Ten days into the 2024 European Championships in Germany and England appear to have generated more questions than answers.
At the time of writing our Three Lion hero’s have played twice in the tournament and completely underwhelmed on both occasions – a dour 1 – 0 victory against Serbia was followed by a completely uninspiring 1 – 1 draw with Denmark and although these results have seen England qualify for the knock-out stages, criticism from fans, media and pundits has been significant.
Most people believe the current squad is the most talent-laden ever and manager Gareth Southgate should be getting far more from them – his ‘experiment’ with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold playing in central midfield has simply not worked and as we prepare for our final group game against world 57th Slovenia, the country is looking for signs that Southgate actually knows how to create an exciting, winning side from his incredibly impressive squad.
It seems almost unbelievable that Chelsea’s Cole Palmer hasn’t seen a single minute of action so far and just as mystifying is Southgate’s insistence on playing Manchester City’s Phil Foden on the left-hand side of England attack when he clearly does not want to play there – his performances only underline his frustration as he frequently wanders into central positions.
I also believe that Real Madrid’s player of the year and Birmingham’s own Jude Bellingham is a problem Southgate must address and solve.
Bellingham appears to believe that he can win every game on his own and frequently wanders all over the pitch chasing the ball and trying to make things happen.
Although this endears him to supporters and his passion is admirable, he frequently vacates important area of the field leaving the team exposed at times and his excursions clog-up other areas of the pitch which prevents teammates from finding space and playing as we would all like.
Add to this Harry Kane’s love of dropping deep to receive the ball, also clogging up midfield areas and Southgate has several puzzles he simply must solve if England are to reach what most fans and pundits feel should be a second consecutive Euro’s final.
In what is being touted as Southgate’s final tournament as England manager, he really must make those big calls, whoever it may upset and find a team and level of performance an elite coach surely would.
His final problem to solve will be the sides complete reliance on our right-hand side for attacks – playing right-footed Keiron Trippier at left-back doesn’t help, along with the Foden issue ahead of him, but Southgate’s apparent lack of belief in Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon as a left-sided forward means he must find a solution – Jack Grealish anyone?
Image Credits: Bildersindtoll via Commons.Wikimedia.org
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