All about opinions but I think this England side has been fantastic over the last 12 months or so. It’s got to be remembered that this is a young and developing side. We don’t have a lot of English players playing regularly enough in the Premier League, and to standard that can be considered as seriously elite. So the job that Southgate has done has been very successful so far.
Personally, is Oxlade-Chamberlain and Winks play regularly for Liverpool and Spurs - Winks I am more confident about - and Chilwell improves at Leicester too, Maguire included actually. I’d happily have an England side of:
Pickford
Alexander-Arnold Gomez Maguire Rose/Chilwell
Oxlade-Chamberlain Winks Dele
Sancho Kane Sterling
Might be a little attacking for some but for me that youth in attack is what is our greatest strength. You also have relationships at club level across the pitch too.
You still have options like Walker, Chilwell/Rose, Rice, Henderson, Barkley, Delph, Lingard, Rashford, Wilson, that’s without including injured young players like Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi.
We will also have other young players come through too, Foden needs to play more regularly now, Maddison at Leicester is going to get better with another season in the Premier League.
Future for England looks far brighter than it did before, even only a handful of years ago.
That midfield would get over run by better nations.
Need at least 1 and possibly 2 from Rice/Henderson/Dier/Delph in there to hold. 1 against smaller nations, 2 against the likes of Germany/Portugal etc.
amazes me the amount of english people that cannot praise the national side, find it v odd.
What has come to fruition is that the England side is made up of so many reserve players. Stones, Delph, Barkley, Dier and before his injury Loftus-Cheek. Sterling who this season has finally scored a few goals for England was picked for the national side when he was so poor and couldn't hit a cows arse with a banjo, yet was being picked as Kane's strike partner. It showed our bereft we were when a guy got picked when he went 3 years without scoring a goal for England. Still he won a few free kicks so no problems playing players to find their form in an England shirt. I guess it's better that John Stones cocks up for England than City ! Now Kompany has retired JS should now be 1st reserve as CB for City.
That midfield would get over run by better nations.
Need at least 1 and possibly 2 from Rice/Henderson/Dier/Delph in there to hold. 1 against smaller nations, 2 against the likes of Germany/Portugal etc.
Take out Oxlade-Chamberlain and bring in Henderson for the bigger games, him and Winks should be good enough to sit and to be able to play too.
amazes me the amount of english people that cannot praise the national side, find it v odd.
Amazes me how some people don't challenge what is wrong with the side out of some sort of national loyalty. Being critical comes from a passion to want the team to do well. We do have a good manager and some great players, but surely we can be putting out a better midfield than that. Maddison springs to mind as a creative option. I mean Delph FFS!!!!!!
amazes me the amount of english people that cannot praise the national side, find it v odd.
Amazes me how some people don't challenge what is wrong with the side out of some sort of national loyalty. Being critical comes from a passion to want the team to do well. We do have a good manager and some great players, but surely we can be putting out a better midfield than that. Maddison springs to mind as a creative option. I mean Delph FFS!!!!!!
I agree but some cannot wait to slag them off, Delphi is a donkey to put it politely I hope Gareth isn’t picking players because of the clubs they play for
amazes me the amount of english people that cannot praise the national side, find it v odd.
Amazes me how some people don't challenge what is wrong with the side out of some sort of national loyalty. Being critical comes from a passion to want the team to do well. We do have a good manager and some great players, but surely we can be putting out a better midfield than that. Maddison springs to mind as a creative option. I mean Delph FFS!!!!!!
Maddison is playing summer tournament football with U21’s.
I imagine Delph playing alongside Dier was experimental by Southgate, trying to encourage our attacking midfielders and full backs to play more expressively.
We have a year until the Euros with plenty more games to get it right. I doubt very much that Delph will be starting come June 2020.
gareth said he did not want to take any u21 players away as they have a comp which i fully respect, i know many travelled out to the nations league but for me they were always glorified friendlies.
When U21s are ready for the first team they should play in the first team. It is about time England took these tournaments seriously. It isn't as if we have won anything in most people's lifetimes!
Dier and Henderson are worthy of a place- but not together. Delph should be nowhere near the team. We can do better. If somebody gave me a choice of keeping Aribo or getting Delph, I'd have Aribo. A player who hasn't played higher than League One yet!
amazes me the amount of english people that cannot praise the national side, find it v odd.
What has come to fruition is that the England side is made up of so many reserve players. Stones, Delph, Barkley, Dier and before his injury Loftus-Cheek. Sterling who this season has finally scored a few goals for England was picked for the national side when he was so poor and couldn't hit a cows arse with a banjo, yet was being picked as Kane's strike partner. It showed our bereft we were when a guy got picked when he went 3 years without scoring a goal for England. Still he won a few free kicks so no problems playing players to find their form in an England shirt. I guess it's better that John Stones cocks up for England than City ! Now Kompany has retired JS should now be 1st reserve as CB for City.
