there is nothing wrong with players being in senior NT over U21 after all that's the whole point, not really a loss. It's also good to give lesser players a chance in the limelight as if your top guns go to U21 they will block those guys. Some could use the U21 Euro to showcase themselves to clubs too.
Absolutely this! Yeah, I can’t really get over how much better tactically the Germans were than us last night, sure maybe so many of their players playing have much more first team football in the Bundesliga and has helped but it feels like we lack basic instructions. The Germans carved through us so easily in that first half it was ridiculous and most of it was pretty basic pass and move to create space while our players were static and had no fluidity whatsoever, it was as if Boothroyd told them, this is your role, don’t move from that position etc. Southgate was watching that last night and can’t help but think even though he probably won’t say it if he was to be interviewed but doubt he will have been impressed with Boothroyd and his tactics or rather lack of tactics.
It seemed that they had that one playmaker drop back whilst the full backs pushed up to create an overload. The answer was just to get on the playmaker, which we did more in the second half but why not change tactics during the first half? It seemed that we were just looking to hit Solanke to hold up and bring the wide players in i.e. old school basic British stuff. What's going on with developing coaches at England? Surely its just as important as developing players.
Yeah, our FA go on about giving opportunities to our up and coming coaches but then when jobs for U21-U18 come up for grabs we give the jobs to the same old failed football league coaches and managers. There must be a lot of really talented young coaches who can freshen things up a bit, sort of in the Joe Edwards mould? Boothroyd is out of his depth but I can’t see the FA making the call to sack him anytime soon tbh. He will probably lead us to another two U21 cycles at least I would say the same for the Simpson also who’s record lately has been pretty poor and how players like Willock and Edwards can get overlooked but Hirst gets picked is beyond me but that’s for the other thread. Same with Downing, couldn’t get that talented U19 Squad to the finals when playing at home is a joke so I would replace all three right now.
2 years after that perfect summer it seems like English age groups are in decline, though the talent should be still there. It's obvious that this is a coaching problem, and the FA should end using coaches who already failed in senior football.
I'd like to see them take a chance on a Scott Parker or a Jody Morris.. or someone of that ilk. That first half performance was very old school and not in a good way.
The other thing that did my head in was Germany playing out from the back from dead balls. Liverpool showed against Bayern how to nullify that completely yet no one in our coaching staff seemed to know. Its like there was zero research into the opposition or just a bad plan to counter them.
I'm just saying it's mad to me, in terms of the fact that they can be without all of those quality potential options and still be as good as they are.
What are people's thoughts on our wide forward options, in terms of who they would/wouldn’t like to see start? I'd say CHO, followed by Barnes, Nelson, Gray and Lookman.
Essentially I'd like to see this team in the finals, assuming anyone already up with the seniors on a full-time basis stays there, but I'd play a 3-5-2. --------------------------Gunn---------------------------- -----------Tomori------Konsa-----------Kelly------------ Wan-Bissaka------------------------------Sessegnon -------------------Mount----Winks------------------------ -------------------------Foden------------------------------ --------------Solanke--------------Abraham-------------- That assumes Hudson-Odoi and Sancho are up with the seniors for the Nations League Finals, else you'd obviously involve them in their best positions.
My XI would be: Gunn AWB Tomori Kelly Sessegnon Longstaff/AMN Foden Mount/Maddison Nelson Solanke CHO I’d have Smith Rowe, Skipp, Tuanzebe and Bowen as wild cards for the squad depending on how often/well they play.
