England Senior Team General Discussion Thread

Annoyed at myself for not posting this sooner but Sturridge needs to be in the next squad. None of this silly Callum Wilson business.

 

Gawd knows .. he'd be a revelation at a top club

 

The Chelsea fans aren't impressed by Barkley . Anytime I have seen him for Chelsea this season he has flattered to deceive. I think the problem with Barkley is he stayed too long at Everton where he was playing with inferior players and his game never developed .

You still get the impression when you see him play that he is a teenager . He is going to have to improve a lot over the season if he is too nail down at starting spot for Chelsea or England. I think myself he is too far behind in his development to bridge the gap and become the world class player everyone thought he would be.

 

A word on Raheem Sterling... He was outstanding yesterday as he has been for the last year or more. It blows my mind that 'fans' still say that he shouldn't be in the England squad.

He's already an asset for England but for some reason hasn't started scoring regularly yet.

Is it a confidence thing or a bit of bad luck? If tactics are the issue, how could England tweak their tactics to get the best from him?

I'm genuinely interested to hear your views, as an in form Sterling would add a new dimension to England.

 

Clueless fans tbh who think he shouldn’t be in the England Squad! Sounds harsh but that’s the reality imo. For example, it really bugs me when I constantly hear fans claim he only scores tap in’s when they clearly don’t understand the football intelligence that he possesses that gets him into these situations, his reading of the game is brilliant imo. His finishing has always been highlighted and that seems to be getting better and better.

Southgate needs to change tactics in my opinion to get the best out of Sterling and not play him tucked in just behind Kane, like he has been. Just doesn’t suit his game and for England, we need to get the best out of him if the team is going to perform at the highest level. I hope he goes back to a 4-3-3 sometime soon with a top three of Kane and then Sterling and say Rashford on the flanks.

 

Walcott needs to be considered. He has played pretty well for Everton and his raw pace is a weapon .

 

Walcott is certainly a squad option but not a starter.

I agree with Marcho. 433 would be just right. Rashford-Kane-Sterling should work well for now.

 

You know what, I’ve never been a fan of his from his Arsenal days but funnily enough after watching him against Arsenal last week, I was quite surprised and impressed, his all round game seems to have improved somewhat.

 

11 Sancho - 9 Kane (c) - 10 Sterling

8 Maddison

4 Henderson - 7 Hughes

3 Chilwell - 6 Maguire - 5 Gomez - 2 Walker

1 Pickford

Butland + McCarthy
Trippier or Alexander-Arnold
Stones
Dier
Shaw
Delph
Winks or Cook
Lingard
Dele injured atm (D.Gray or Mount)
Rashford
Sturridge​

 

I think Sancho-Kane-Sterling will be our front 3 by this time next year (injuries permitting.) I have a feeling Sancho will play for the under 21s first though.

 

I have a theory about Sterling !!
I notice small details / changes or patterns ..... anyways I take a lot of interest in how players 'strike' the ball when they pass / shoot and I noticed that for whatever reason Sterling 'scuffs' or 'miskicks' the ball more than anyone I've ever seen . I don't just mean when he shoots at goal but even some of his short passes will kinda bobble off his foot ..

You'll have to concentrate on him to notice these things but you did say you wanted our views ..

 

he's been extremely impressive, makes me think of Koscielny in the 1 v 1, with more ability on the ball. My only concern is his fitness record, already had a few serious injuries in different places. Hopefully it was just bad luck but Sturridge and Wilshere made me paranoid.

 

Barkley, Hughes, and Sturridge have to be called up.

 

And Maddison.

 

I think the point about a switch at some point to 4-3-3 is a good one. We have a lot of talent emerging that needs to play wide of a central striker, which as we've seen with Sterling is tricky in the current system. Sterling-Kane-Sancho does seem like it is inevitable but I don't think there's any rush with Sancho. Perhaps use him as an impact player, but in the meantime, Rashford is perfectly capable in that spot.
What worries me more as I look forward is that we have no depth behind Kane - none at all really.

 

Will Southgate pick players who have barely played for their club teams this time round?

Delph and Loftus-Cheek look the two most likely to be dropped based on that.

With Alli out, that opens up a lot of spots in midfield.

 

It sure does. Maddison, Hughes, Winks, Barkley all in with a shout. I also like the steadiness and all round game of Lewis Cook.

 

He said recently that it would be very difficult to pick players who still weren't getting games by the time of this coming international break. Didn't rule it out entirely, but clearly he's not giving them the pass that he gave them at the start of the season.

 

It seems like Lingard is injured too, so another man out of Southgate's core team.

 

Gomez, Shaw, Maddison and (dare I say it) Rice have been really impressive.

 

Am I the only one who's not that blown away by Rice? When I've seen him, he's looked pretty ordinary on the ball to me.

 

I don't think many people are blown away by Rice, but he's certainly a nice option to have due to his versatility and age. We're a bit thin on centre backs and defensive midfielders. Never mind players who are able to cover both.

 

Defensive midfielders yes, but centre backs? No way.

 

Really !?

Spurs fans aren't keen on Barkley at all .. and Sturridge has done nothing to justify a recall ... that one wonder goal at the weekend aside ... he'll be injured any day now ..