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The young, tall defender who might have been Spurs’ centre-half for the next 10 years has instead started the season at the heart of Cardiff’s fight for Premier League survival.

It does not take much of a look around the message boards to find that far more Spurs fans are upset by the £8.5m move of a player who had been with the club since school days than by the departure of Bale for 10 times more.

Caulker, a mature and intelligent 21-year-old, smiles rather sheepishly at the thought. But less than a month after his move he is convinced he has done the right thing.

He said: “I think the way Bale performed last year, it was slightly expected for him to want to leave and go and play Champions League football.

“My situation was a bit different – my decision was based around the fact I wanted to play games. I didn’t quite feel that me and the manager at Tottenham had the same plans and ambitions for my career.

“There were no rows, nothing personal. It was simply that he saw my career developing over several years. That was how he saw my future.

“His plan, with three or four other centre-halves, was for me to sit back a bit and get drip fed into the first team. That wasn’t for me.

“Speaking to the gaffer here, Malky Mackay, there will be more opportunity. When I met him, he was full of ambition and confidence and I kind of liked his plans and ideas. It just all seemed right for me.

“I am always someone who is keen to go out there and do it now. I am not a believer in waiting. Life can pass you by, you know?”

Caulker has stood on his own two feet since he left home to play for Yeovil on loan as a 17-year-old – followed by season-long spells at Bristol City and Swansea.

“My mum and dad always encouraged me to grow up and mature,” he added. “They both worked for Feltham Young Offenders, and they wanted me to take some responsibility for myself. My little brother is 16 and he’s getting the same treatment.

“They’ve been the key for me. I think that definitely helped me, living away so young, and then I think getting the taste of first-team football, I’ve just always wanted to continue that.

“I think that is why I found the second half of last season so difficult. Even from youth-team days, I had always played, so it was a massive difference for me being on the bench and just experiencing football from a whole different angle.

“Looking back, I could have dealt with it better. I kind of took it quite personal, that I wasn’t being picked. It upsets you, and you are never going to play your best unless you are happy.

“I should have learned from Michael Dawson. There was a man who wasn’t in the team in the first half of the season but still did everything right and never let his head drop, and was at it every day in training.

“Of course everybody is different, but I’d be honest, that is something I should have done, put a face on in training or whatever and work round it and work to get in the team.”

There’s no need to put a face on now after Cardiff spectacularly kick started their season with a win 3-2 over Manchester City. Everton are next up today.

Caulker, speaking at the launch of PUMAFootballClub.com, said: “When I came to Cardiff to talk I liked the fact it was a city that was buzzing. You look at our win against City and that was massively helped by the fans and the atmosphere.

“I’d seen it before when I was on loan at Swansea after they got promoted and to have that buzz all around the place is great.

“I know there’s a big rivalry between the clubs but the Welsh people in both cities have been so friendly.” Then he laughs: “Will I have to pretend my time there was a disaster? No, I’ll always have respect for the opportunity they gave me.

“But I am a Cardiff player and I want to go above and beyond wearing these colours.”

That includes the hope of getting back into Roy Hodgson’s plans. He has one cap and one goal for his country, from last November’s friendly in Sweden, and has his heart set on more.

He said: “I loved it. It was kind of surreal reading all your messages next morning, and it kind of sunk in. That comes back to the reason for being here. I felt, especially with a World Cup coming this year, there was no chance of making the squad without playing.

“I know it is slightly more difficult, as it goes, being at a slightly smaller club, to get selected for England, but I am a believer that if you are playing and performing well, you give the manager no choice but to select you.”