Stones has played enough football this season for a treble winning side to be included in the England squad. Gomez joined the squad late, so Stones got the nod against Holland. He had a stinker, got dropped and Gomez/Maguire were excellent against Switzerland. Pretty normal management by Southgate.
When U21s are ready for the first team they should play in the first team. It is about time England took these tournaments seriously. It isn't as if we have won anything in most people's lifetimes!
Dier and Henderson are worthy of a place- but not together. Delph should be nowhere near the team. We can do better. If somebody gave me a choice of keeping Aribo or getting Delph, I'd have Aribo. A player who hasn't played higher than League One yet!
Your last sentence I’ll completely ignore as it’s ridiculous.
Maddison potentially isn’t ready for senior squad duties yet. Southgate and Botthroyd will have obviously had a discussion about what they feel is better for the international development of a young player. He’s had 1 good season for Leicester. They feel he would benefit more from playing competitive tournament football for the U21’s.
The U21’s have a good chance of winning that tournament. With the bond Southgate created with many of this current group at U21 level when he was in charge, I’d imagine they are trying to do the same with the next wave of youth.
Do I think Maddison should be in there over someone like Lingard? Yes.
Do i trust Southgate and Bothroyds judgement over mine? Completely.
So you would prefer Delph? Seriously? You watch the next few years prove how wrong you are.
I do think Southgate is doing a decent job but I do think he has a blind spot with some players. He has to prove he can get over the line still and the Nations League was a great opportunity to do that IMO.
You’ve now edited your post to include potential. Of course Aribo has the potential to be a top player but at the moment he’s nowhere near Delphs ability (albeit different types of players)
Dele is not suited to playing in a midfield three. He has always been at his best when he was played in behind Kane for Spurs in a 4-2-3-1 and its fairly clear that Southgate is going to play 4-3-3 so he missed out every time for me. Poch also seems to have switched to 4-3-3 last 6 months to accommodate Son and Moura so will be interesting to see how how his form pans out next season.
Kane (or another) will benefit hugely by being played with Sterling and Sancho. Alli doesnt get in that front 3 at any point.
Winks, on the other hand, IMO will be integral but depends how Southgate wants to set up his midfield 3. He's genuinely two footed, is mobile and doesnt give the ball away. He's happy to play on the half turn and receive the ball in tight spaces. He is that good. The only thing he hasnt got is goals but I hope that'll come in time.
In 12m time, we'll be ok. Rice looks a good prospect, Maddison and Grealish will be pushing to be involved, Henderson has taken his game to another level. No need to hit the panic button just yet.
I would be disappointed if we ever again started any match with 2 out of 3 from Henderson, Dier, Delph.
I can understand the role one of them may play but we should never require 2 of them on the pitch.
Depends on the opposition.
We won't really need 2 defensive midfielders during any of our qualifiers, but at the Euro's if we're facing a top nation, you'd quite likely want to go with 2 to avoid getting over run.
Alternatively we could revert to our world cup formation of 352 or 3421 to give us an extra man in midfield.
If we are supposed to be evolving towards the kind of football where we control games, pick the ball up in tight spaces and move it on, I also don't see how Alli fits in. He's a very direct and arriving late into the box kind of player. He's likely to not do much for 88 minutes and then pop up with a back post header. Don't see how that fits into Southgate's system.
Likewise Lingard. Although he at least picks the ball up and moves it up the pitch a bit more often than Alli.
I think Delph had a poor game against Holland but is one of the more technical England midfielders at our disposal. He's very tidy and can keep the ball well. There's a place for him in the squad.
The temptation to play 2 defensive midfielders may also take into account our very attacking fullbacks, as you want TAA to spend as much time as possible in attacking positions
20 years ago, we'd probably have have played TAA as the wide midfielder (like Beckham) in a 4-4-2
Well we may see football differently - but I think Delph is a steady mid-table premier league player and that is the most he is ever going to be and Aribo has far more potential. Whether he lives up to it is another matter but I prefer potential to bog standardness.
Uefa says the introduction of quarter-finals and promotion play-offs to a revised Nations League will make it a "more compelling" competition.
The new expanded format will begin in September 2024.
There will still be groups of four but, for the 16 highest-ranked League A teams, the top two will qualify for a two-legged quarter-final in March 2025, with group winners facing runners-up.
The winners of those matches will go into the 'Final Four' in June 2025.
As with the current format, the side finishing fourth in their League A group will be relegated.
But a side finishing third will go into a promotion play-off with a side finishing second in League B, and also held over two legs.
