Trent to me is also the obvious one out. Have never seen him play as a fullback in a 3man defense, but from what I've seen of him, he wouldn't suit the system. And he also looks tactically inept.
Perhaps if Southgate really wanted to take him to Qatar, he might try to convert him to a Kimmich and shift him into midfield in a double pivot with either Rice or Kalvin Phillips.
Whether in a 3 or 4 man defense, I think James is their best option with Trippier as back up. Walker will slot in as the right side CB in a 3man system
But lemme wait for your next post!
Hi, please permit I port here to use one stone to kill three birds.🙂
First of all,great indepth analysis by @amirtheawesome1, he makes "complicated" things easy.🙂 I like the way he sees the whole pitch in his analysis, just the way I like football to be viewed. Truth is,the coaches don't just look at a player in isolation.
Now to yours, you have agreed with him, but once again, like in your recent post, you've added some analytics and a very intelligent suggestion. Well it depends if Southgate can connect with that.
Finally @mckane seems to take in the holistic view of the writer and concludes that a TA can yet do a great job in the WBack role,since England plays two DM's(which I didn't know). I mean if you play two DM's you should easily cover for an attack minded wing-back.
Well for now,everyone seems to agree that Reece-James leads the pack in Southgate's mind.
My regards dear colleagues.
Southgate's favourite midfield combo is Rice and Kalvin Phillips, both playing the double pivot DMF role with Phillips just a little bit advanced. Bellingham got to play due to Phillips injury, and he played a more withdrawn role compared to at Dortmund, where he has the license to roam forward a lot.
One of the reasons why England is still not on the same level as the likes of Brazil, Argentina or France is their conservative approach. And, like I once said, it's helped them to better tournament results, but also failed them in the most crucial moments. Just look at the Euros final, they're playing at Wembley with 70,000 fans willing them on, they got an early goal through Luke Shaw. A Brazil or Argentina will leverage on those opportunities to relentlessly attack the Italians and get a 3-0 win. Instead of that, England remained conservative till the Italians found their confidence.
As for now, I don't see Trent at the World Cup. Southgate will definitely drop one of those four right backs for Rashford, and TAA will be the fall guy. Kyle Walker can play the right sided CB in a back three, so he's definitely going. Trippier is the favourite of the coach, James is the most balanced.
Honestly, for me, I would drop Maguire, play a very fast Kyle Walker, Stones and Dier in a back three, Arnold from right wing back, Shaw or Chilwell from the left. With Phillips (DMF) and Walker protecting the right side of defence, Arnold will get the license to ping those wonderful deep crosses towards Kane at every opportunity. I'm yet to see a defence that can defend well taken deep crosses comfortably.
Great analysis yet again from you. You dedicated the first paragraph to informing me about the status quo. Thanks.
Second paragraph, I couldn't agree more. That his conservative style. May I add that,that this being national team football,helps Southgate too. Coaches don't have sufficient time to prepare their players(unlike in clubs), so it's easier for a conservative approach to seem unbreakable,especially when you have good players operating it.
I see,okay Trippier is the favourite. We await.
On Maguire,I think Southgate has urged him to do more in his club. It's going to be difficult for him because the United coach has seen enough of him. Mr. Blanchy wrote a post recently and @george-dee replied:
"The whole football federation in the world keeps making the same mistake of selecting players based on their names.
Leaving Ben White out of England squad that Maguire got into still makes me laugh. Ben White might not be the best but he is doing his suites well. Targett is not left out, Tomori and Guehi, Trippier, Dier and many others should be given a chance.
Why stick to Maguire when he hasn't tried others? I see lots of condemnation about these guys I mentioned above and I think people are wrong to judge them.
In the few times, I watched this guys, I will choose them over Maguire who commits blunders and can throw a one-goal lead away at the last minute."
Mr. Blanchy has not replied.
There are solutions if Southgate cares to listen.
Cheers man
A lot of national team managers do try to stick to their known players. Just like you rightly said, these managers have very little time to blend in new players. Back then, I always wonder why Belgium plays Jason Denayer despite it being glaring the guy is bang average. Clearly, he has the manager's trust, just like Maguire.
However, I think Maguire's cup of misdeeds has run over now. Read he had a two-hour meeting with Southgate immediately after the Germany match. The manager probably read him the riot act. If he doesn't play for Man U, he won't start for England. Barring any unfortunate injury, that dude won't start an important game for Man U before the World Cup.
People keep trying to push that TAA at CM bullshit which is a horrible idea. TAA is great for Liverpool do but that's it.
The next post is out. There will be one more where I simply share formation ideas.