Jamie Carragher: "Bellingham is the Real Madrid star but it’s Foden who reminds me of Zidane. Bellingham is a phenomenon, yet for me Foden is England’s most naturally-gifted footballer." pic.twitter.com/4WGCZHIs6i— Madrid Universal (@MadridUniversal) May 24, 2024 Foden is literally nothing like Zidane. Why do we have to have such daft pundits?
Yeah if anything Foden is similar to Iniesta (although obviously not near what he has achieved). I do agree though that Foden should play centrally, I'm wondering if Bellingham could play further back (I don't think it would ruin his game) and we play Gordon on the left who has pace and can also track back to cover. I know Southgate won't do that though, but it seems worth a try. Maybe Palmer will get some minutes and really shine but I struggle where he'd play as Foden and Bellingham are nailed on starters IMO.
Bellingham is way more like Zidane. Same ability to manipulate a ball. Foden is similar to David silva
Southgate seems to have changed his tune somewhat on Foden. He said the other day that he wants him in central areas but it "doesn't matter where he starts, it's where he ends up". It's probably safe to assume he means he's going to start him wide and let him drift centrally, but I can't see how that will work without an overlapping full-back providing the attacking threat.
Nwaneri is the most David Silva-like English player imo. Foden has small elements of a few players but I don't think there's a great comparison in terms of top level players.
My instinct a few months ago was that we should try and make use of Bellingham's new-found knack of getting on the end of things in the box. But yeah, between the lack of midfield options and the prospect that we're not going to have a proper overlapping left-back, it now seems like the best bet might be to play a proper out-and-out winger like Gordon, bring Foden into the middle and drop Bellingham next to Rice. I don't know if that's what Southgate will do initially, but he might stumble on it as the tournament progresses. I definitely think Gordon is going to see decent minutes (assuming this fitness issue isn't serious) because he's the one player with real pace.
Or you mobilise John Stones like Pep does. Give him licence to step up alongside Declan Rice whenever we're on the offensive, so we have an extra man in the middle - and Jude is free to play further forward (maybe as one of two number 10s beside Foden).
Borussia Dortmund will hold talks about turning England winger Jadon Sancho’s loan deal into a permanent switch, but a deal for the 24-year-old is unlikely with Manchester United's asking price deemed too high. (Sky Sports Germany), external Chelsea will move for £60m Michael Olise - regardless of who they make their new manager. (Daily Mirror) Manchester United have decided to sack Erik ten Hag after the FA Cup final against Manchester City. (The Guardian)
Reece is a weird guy but I hope he gets over his injury issues. Personally I think he's our most talented player. He's top class defensively and in attack and he can play that playmaker role from right back as well. 🗣️ Jeremy Doku on his toughest opponent this season: "I’ve played against so many good defenders. Now it’s become so much more difficult with teams playing more defensively. I’d say Reece James. I think he is a very strong defender, and one of the hardest I've ever played… pic.twitter.com/161RvEQfU3— TheSecretScout (@TheSecretScout_) May 25, 2024
Didn't really help that he got sent off early in his comeback. Probably needs to rest up this summer too.
James last started a game in November, I don't see how adding a player even more injury prone than the other defenders in the group would have been useful. Particularly as he was largely poor this season the rare times he did make it out on to the pitch. Seems a pretty odd character at the best of times too. Had a mini meltdown over not being selected for the world cup despite being injured, then liked a tweet about England being knocked out (the only time he did anything during the tournament).
Yeah, with those three additional places available, I'd have had James in my squad too. IF he's free from injury then he's presumably fresh and a gamble well worth taking... if only to give our backline/centre midfield that extra element of defensive steel it needs.