I agree with this whole-heartedly and it has me worried. I am starting to think our success was more about hitting a good cycle of players than any long term sustainable coaching. Dont get me wrong, some good came out of it: dna, southgate, cooper. But the true measure of success is sustaining it and seeing patterns. I increasingly see a disconnected mess
Nelsons been superb for the u21 so hed be the first name on my sheet, along with foden and cho. Solanke always solid for england too up top. The rest are a crab shoot
Makes sense since our U19’s are now out of the Euro’s and we have issues with our midfield, having said that would he be in direct competition with Foden, Maddison and Mount or can he play a deeper role? https://amp.sportsmole.co.uk/footba...ring-morgan-gibbs-white-for-euros_354587.html
I'm sceptical that Boothroyd will be ruthless enough to drop Davies or Dowell now they've been a part of the squad for so long. Davies, Maddison, Foden, Dowell seem like certainties. Onomah, Gibbs-White + Mount are the outsiders. Who knows about Maitland-Niles, although for some reason he's clearly not seen as a midfield option, which is a shame. Onomah looks unlikely, simply because there's only 8 games left in the Championship season. Would Davies, Maddison, Foden, Dowell, Gibbs-White, Mount be too many players in a 23? 3 Keepers 5 - Kenny, AWB, Dasilva, Sessegnon, KWP (would he drop KWP?) 5 - Tomori, Kelly, Konsa, JCS, Fry 7 - Davies, Maddison, Foden, Dowell, Gibbs-White, Mount, Choudhury 5 - Lookman, Gray, Nelson, Barnes, Hudson-Odoi 3 - Solanke, DCL, Abraham So, 5 of them outfielders need cutting. Choudhury, Hudson-Odoi (will be with seniors) are ones i'd predict, then I doubt Gibbs-White will get a place when Boothroyd actually sits down to think about it.
From the 28 listed, I'd leave out KWP, Davies, Choudhury, Lookman and possibly Gibbs White. Dowell’s only advantage over Gibbs White is that he’s viewed as being able to play deeper and has been around the squad a while. I don’t see how we can leave out Mount or Longstaff if they end the season well. Too good to ignore. If Maddison or CHO go with the seniors then it may simplify the decision but they’d be a big miss.
Yeah, pretty much this. In many respects it is still a typical English team: An abundance of speed and general athletic ability, a lot of quality up front, but few players who can read the game and give structure to their team's play. Germany's midfield triangle of Maier, Dahoud and Neuhaus is just worlds ahead of anything you can field. The Germans otoh are once more lacking true forwards though. Waldschmidt is a great player but not a Number 9 at all. We'll see what that Mnecha kid can do...Wasn't impressed by what he showed tbh.
You've been helped by having far better midfielders in the senior team. If Dahoud were English, he'd have been permanently moved up to the seniors long before he turned 23 for want of alternatives, just as Loftus-Cheek, Winks, and Dele Alli have been.
I feel like England's only really impressive midfielder is Foden and that's pretty much it. That's just not enough. (not looking at senior players)
Balls. We have plenty of young midfielders ready to step up. U clearly don't look at English clubs youth teams. English players are more than about speed. They have technique now. Declan rice is the perfect example. He is a defensive midfielder but he can pass the ball, run with it etc. Madison is another example. Man utd city Liverpool Chelsea arsenal spurs are all producing technically gifted young english midfielders. In the next 2 or 3 years u will see as lot of them. Winks and cheek are the perfect example of young english midfielders who are comfortable in possession. Foden is the prime example. U are judging english players on a friendly which is down to the coach not utilising them properly. Germany aren't producing anywhere near the quality of a Toni kroos or a schweinstiger anymore
I think central midfield does remain the biggest weakness in development (alongside perhaps goalkeepers) in the current England youth system. Too often there's a tendency that anyone with any kind of creative ability just becomes an attacking player and central midfield becomes the realm of the physically gifted, triers, and conservative players. Aside from Garner the defensive midfielders all tend to be fairly limited in passing range too. A lot of this seems to be the case at club level there's for whatever reason a lack of trust in these technical players at central midfield - see someone like Onomah who plays well for England as a deep midfielder but rarely gets club minutes in the same position. With that said the under 21's will be missing about 7 central midfielders. Off the top of my head Cook, Onomah, Winks, RLC, Longstaff, Alli and Mount.