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International weeks always produce talking points and this one has been no different.
From the moment Chris Sutton and Micah Richards connect to discuss England’s 3-0 removal of Wales, the debate between the pair never subsides.
From the dazzling Jack Grealish to what happens against Belgium, the Sportsmail pundits were in fighter shape. Dominic King and Kieran Gill listened.
Cat jump
Richards and Sutton have historically held different views on Jack Grealish, the star man at Wembley on Thursday. The mention of his name sets the couple in motion.
Richards: Oh! Oh! Look to you! Are you ready to jump on the bandwagon now, sir?
Sutton: Wait a minute! I’ve never said that Grealish is a bad player! I love Grealish!
Richards: I want to find the clip where you said, ‘Oh, it’s not all that! It’s not James Maddison! He has only done it in the Championship! ‘You know how you are when you do these little spiel of yours.
I told you, Christopher. I told you! He is a top-tier player in the Premier League. When he plays with better players, he elevates it. Imagine if you were at Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City or Arsenal …
Sutton (expressionless): But they didn’t want it, did they? Were there questions about your temperament and attitude?
Richards: I wouldn’t say your attitude. I would just say how he has handled himself off the field. He has always been a professional. Whatever Jack was doing off the field, when he was young, he was always at the front of the line when it came to running, technique, passing.
Nothing ever affected him. It was then that I knew there was never a problem in terms of her social life.
Sutton: Gareth Southgate is not someone who would cut off his nose to screw up his face. Grealish has had to prove his worth and his performance against Wales was great. It’s very difficult to read too much into the game as it was against Wales and they weren’t in top form.
But Grealish was the only player who, I thought, really stood out and had that quality. Now he has nailed his place on the team. I know we’ve laughed at who’s better, Maddison or Grealish, but Grealish has done enough now to be a regular on the team at least.
The next question is whether he can get ahead of players like Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling. Gareth doesn’t want to play him in a central area from what I can see. You have earned the right to really challenge. These players should be looking over their shoulders by now.
Richards: I totally agree. It’s hard for Jack because a lot of teams don’t play a number 10 right now. I like him. When Aston Villa beat Liverpool last week, they spent a lot of time hogging that left side. He says he wants to play center-back, but I think he actually feels better on the left.
Sometimes that 10th position is really more difficult, in terms of how you receive the ball. International football usually has 11 men behind the ball and you often get more space. Look at their help.
He faces one, he faces two and then throws the cross. If you’re in position number 10, I don’t think I have time to do it.
Rashford has done nothing wrong for England, he has been excellent. Sterling did well, Kane and Sancho… although Sancho, on the last day, did not do so well. It just depends on whether the manager will choose the name or the form. There is no one better in shape right now than Jack Grealish.
Sutton: Where is your favorite position? Where do you want to play?
Richards: Anywhere up front, but when I see him play No. 8, he falls too deep. He gets frustrated when he doesn’t have the ball. It feels useless.
I like it on the left, where it starts with Villa and enters. He works hard defensively, but sometimes he doesn’t see the danger. He is an offensive player. Anywhere up front for me.
Deadly sun
Grealish was the man of the match, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s first goal, to continue his brilliant start to the season, was also timely. Is he now a credible challenger for Harry Kane?
Sutton: Calvert-Lewin has been fantastic. That said, you could have scored that goal Micah… But Calvert-Lewin looks strong, he’s comfortable with his game.
If you had asked me a couple of months ago if I would be in a serious dispute to play for England, putting pressure on Harry Kane, I would have said absolutely no.
But he’s scoring goals, playing well for Everton. Gareth now has a huge headache. This might even put a bit of pressure on Harry Kane.
Kane has been an unrivaled center forward for England. If Calvert-Lewin continues with this, then he is a serious challenger.
Richards: Kane had been too reliant on him to play well. Let’s not forget about him: when there is pressure on you, you raise your game. It has been outstanding for the Spurs. It can only be positive for England.
A case for the defense
Southgate will continue to play 3-4-3 as he makes his way to the European Championship next summer. But does the system really work?
Richards: I don’t think England is comfortable enough to do that. They still don’t know their positions well. They are playing a three, when for their clubs they are more used to playing a four. I worked with Roberto Martínez during the summer; plays a similar formation with Belgium.
England are trying to do it (play from behind with short passes) because they want the opposition to get involved and then they can play through the lines. It can seem ridiculous to us and think: ‘What are you doing!’ But if you kick it up, the team is pretty ready.
If you unbalance them with those passes to start, the movement can cut through the lines. He forces the team out and gets them involved. But England is not yet ready to do so. You have to be confident and want to keep doing it even when it doesn’t work out.