Walker, Stones and Foden start for Manchester City. Grealish, Carson and Lewis are on the bench. Wan - Bissaka, Mainoo and Rashford start for Manchester United. Mount is on the bench. Shaw and Maguire absent due to injury. In the Scottish Cup Hart starts his final ever professional match for Celtic. Butland, Tavernier, Davies, Sterling and Cantwell start for Rangers. Lundstram and Dowell are on the bench.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sport/fo...ect-england-partner-for-declan-rice-qnw2mpxhm Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler Conor Gallagher is the perfect England partner for Declan Rice The Chelsea midfielder could have been built with Euro 2024 in mind but Gareth Southgate should have picked two more players from Crystal Palace to balance his squad By midnight on June 7 we will know which players have been cut from Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad for Euro 2024. He gave us 33 names knowing that only 26 will be allowed so the axe will be wielded after the England manager has assessed the impact and fitness of fringe players during the upcoming friendlies against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland. On the face of it this is rather heartening. There are so many talented English players that Southgate barely knows what to do with them. There is a Bacchanalian feel to it all. Everywhere you look there is someone with skill and energy and either promise or experience. And even if England have let you down so often that you are fearful of hoping for glory, there are players among the 33 that will have you rubbing your hands in glee in spite of yourself. What a fine time to be a Crystal Palace fan given that Dean Henderson, Eberechi Eze, Adam Wharton and Marc Guéhi were all named and Michael Olise would have joined them if the England admin team had been quicker to woo the midfielder from the clutches of France. Annoyingly, the captivating Olise will not be at the Euros at all as he was not picked by Didier Deschamps. But then, Deschamps has taken a different route to that of Southgate altogether and not only dived straight in with his squad announcement, showing little interest in last-minute experimentation, but has also opted to take 25 players instead of 26. You have to pity French fans and the way they have been denied the hours of frenzied speculation that their English counterparts are engaged in as we try to second-guess the England manager. If you stare at the 33 names it becomes rather dizzying but then, slowly, it dawns that Southgate has one main dilemma to resolve and that once he has solved it he can trim away with some sense of logic. England are blessed to have Declan Rice, a midfielder who has been blossoming on a weekly basis since leaving West Ham United for Arsenal. England can be built around him because not only can he effortlessly dominate the centre of the pitch, he can also advance with intelligence and purpose while being excellent at set-piece delivery. He oozes personality and the sense that any one of his team-mates could turn to him when in the midst of an existential crisis or simply cross about the shirt number they have been allocated. Rice, then, is the player Southgate needs to be allowed to flourish, to be his best self, to be offered freedom which we know will not be squandered or abused. And that means Rice’s partner in central midfield has to be energetic, selfless and relentless. There is no need for a drumroll. Conor Gallagher could have been built with just the European Championship in mind. He has spent a season with a club that struggled to find an identity and, in the end, gave Chelsea harmony where there had been dysfunction. If anyone knows how to let the better midfielder shine then it is Gallagher. His partnership with Moisés Caicedo, who was weighed down by his £115million fee, has been a joy to witness unfold. Slowly, the team that were mocked for spending too much too randomly began to find their way and when Caicedo scored from the halfway line on the last day of the season it was the neatest of punctuation marks. He was, at last, comfortable enough to advance, to see the goalkeeper off his line and shoot without fear of opprobrium. He had Gallagher to thank for giving him that space both mentally and physically. There is arguably no more willing midfielder in Europe given the manner in which the 24-year-old harries and scampers and buzzes so much it irritates all opponents. With such a balanced axis, Southgate can then play Jude Bellingham in the No 10 role which is where he shines for Real Madrid. This inevitably pushes Phil Foden out to the left where the only left-footed left back in the squad is Luke Shaw, who might not even be fit for the Euros. With Foden cutting inside, the left side of the team could find itself listing horribly. Which brings us back to Crystal Palace. Perhaps Southgate felt he really had to stop picking players from the club he represented for seven years but Tyrick Mitchell, the left-footed full back, has grown in stature and reliability at Selhurst Park and really ought to be in the squad. It is a provisional squad full of flair, which is encouraging, even exciting, but Southgate might just have failed to think through to what the outcome might look like.
Mainoo's developed a handy knack for some big moments for United in their high profile games, I wonder if that will give him an edge to start come the Euro's. Really difficult to say right now who will partner Rice, could legitimately be any of the midfielders selected.
This is an interesting snippet into the difference in mentality in elite sport. Rooney finds it absurd that he went out celebrating his 50th PL appearance. One is happy to just be there, the other wants to be the best there. Excellent pic.twitter.com/qXbtiGpDpU— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) May 25, 2024
The friendlies might give a clue. Mainoo will miss the first one and might only be on the bench for the second.
Not great from Stones and Walker ( especially)! Stones hasn’t played much after his injury problems but really needs a big performance after the way Dias and Akanji have played towards the end of the season.