand and John Terry are asked to do very little defending. Both play in teams that do an excellent job of holding onto the ball and are able to mask most of their deficiencies.

If you need an example of how a good manager can 'protect' a centre-half, just look at how Guardiola was able to make Gerald Pique look like Franco Baresi, by forming a triangle with Yaya Toure and Sergi Busquets and allowing Pique to focus on his strengths while the others keyed in on Ronaldo.

Gary Cahill doesn't have a great team around him and he doesn't have a good manager making him look good, and as a result he's developed over the last eighteen months into an all-action defender with great instincts. It's been a privilege to watch him throw himself around Bolton's penalty area, desperately covering for whoever he's playing with and even getting up to the other end for 3 goals.

If anyone deserves this, it's Cahill, and don't be shocked if he sees the pitch at some point. He may not have the medals or the caps, (yet…), but when it comes to putting bodies on the line and actually defending, Gary has done that as much as anyone this season.

Congratulations Gary, (and please don't go to Arsenal).