Southgate wasting a generation of talent
SOLVE ENGLAND’S LEFT-SIDE PROBLEM
WHAT on earth is Gareth Southgate doing to England? He is turning top quality players into average ones or even worse. He is wasting a generation of extra special attacking talent.
If I was desperately disappointed with our performance against Serbia I could at least be consoled by victory but Denmark was a new low.
Where do we go now? Well, Southgate has to start Anthony Gordon against Slovenia and has to recognise the great contribution made by Kieran Trippier.
It is criminal that Gordon has sat on the bench for three hours and not even put a stud over the touchline. England are crying out for some width on the left, for a player who will sprint and get behind defenders. Turn them and cause some chaos.
That means Southgate has to go with Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, and Gordon as his front three on Tuesday night.
The Three Lions were an all right side against Denmark with no balance on the other side of the pitch. Phil Foden was drifting inside all the time, which is where I want him incidentally but not at the expense of outside-left. I want him to play No.10, which means getting rid of Trent Alexander-arnold and putting Gordon into the team. He would link well with Trippier. Which gets me on to United’s full-back. I thought he was terrific the other night. He and Kyle Walker are the only two England players I would exempt from criticism but then the Man City star had help on his side.
Trippier and Walker at least were prepared to make sprints – Kyle’s produced our goal. The rest were playing walking football.
I was furious afterwards when Southgate was asked about his team being unbalanced and he immediately flagged up that not having Luke Shaw made it lopsided. That was a dreadful slur on Trippier who at least made a real fist of things.
Gareth is far too negative. He has the best bunch of attackers England have possessed in many a year but he is turning them into a plodding side. Favourites? You must be joking.
Of course we will qualify from an easy group but what is going to happen when we come up against the quality teams in the knock-out stages?
The moment England go 1-0 up as they have done in both their group games the match completely changes. Not because of the opposition but because of us. We drop off, defend deep, and hand the initiative to the other side. It is a matter of ‘what we have we hold.’ The second goal in any match is the killer goal but we never go after it.
I will say it again. I cannot recognise Foden, Kane, Declan Rice, John Stones and, yes, even Jude Bellingham against Denmark from what I see at club level. They are top quality but their inventiveness has been suffocated.
Does Foden look like the guy who was voted the best player in the Premier League last season? Does Rice come out of the back with the ball making devastating runs as he does for Arsenal, does Stones step into midfield, does Kane look like a guy who scored more than 40 goals for Bayern Munich?
Unleash them all before it is too late. Get on the front foot not the back. Pick Gordon and give us a chance.