English national team: Southgate’s sketchy squad selection

Being in form can’t always override ability and experience. If we look back to the German World Cup winning team, players like Podolski and Klose, were either not playing well or not playing at all for their club.

But they were part of the furniture in the national team – precisely because they understood how the team worked and they had the experience of tournaments, and playing well in them. The manager, Joachim Low, showed faith in them and was duly rewarded.

https://twitter.com/GM_83/status/974287073762009089

Players such as Jake Livermore and Danny Welbeck are being shown that same faith…but they are not the same calibre of Podolski and Klose.

They haven’t achieved anything on the international stage. It’s led a lot of people to conclude that Southgate feels he has little choice in the matter, that England simply have a shallow talent pool.

Whilst that might be more the case now than in recent memory, there are still decent alternatives. How Livermore gets in ahead of Jonjo Shelvey, or Welbeck ahead of Murray or Deeney, I just don’t understand. I don’t think I’m alone either…