joey_big_nose

Can't believe anyone can have a go at Sterling. Him, Kane and maybe Walker are the only players any other top international team would be envious of. He's quick, creative, scores goals, can beat players inside and outside. It's no accident he's kept his place in a City side full of outstanding attacking players. If we're going to get anywhere it will really come down to Kane and Sterling having excellent tournaments.

Belgium player for player should be up there with the best teams but they just don't look that convincing. Look a bit mentally fragile (like England tbh). On paper they should beat us easily, but for whatever reason I am pretty sure we will get a draw.

Lingard is quality and one of our only two creative midfielders in the squad (the other being Loftus-Cheek). Don't think we should drop him for anybody! However we could easily have dropped Cahill or one of Alexander-Arnold/Young and brought Shelvey. I get the vibe Southgate doesn't like him on a personal level. Wonder if they had a run in when they were both in the youth setup?

Both fair points.

Bjelland is one of the best names I've seen for a while..! On Hoilett I was a huge fan of his, think he has loads of quality and should really be playing at a higher level. Exactly the sort of player (quick, creative) we need. However surely his wage demands are massive, and his mentality is deeply suspect. Plus when has a player coming back to us (or any other club) really worked? Can't see it happening.

Don't think even with a proper left winger it would have worked that well. Tactically any team would struggle to accommodate more than one of Scholes, Lampard and Gerrard effectively. All three of them expected total freedom to do as they please in midfield, lacked the versatility and pace to play out wide, and the discipline and defensive quality to be effective holding players. In essence they were all far too similar to one another. But then if an England manager left one or two of them out (say for Hargreaves or Carrick who were more balanced choices) he would get pilloried, so really whoever was in charge was onto a hiding to nothing. The best teams not only have good players, they also have good balance across the team and an effective system to deploy those players. Spain and Germany in recent years have epitomised that. England have had some good players between 2000 and 2010, but never a good balance, nor an effective system. One thing I will say for Southgate is we do actually look better balanced than we have for a long time, and I do like the 343 system he has put together which is a lot more fluid than I've seen from the national team in a long time. It's just a shame the players available are pretty weak.

I think Delph will primarily be seen as backup for Rose at left back. Where he plays for Man City.

Hmmm.. to leave out all of Lallana, Wilshire and Shelvey excludes a lot of quality. You'd think taking one of them over a defender makes sense. We've got six players who can play full back/wing back, and six who can play centre back, that seems like pretty extreme overkill... Southgate will be thinking Delph can provide cover in midfield also. Looking at that squad Lingard and Kane are going to be absolutely critical, also a lot of expectation is being heaped on Loftus-Cheek. Seems he is likely to play a major role if we need creativity. I am bemused why we don't take at least one other wildcard.

Out of that lot I could easily see Colombia or Poland beating us in the second round. We're about their level at the moment, let's not kid ourselves.

Yes, only players you can say with your hand on your heart are international quality are Kane, Sterling and Walker. Everyone else are decent enough, but more laboure than arte really. Lingard has shown something to be fair. Pickford had an absolute shocker against West Ham which is worrying. I think France, Germany, Brazil, Spain etc. are not too bothered by us, and who can blame them. If Southgate gets us to the quarters he will have done very well.

Don't think so, on MOTD they say he's only managed 8 or 9 since December. Wikipedia has him down as only playing 19 games all season. For England Hodgson tried to shoehorn Wilshire into a deep lying playmaker role at Euro 16 with mediocre results. Wilshire more naturally wants to play further forward, and would dribble out from deep rather than pass. Advantage with Shelvey is he naturally wants to sit deep and pick out runners with quality forward passes. Reminds me a lot of Carrick. Think he could work well alongside Henderson in the middle. Would mean dropping Dier though which I doubt will happen. Plus arguably with the 343 formation Southgate has hit on the defenders are the real playmakers (which is a bit bizarre, but I quite like the oddness of it, and the defenders we have are very good passers). So maybe we don't really need a Shelvey type in the middle. That said think it would be a good option to have on the bench, to bring on if we are trying to breakdown a defensive team.

To be honest the fringe player I would take and has the potential to make the biggest impact is Shelvey. He's got genuine quality, and is the type of passing playmaker we need to tie the team together. Wilshire has hardly played all season, and while Loftus-Cheek is decent I don't think he has the all round quality of Shelvey nor an obvious place to fit into the team. Squad for me Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland, Nick Pope Defenders: Kyle Walker, Kieran Tripper, Ryan Bertrand, Danny Rose, John Stones, James Tarkowski, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jack Wilshere, Jordan Henderson, Jon Jo Shelvey, Adam Lallana, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Ruben Loftus-Cheek Attackers: Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling Team : Pickford Walker Stones Maguire Trippier Henderson Dier Rose Lingaard Sterling Kane

Cairney when he was sold was in and out of the team. Bowyer didn't like playing him centrally so he was rotated with Marshall, King and Conway out wide. Shame. That Bowyer misused two quality players like King and Cairney for so long was very disappointing. Dack on the other hand is the talismanic player the entire team revolves around. He is as close to indispensable as it gets. Totally different situation to Cairney.