Sutton: Do you think Southgate knows the system he wants to use next summer? Or are you still experimenting?
Richards: I think he’s still waiting to see. If we ask ourselves, ‘Who is the best runner in England?’ We would all have different hind legs. Tyrone Mings? Harry Maguire? It has not disappointed England. Joe Gomez would have to play, right? Left back – Ben Chilwell?
You get defensive and you have Aaron Wan-Bissaka? Or gain experience with Kyle Walker? But Trent Alexander-Arnold is the best right-back in the Premier League! The manager has so many options and has to fit all these pieces together. All the defenders are on similar levels, Southgate is trying to figure out who can do what.
Sutton: So who would your back three be?
Richards: Mings, because you’re left-handed and getting the ball out is easier when you’re left-handed. Gomez on the right. So it’s a fight between Maguire and Connor Coady. In the last World Cup, Maguire was like a national hero. But his form for Man United has not been good enough.
Coady plays in that system every week for the Wolves. He knows better, his diagonal passes are better than anyone else in that squad, but he hasn’t had the experience of playing like Maguire in a tournament. That is why I would not know which way to go. But Gomez and Mings are definitely on it.
Sutton: But now you’re the manager, so pick one! I’m with you in Mings, I’m with you in Gomez and I’ll go with Maguire.
Richards (grimacing): I agree with you, even if I don’t want to! – just because of your experience. But if you have a bad game, I’ll put Coady straight.
Sutton: Wouldn’t you give it another chance? You are soulless.
Richards: This is a tournament! You don’t have a second chance! We are out of the tournament if we lose the next game! We can’t afford to worry about your feelings!
Talking about defensive options shifts the conversation to players who are off the team. Will there be a way back for Manchester City’s John Stones?
Richards: Soccer doesn’t wait for anyone. We know. There is always someone willing to take your place. I think the Stones can still get back to the team. I don’t think that’s all he wrote for John Stones. He will have to go on loan and find somewhere in January.
Sutton: If Southgate is playing this 3-4-3 system, he’s going to want two defensive-minded players to protect the baseline. Who would you play alongside Jordan Henderson? Let’s talk about candidates. Harry Winks? Kalvin Phillips?
Richards: I don’t think we should play 3-4-3. We should go to 4-3-3. We enter a tournament and these players do not play in this formation. The only time he plays in this formation is when he leaves with the national team.
How are you supposed to compete against countries like Belgium or France when they have their systems set in stone? That leaves us at a disadvantage. Who would you play with in central midfield?
Sutton: I’d pick Henderson and Declan Rice. Then for my wings I used Chilwell on the left and Alexander-Arnold on the right.
Richards: So you have three defenders, you have two more defenders as your full-backs, a defensive midfielder in Rice and Henderson, who has a great engine, but if you ask someone what he is, they will tell you that he is a defensive midfielder. It’s not a number 10. You have all those defenders! The guys upstairs need a supply line.
Sutton: Alexander-Arnold is one of the best supply lines out there. Chilwell too.
Richards: This is where people get absolutely twisted. Playing winger and winger are two completely different things. When you receive the ball as a winger, you already have people in front of you.
You may have to dribble people or do a skill, and that’s not Trent’s game. No matter how good he is advancing, superimposed, great center, great technique, passing, he will not dribble anyone.
If you look at Trent, when does he dribble someone and do a beautiful skill? In international football, playing winger is very difficult.
Sutton: I agree with that, and if this system is a system that Gareth wants to persist in, are these natural wingers? It is good to be well supplied with players who will do well, but we need more than good to win the Euros.
Positives and negatives
England will have a clear picture of where they stand when they face Belgium in the final Nations League qualifying game.
But time is against Southgate as he works towards next June. How do these former internationals see it in a word?
Richards: The upside is, offensively, strength in depth. Danny Ings and Calvert-Lewin are in the shape of their lives. Sterling is one of the best. Sancho is worth £ 100 million.
Now there is Grealish. We haven’t even got to Maddison, and there’s Mason Mount. There is a real quality from the beginning. But the negative is to resolve what we will do on the defensive. There are problems.
Sutton (laughing): You were asked to respond quickly! Anyway, Belgium is the barometer. Let’s be honest, the first 30 minutes against Wales were horrible, then we got the goal, things calmed down and it was very, very comfortable.
Anyway, I’m going to copy you Micah, as much as you hated doing that, and I’ll say I’m not sure if this system is convincing. That is my refusal. Can I have two positives? Nick Pope and Jack Grealish. Work done.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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