Ahead of who though, everyone in his position are actually getting minutes for their club. He has only played 30 minutes of Premier League football this season and I can't see that ratio improving Pep doesn't trust him. Will Southgate pick him if he continues to struggle for minutes at Manchester City?
There doesn't seem to be much clamour for it in the mainstream press. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't at the Euros. He is a better #8 than Mount by quite a distance in my opinion though. Even his pressing is comparable.
There is absolutely no reason for Delph/Rice/or quite a few others to be in ahead of him.. I agree he needs more minutes but he is clearly a step above other midfield players we have and to not play him just because of that seems silly as he would genuinely increase our chances of winning something. It will be gutting if he does miss out on the euros because he is like de Jong but has the potential to be better
Just out of interest, does anyone know if all the rest of the Squad that’s not in the first 11 can be named on the bench? Just noticed that there was no Grady Diangana or Surridge but we had two goalkeepers on the bench? Just found that a bit odd.
What's going on with our U21 coverage? Missed most of the game last night and was looking to catch up on it this morning (as I did for our previous two away matches.) Alas, the FA have decided to no longer stream our away games. If anyone knows of a site/link to watch the full match please let me know (even if it's a pay site.)
Never understand these kind of comparisons. Foden is a completely different style player than Rice or Delph, who both are defensive midfielders, while Foden is not. To play Foden (or Maddison or Mount or Grealish etc) as a defensive midfielder would the biggest boothroydism one can imagine.
I don't get what 'he's too good for this level' means.People always say it and always rush to say it. Don't get me wrong, i'd be happy to see Foden in the seniors at any point, but U21 football is still useful. All the England Senior team is 'too good' to play all the teams in their qualifying group too I guess.
I know what you are trying to say, but he is clearly above this level and already one of England’s best midfielders at his age. I don’t see why we shouldn’t play him in the seniors when he would make us a much better team and is exactly the type of player we need in midfield. He is getting minutes in the CL so I don’t see why not. It is at least worth a punt rather than being stubborn just because he isn’t starting for city - not surprising with the quality they have
I would rather Foden get 90mins with the U21's than 10mins with the seniors, especially seeing that he is getting next to no time playing for City.
Reece James Vs Albania U21https://t.co/MwYt7W4VIx— BNS Comps (@BnsComps) November 16, 2019 Reece James is the player that should be in the England squad. Foden has no business being in it until he starts playing games. Rightfully so.
That’s the point though.. he is better than our current midfielders. He’s only not playing because he is behind some of the best midfielders in the world at club level, but he still performs at a high level when he does play
The club situation does muddy the water a lot. I mean, how many midfielders in the world could force their way in front of D. Silva, B. Silva and De Bruyne? I'm not sure I can think of a single one. I think he'd play a lot of games for most teams in Europe, and leaving him out is cutting our nose off to spite our face.
I like him slightly on the right like here, can face the game and sees a lot of the ball, he actually could play the role Ox played tonight for the seniors, has a bigger engine he would defend as much if not more.
I agree but his lack of game time with City is what is going to cost him a place in the Euros next summer.
Whilst true, it still doesn't change the pure fact that because he's not getting regular games, it's hard to fully assess him in the way that all the others currently around the senior fold can be. There's no denying his quality or talent, but until he gets a regular run of games and breaks into a team, we have no way of knowing whether he can hold his own on a regular basis at professional level. How will he react to a poor game? How will he react to hostile atmospheres? How will he handle huge season defining/trophy defining games? How will he react to being kicked around or fouled by much bigger players regularly? I know these all sound like old school questions. However, my point is that mentally and physically, there are so many challenges and intangibles that come into playing regularly at the top professional level and it's a huge risk to throw somebody who hasn't as of now played regular top flight/top level into an international tournament environment. Especially with England, whom as we've seen over the years, throw huge amounts of pressure and expectations onto the team and players.
I think these concerns would apply to most players but not Foden, he's too good for that, like Rooney or Owen before him. However, picking him while he doesn't start for City would be unfair to the other players, that's the main issue for me.
Yep, fwiw, I too have confidence he can answer most of those questions. Guess my point was more just that until he actually does, you can't guarantee anything. However, you're absolutely right about that as well, the reasons for Maddison not having had a serious chance yet or the players who've got in ahead of him thus far are already somewhat dubious enough as it is. Imagine the reaction from a lot of fans and Maddison himself if he was to fall behind Foden in the pecking order. Even if it's not Maddison it will be somebody else who is either playing regularly or has lots of experience at the top level and/or for England. Only way there could possibly be any justification for Foden's inclusion is a MAJOR injury crisis. This is all assuming his situation at City stays the same of course.
Netherlands vs England. Weird to see England look technically better, but Netherlands look physically stronger.
And then I gave us the kiss of Death and the Dutch have a good sustained amount of ball and a goal which looked a tad offside.