England Euro 2024 Squad and Discussion

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DomesticTadpole said:
They were saying Toney could get in because he is great at penalties and Watkins isn't as he does not take them for Villa.
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That would just be stupid, we should be picking players who can win games not who can be great in case it goes to penalties. Watkins has been great this season. We’ve had great players miss penalties in shootouts.
 
We're light in defence, at CB and LB and a GK... Surely some better options there.
 
I still would have taken Rashford. He is a better player for international football where the structure is less rigid and teams are less drilled.
 
The seven that I think will miss out are
James Trafford (Burnley)
Lewis Dunk (Brighton)
Jarell Quansah (Liverpool)
Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa)
Curtis Jones (Liverpool)
Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
 
Havak said:
I think you're just falling into the trap a lot of us do with Foden, thinking that he's a number 10. For the record, I do think no.10 could be and probably is Foden's best position eventually. However, if you look at Man City's last 11-12 games or so, only one time did he start as a number 10. A couple of times, he played as two no.10's/no.8's alongside De Bruyne with Rodri behind them. Every other time, he started as a winger and of those games as a wide player he played all but one of them from the left. So, Pep, and probably Southgate, view him as a wide forward and he's become one who predominately plays from the left. Which is conveniently one of the few question mark positions for this England squad in terms of who is the first choice. So, Foden plays and he plays on the left. I think it's quite clear.
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I know he starts on the left (City don't play with a traditional no 10 per say) but he drifts more into the center than wide. I'm looking at more of his function in the team, and interaction with other players, and play style. Not saying it can't work, I just have little faith in Southgate making a cohesive unit out of them, and relying more on their individual brilliance :D

We won't know until friendlies though, so fair enough to reserve criticism until they turn out for a few games
 
From his comments on Shaw it sounds as though he's unlikely to go, they're just giving him a little extra time because he's first choice.
 
TheGame said:
That would just be stupid, we should be picking players who can win games not who can be great in case it goes to penalties. Watkins has been great this season. We’ve had great players miss penalties in shootouts.
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It's the only scenario one of the other strikers get on the pitch, unless Kane gets injured but if that happens England are done whether it's Watkins or Tony
 
GlasgowCeltic said:
It's the only scenario one of the other strikers get on the pitch, unless Kane gets injured but if that happens England are done whether it's Watkins or Tony
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Not really. Could be if England are winning Kane gets a rest or if chasing a goal then another striker. Watkins can also play as an Inside Forward so he would be the best pick.
 
There is the makings of a good squad there, but so many of our best, foden and bellingham in particular, are most effective when pushing forwards, I do think that southgate is too cautious to really get the best from them.

Marcus has been nowhere near good enough all season, if he didn;t know that already, he does now. Might do him good, might send him spiralling. Who knows at this point, there are clear issues with him off the pitch, he is not the guy he was the first years of his career.
 
LB looks like a bit of an issue if Shaw doesn't get fit. I guess both Gomez and Trippier can play there if needed but certainly not ideal.
 
What a squad. How do you find a formation to still play Foden and Bellingham in their natural positions without playing a diamond that then pushes out Saka
 
I'd go with the following players in bold:

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), James Trafford (Burnley).

Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City).

Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace).

Forwards: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).

I think the following names are near certainties to drop out:
  1. Dunk
  2. Qyansah
  3. Trafford

It would be harsh to leave Bowen at home but with Saka, Foden and Palmer as left footed wide players, I just don't see the value of him going. I think it's also a bit of a toss up between Maddison and Eze too.

I think midfield is so light, I'd be tempted to take all of the midfielders that can play deeper.
 
crossy1686 said:
Wait until you realise Bruno has more club appearances than he has and Martial played more games than him this season…
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Yeah I’m not really surprised about those, just feels like he’s played as often as Stones/Maguire for England.
 
Picking Shaw if he's likely not to make it is a stupid decision. There are a bunch of LB options you could take including Colwill, Doughty and Mitchell that you can have a look at instead.
 
adexkola said:
I know he starts on the left (City don't play with a traditional no 10 per say) but he drifts more into the center than wide. I'm looking at more of his function in the team, and interaction with other players, and play style. Not saying it can't work, I just have little faith in Southgate making a cohesive unit out of them, and relying more on their individual brilliance :D

We won't know until friendlies though, so fair enough to reserve criticism until they turn out for a few games
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Most of that I do agree with. If we don't end up winning anything over this last few years with the quality of player we have, it is more down to the manager than anything else - at least in my opinion. He isn't elite on a technical level when it comes to playing against the best nations with the best international managers (we have hardly ever beaten top opposition, particularly when in a major tournament).

But I do think this can work, largely because I think Grealish is average, Rashford has been well off it and isn't even going (rightly so)... Only Gordon I think is playing well and offers that electric pace and directness that I think the squad needs, I'm just not convinced he's a starter. If we were to play a different player on the left, I would hope we change things around more like this:

Pickford
Walker Stones Maguire Shaw
Rice Bellingham
Saka Palmer/Maddison Foden
Kane

Or

Pickford
Walker Stones Maguire Shaw
Rice
Saka Bellingham Foden Gordon
Kane​

Both of these are secondary to Mainoo in midfield, Bellingham no.10 and Foden on the left (opposition dependent). It'll be interesting to see how they're set up and what works, but those would be my expectations.
 
TheGame said:
Any journalist asked Southgate why Grealish and Ramsdale are in the squad?
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I'm 10 minutes behind in the press conference but not so far.

I do understand both picks, Ramsdale is a back up keeper and not expected to play and perhaps one that is good for the dressing room. Grealish is fortunate but probably makes it as he's probably the 2nd best right footed winger this season (behind Gordon). If Rashford, Sancho or Sterling were in good form all season, it might be a different story.
 
saivet said:
I'm 10 minutes behind in the press conference but not so far.

I do understand both picks, Ramsdale is a back up keeper and not expected to play and perhaps one that is good for the dressing room. Grealish is fortunate but probably makes it as he's probably the 2nd best right footed winger this season (behind Gordon). If Rashford, Sancho or Sterling were in good form all season, it might be a different story.
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I suppose you are right, I’m probably being too grumpy about it.
 
SilentWitness said:
Picking Shaw if he's likely not to make it is a stupid decision. There are a bunch of LB options you could take including Colwill, Doughty and Mitchell that you can have a look at instead.
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Agree on Colwill and Mitchell but Doughty is a no go in my opinion. He's had a great season but he's a LWB and this has been his first season in the PL. I think from an experience and tactical perspective, it's fine he was left out but do agree on the others.
 
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