Comments
Personally, is Oxlade-Chamberlain and Winks play regularly for Liverpool and Spurs - Winks I am more confident about - and Chilwell improves at Leicester too, Maguire included actually. I’d happily have an England side of:
Pickford
Alexander-Arnold
Gomez
Maguire
Rose/Chilwell
Oxlade-Chamberlain
Winks
Dele
Sancho
Kane
Sterling
Might be a little attacking for some but for me that youth in attack is what is our greatest strength. You also have relationships at club level across the pitch too.
You still have options like Walker, Chilwell/Rose, Rice, Henderson, Barkley, Delph, Lingard, Rashford, Wilson, that’s without including injured young players like Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi.
We will also have other young players come through too, Foden needs to play more regularly now, Maddison at Leicester is going to get better with another season in the Premier League.
Future for England looks far brighter than it did before, even only a handful of years ago.
Need at least 1 and possibly 2 from Rice/Henderson/Dier/Delph in there to hold. 1 against smaller nations, 2 against the likes of Germany/Portugal etc.
Sterling who this season has finally scored a few goals for England was picked for the national side when he was so poor and couldn't hit a cows arse with a banjo, yet was being picked as Kane's strike partner.
It showed our bereft we were when a guy got picked when he went 3 years without scoring a goal for England. Still he won a few free kicks so no problems playing players to find their form in an England shirt.
I guess it's better that John Stones cocks up for England than City ! Now Kompany has retired JS should now be 1st reserve as CB for City.
I imagine Delph playing alongside Dier was experimental by Southgate, trying to encourage our attacking midfielders and full backs to play more expressively.
We have a year until the Euros with plenty more games to get it right. I doubt very much that Delph will be starting come June 2020.
Dier and Henderson are worthy of a place- but not together. Delph should be nowhere near the team. We can do better. If somebody gave me a choice of keeping Aribo or getting Delph, I'd have Aribo. A player who hasn't played higher than League One yet!
Maddison potentially isn’t ready for senior squad duties yet. Southgate and Botthroyd will have obviously had a discussion about what they feel is better for the international development of a young player. He’s had 1 good season for Leicester. They feel he would benefit more from playing competitive tournament football for the U21’s.
The U21’s have a good chance of winning that tournament. With the bond Southgate created with many of this current group at U21 level when he was in charge, I’d imagine they are trying to do the same with the next wave of youth.
Do I think Maddison should be in there over someone like Lingard? Yes.
Do i trust Southgate and Bothroyds judgement over mine? Completely.
I do think Southgate is doing a decent job but I do think he has a blind spot with some players. He has to prove he can get over the line still and the Nations League was a great opportunity to do that IMO.
Of course I would
Anyway, completely off topic really.
Dele is not suited to playing in a midfield three. He has always been at his best when he was played in behind Kane for Spurs in a 4-2-3-1 and its fairly clear that Southgate is going to play 4-3-3 so he missed out every time for me. Poch also seems to have switched to 4-3-3 last 6 months to accommodate Son and Moura so will be interesting to see how how his form pans out next season.
Kane (or another) will benefit hugely by being played with Sterling and Sancho. Alli doesnt get in that front 3 at any point.
Winks, on the other hand, IMO will be integral but depends how Southgate wants to set up his midfield 3. He's genuinely two footed, is mobile and doesnt give the ball away. He's happy to play on the half turn and receive the ball in tight spaces. He is that good. The only thing he hasnt got is goals but I hope that'll come in time.
In 12m time, we'll be ok. Rice looks a good prospect, Maddison and Grealish will be pushing to be involved, Henderson has taken his game to another level. No need to hit the panic button just yet.
I can understand the role one of them may play but we should never require 2 of them on the pitch.
We won't really need 2 defensive midfielders during any of our qualifiers, but at the Euro's if we're facing a top nation, you'd quite likely want to go with 2 to avoid getting over run.
Alternatively we could revert to our world cup formation of 352 or 3421 to give us an extra man in midfield.
Likewise Lingard. Although he at least picks the ball up and moves it up the pitch a bit more often than Alli.
I think Delph had a poor game against Holland but is one of the more technical England midfielders at our disposal. He's very tidy and can keep the ball well. There's a place for him in the squad.
20 years ago, we'd probably have have played TAA as the wide midfielder (like Beckham) in a 4-4-2
They'd be happy to take Gary Doherty at the moment, the state of their back four
Uefa says the introduction of quarter-finals and promotion play-offs to a revised Nations League will make it a "more compelling" competition.
The new expanded format will begin in September 2024.
There will still be groups of four but, for the 16 highest-ranked League A teams, the top two will qualify for a two-legged quarter-final in March 2025, with group winners facing runners-up.
The winners of those matches will go into the 'Final Four' in June 2025.
As with the current format, the side finishing fourth in their League A group will be relegated.
But a side finishing third will go into a promotion play-off with a side finishing second in League B, and also held over two legs.