The chap at BrightonWho's Dunk?
Plays for Brighton, he always plays really well against United, annoyingly.Who's Dunk?
This. We need a bit more quality in the middle of the park I feel. That attack is though.That midfield is atrocious.
The midfield just screams mehGoalkeepers
Jack Butland, Tom Heaton, Jordan Pickford
Defenders
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell, Michael Keane, Harry Maguire, Danny Rose, Luke Shaw, John Stones, James Tarkowski, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker
Midfielders
Ross Barkley, Dele Alli, Fabian Delph, Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Declan Rice
Forwards
Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling, Callum Wilson
Yes.The midfield just screams meh
Let's not do that. To the EF!Yes.
Wow, we're having a chat about football.
What do you mean saved? It's March.I do get his reasoning for not picking Smalling, but when guys like Tarkoski and Dunk are making the squad ahead of him it is baffling.
Midfielder looks poor as usual, but options like Maddison might be being saved for the u21 tournament in the summer same with Wan Bissaka I'd imagine.
Clumsy may be the wrong word but essentially he's just not great at bringing the ball out from the back, his range of passing is limited.Not picking on you here but when people say Smalling is clumsy on the ball what do they actually mean? Is it more so how he turns his body before playing a pass? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him struggle to control a ball or misplace passes often. I’d probably go as far to say his passing is fairly accurate. It’s just that 1/2 second delay he has before making the pass. I don’t see any of these England playing defence splitting passes on a regular basis. So I’m not really sure what it is Southgate is expecting. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong though.
I rate Maguire and Stones. Around the same level as Smalling in my opinion. I think they’re both similar though. I ain’t having Keane and Tarkowski as better options though.
As in just leave them with the U21s as this is the last international break before the tournament.What do you mean saved? It's March.
Okay okayNot now obviously I meant by time the World Cup comes around or possibly even Euros if he has a rapid breakthrough (all dependent on if he lives up to the hype obviously).
He is injured. He has some chronic problem with his ankles that means he has to play through pain. He needs a break currently. It doesn't really bode well.Is Harry Winks injured or something? He should be one of the first names on the team sheet for England.
Fair enough. Shame as he’s England’s only 21st century central midfielder!He is injured. He has some chronic problem with his ankles that means he has to play through pain. He needs a break currently. It doesn't really bode well.
I think there is sometimes a bit too much emphasis placed on players' current form for their club. Of course it's not completely irrelevant but Southgate's job isn't to pick an English 'Team of the month'. I think that you ideally want to have a reasonable degree in consistency in the squad selection rather than changing 8 or 9 players every time depending on who happens to have done the best in the few months in between, especially as there are so many variables and circumstances that can affect this.Central midfield is a glaring weakness for England in general. I like Fabian Delph at City, but he's not been playing, much less at CM at all for them, and he's there in the squad. Ward-Prowse seems a more deserving option. Or perhaps Lewis Cook. Or Hughes. All players who have played very well this season and are consistently playing for their clubs.
I don't understand the process of selection, sometimes.
"Oh, well, I picked X player when he used to play more, so, I'm obligated to pick him even though he's not playing."
SlamWho's Dunk?
Thought so.Slam
I agree. Smalling has raised his game for big matches recently. Baffling how players who have less big match experience and are worse defenders than him get picked.Baffling that Smalling isn't picked over the dross. Especially after his recent performances.