I very much dispute that Dack lacks pace. He's as quick as anyone else we have in the squad. He's scored a few breakaway goals. He's also physically strong, skilful, creative, scores buckets of goals and is direct - a rare and potent combination. I think he will have a very strong season in the Championship. I also think - to echo what someone else said - that we should be able to hold onto him as he is not yet proven at Championship level so no one will bid the £6-7M it will take to make Venkys interested. If Venkys sold him for a low offer as you suggest it would 1) hugely dent our chances of staying up 2) totally destroy any faint hopes of promotion we may have 3) almost certainly lead to Mowbray leaving 4) entail selling an asset way below potential value (hopefully Venkys are aware of what Cairney is valued at currently...) Don't think selling him for £3m is going to happen for all those reasons. Think we will definitely keep him till at least January. Then if we get a big offer it may be a struggle to keep him.

I don't know I would ever have classified Evans as excellent. He had a few good games, but his form has always fluctuated.

Considering Dack has been consistently brilliant since the start of the season he is a nailed on certainty for the award. It's good we have quite a few more players who have had very good seasons, but Dack will romp it. I think he will be a top player in the championship next year. Don't think any of the other touted will be except maybe Mulgrew. That said well done to Benno, Graham etc. for quality performances.

It's all opinions but for me I thought despite some early lapses stones did okay, and Dier was decent, although I agree Henderson did better in the role. They can both pass the ball very well which is a huge asset. I am a total convert to this new formation. We lack cutting edge, but the passing and build up play is hugely improved. Some of the moves back to front were fantastic, there was always a pass on, and we had the technical ability to execute. My only worry is if teams cotton onto 343, as they did with Chelsea in the premier league this year, then we may get found out.

Watched the game tonight. Have to hand it to Southgate. It was an innovative set up which paid off. The back three were excellent on the ball and totally controlled the game. The passing quality they had negated the need for a deep midfield play maker. Also playing Walker on the right of the three created an interesting dynamic with Trippier too. Only downside was lacking goal threat up front.

I'd agree with what you say at the end. All the top players are vastly well paid. England are hardly different in that regard. To be honest it's not the case that the English players aren't up for it, or lack pride. It's just that they are not as good. The Spain team that dominated 2008-2012 were stuffed full of Catalans who had little affinity for Spain. But that hardly mattered as what led to their success was supreme talent and a great team system and ethic. It's not about trying hard. It's about being good players. England have never been in the top tier of talent globally as long as I have watched the game. You could point to substandard teams have won tournaments (Portugal and Greece spring to mind) but they won through luck and good tactics. Not because somehow they wanted it more.

Had a read of the expected team in the article. Good goal threat, a lot of athleticism, decent pace and quality out wide. But defensively very weak at centre back and goalkeeper, and no one who is a proper passer of the ball in midfield. Probably player for player one of the worst sides of the last 30 years.

Also - agree Dier is over rated, but he is our only true holding midfielder. All the others are box to box (Henderson, Ox, Alli etc.) and considering our squad is very attacking orientated we need a proper holding player. And those who think Cahill, Smalling and Jones won't go when everyone else at centre back has virtually no international experience - prepare to be disappointed!

I missed that. I can't really see why we would to be honest. It takes a man out of midfield or attack, and I don't think our defenders are that good in a flat back four, let alone a three. Hmmm. I suppose if we did it --------------------------Pickford --------------Gomez----Stones----Cahill Walker-------------------------------------------Rose ----------------------Dier-------Wilshire -------------------------------Alli --------------------Sterling-----Kane Yeah I don't get it. Basically we would be losing one of Sterling, Alli, or Rashford for an extra (Probably quite rubbish) centre back. Any smart team that uses space well (Argentina, France, Brazil, Spain yada yada) will get down the sides of us too I think. 4231 seems a better use of our assets. Despite what Southgate may have said my money is on 4231.

Stuck on a train and bored, so my guess for a team if we do go is --------------------Pickford Walker----Stones---Maguire---Rose -----------------Dier------Wilshire -----Sterling------Alli-------Rashford -----------------------Kane A lot of decent attacking players in there but only two who are top class in Kane and maybe Walker. Key individual is Wilshire for me as he is the only real passer in the frame. If he can perform we will be a much better team than with another workhorse alongside Dier. That said irrespective of Wilshire Brazil, Argentina, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain all clearly superior to us. Think it will be out in the second round. Reaching the quarters would be a good performance.

My gut's telling me that England will pull out. We're going through a massive diplomatic incident at the the moment, we've squarely blamed Russia presumably as there is solid evidence which will filter out over time. It's lose-lose. Either we ultimately withdraw because of the political dispute, or we withdraw due to fan safety as Russia ramps up as the dispute escalates. Can't see it happening.

I'm totally bemused how he's still here. Thought he was nailed on to have left by end of August. Mowbray has done well to keep him.