Let’s shake hands and agree we both have problems
Both teams have huge problems at the back if Trent can’t defend then neither can his replacement
I must admit I thought Mount was injured against Italy that he didn’t play is criminal the game suddenly lit up as soon as he came on
I’m going to sympathise a bit with Southgate.
Gareth is no Jurgen Klopp, and it probably takes a manager like Klopp to devise a system where Trent can be the playmaker from right back.
If Southgate has decided that he can’t do the high risk/high reward act that Jurgen does, and he primarily needs defensive solidity from his full backs, then it’s totally understandable that he might not fancy Trent.
Even here, fans have been slating Trent this year for the acres of space he is leaving behind him. I’ve argued this isn’t a Trent issue, and it’s that the cover from midfield that Trent’s game has developed around is just not there. But either way, it’s not really fair to criticise Southgate for leaving out Trent, when the discussion from Liverpool fans has been that Trent is bang out of form, or he is struggling because Liverpool’s unique system is failing.
I’m not arsed in the slightest about Trent getting overlooked for England, cos I’d much prefer him wrapped up in cotton wool at Kirkby. My worry is that if Trent has ambition to become an England regular, that might lead to him pushing the midfield issue at Liverpool.
I dont agree. Plenty of managers could get something from Trent either at full back or elsewhere. It’s purely an issue with Southgate’s self imposed limitations.
Did England field 3 CB’s last night or a back 4?
Hard to tell when Maguire’s playing left wing.
Back 5 Stones, Dier and Slabhead as centre back James and Shaw as wing backs
Thanks. So even less reason to think he couldnt have contributed in that set up without a world class manager.
Yeah, nah. There have been a few people try to explain away Southgate and they sound all valid until you actually see the team on the pitch. Maguire? Really? He’s a walking fridge with the ability of an overweight sauropod on the turn knee deep in volcanic ash ffs. Southgate is:
'So let’s leave the kid who’s won everything and likes to attack on the bench because he’s a little out of form and because I’ve bought the media line that he’s poor defensively but I know, I’ll ‘ave’ ‘Arry on because he cost 80 million quid so he’s the world’s best Centre Half and gets a free ride.’
Southgate is a limited, handbrake on, Sky Sports watching, media savvy manager. He’s fucking shyte and if it wasn’t for international football being equally shyte he’d be long gone down the sacked route. I mean imagine Southgate taking charge of a Prem side…
Who over the course of Southgate’s tenure has been a very reliable performer for him. I think having to accommodate some of his limitations is part of the reason Southgate is so conservative, but then that comes back to who are the alternatives? It’s not like we’re in 90 and there’s a player like Gazza knocking down the door making an undeniable claim to break into the side.
Someone mentioned a bit earlier in this thread that he now looks like he’s broken, and I think there is likely something to that and his performances have fallen to a point where Southgate needs to really focus on the here and now, not on who performed for him in the Euros, but I think it’s reasonable he’d let someone who has been so central to his results over the past 5 years push it to that point wearing an england shirt than just fucking him off because he wasnt performing for Utd (again, especially given the lack of really candidates to play instead of him)
Every single one of his alternatives would constitute a lesser threat to their own goal than Maguire. He has been a liability for the best part of two years, Southgate has zero justification for continuing to play him.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63054249
Any idea what Southgates been smoking?
Good, I hope that all coaches around the world feel the same about all Liverpool players and will not select them for whatever international ever again
Did Trent have to stay n watch on Monday night…Its as if Southgate is trying to make a point…if they’re injured they send em home…so why make him sit in the stands…is it some kind of torture psychology to make him watch.??? On the the other hand did he want to stay…who knows…
Nothing really controversial there, he doesn’t think Trent defends well enough (which he doesn’t) and hasn’t this season, not much more to it than that.
Playing for Liverpool under Klopp and playing for Boregate under England couldn’t be further apart in terms of requirements.
On 1 hand you have a side who don’t give a shit who they play and go full throttle, and on the other you have 11 methodical robots who are shit scared of losing.
“England boss Gareth Southgate feels Trent Alexander-Arnold’s “all-round game” is behind that of right-back rival Kieran Trippier.”
About Maguire:
“I know everybody says he’s important to me, he’s important to us,” Southgate said. "It’s us, it’s not me.
“Why do we pick him? Because he’s one of the players who gives us the best chance of winning.”
As much as I can’t stand Southgate, I would have to agree with the Trent dropping. He is way off form, and nowhere near where he should be. On the flip side, if Maguire constantly starts, how can anyone take Southgate’s analysis seriously.
I take a different approach, I want our players to be undroppable for their national sides because it would mean that their club form is outstanding.
He has 4 top quality players who can play at RB and none, not a single one, who is of comparable quality at CB. Stones’ name is often raised as an example of having good options, but he is successful on a side that isnt expected to defend much and is a liability when he’s asked to. In contrast, Maguire has been very successful for an England side that is expected to defend a lot and is set up to do so, and has only really come up short when transferred into a club side that is asked to attack and left him more exposed. I do worry that his experience at Utd has really damaged him mentally to the point that he’s in Karius territory, but until recently he has been a very reliable performer for Southgate even while a target of mockery for Utd. I mean, how many goals did we conceed in the whole of the Euros? 2?
I totally get the frustration, but go to the BBC page and try to pick your own team. For as many good players as we have, there is no way to put a side together that doesn’t have major issues. You can either ignore it (like continuing to play Lampard and Gerrard in CM together) or you try to find out ways to accommodate those weaknesses. The challenge is, it’s like trying to finish a rubix cube when you’ve got only 1 square left to solve. Every move you make to get ti right creates another problem you have to solve.
I dont agree with it, but I am fine with a final decision that says Trent isnt a good part of those solutions because his inclusion does absolutely pose a challenge or two. What frustrates me, and should make Trent feel let down, is that he’s barely figured in the possible solutions Southgate’s tried.