St. Maximin

He adds something different and I think what they said on the Peter Crouch show is pretty justified. You could say Southgate got it right but on the flip side if you play him from the start maybe we'd have threatened earlier. I think it's similar with Willock at Newcastle - he kept coming on and scoring so maybe he should have just played from the start. Foden and Sancho are great also but not sure they have shown for England they would have the same impact. Grealish constantly seems to make things happen, regardless of whether Southgate persists with him.

I just don’t get this. People go out their way to say Grealish is overhyped or play down everything he does well because Mount/Foden/Saka/Sterling et al would do exactly the same. I know he’s a whopper but the guy is brilliant. Not just his skills, ability to win fouls and drag defenders across, but he has terrific end-product also. 30 goals or assists in 62 Premier League games for Villa says what you need to know frankly. I’m a big Saka fan but his stats are nothing on Grealish’s and while he’s certainly played well, he’s lacked the end-product on the wing and that’s ultimately what we want. That’s why Sterling is there as despite being frustrating and less skilful than some other players, his movement is brilliant. It’s possible for Gareth to be right in being conservative while also getting away with it by not having Grealish or another attacking player start, meaning we’d be more threatening earlier on.

It’s just such a shame there isn’t much of a plan to score goals either. It’s so underwhelming. Maybe it will work after all but if it doesn’t Southgate won’t get away with it. Guess we could take very much another solid 1-0 but I wonder how we’ll cope if we go a goal down.

I don't get the mindset behind leaving the most creative players all on the bench in favour of a third centre-back and second defensive midfielder. Can understand Saka's selection after how he played, but leaving all that quality off the starting line-up is so frustrating. We have so much quality going forward we can afford to not be boring and overly conservative. Saying that I'm happy for Gareth to prove me wrong of course.

Maybe not, but they are very good players to be fair! I think with Grealish it's not necessarily him being better, but what he is bringing in terms of technique, dribbling etc. It's something different and has the potential to create so many goals even if it's by dragging men over or drawing fouls. I'm not sure why Southgate keeps bringing on Rashford and I don't think Mount has been offering enough in a role Grealish (or Foden) could be more effective in.

He isn’t overhyped though. He’s been brilliant the last two years, with end-product to go with his skills. Southgate’s reluctance to use him doesn’t have a lot of logic to it imo. Agree Saka was great, especially first half.

Seems like a weird law in general. Even if you test negative you still have to isolate when surely you could test again a few days later rather than always doing the 10 days. It’s a waste of people’s time that proves disruptive and undermines the tests in my opinion. Yes they aren’t completely accurate but there has to be a balanced approach somewhere.

He’s the same age as James and Foden and only a year younger than Rice and Mount, who all started Friday. Four years older than Bellingham who came on as a sun last week also. It’s a pretty typical English attitude I feel. Obsessing with having experience, professionalism, reliability work rate et al is great but a cynicism over youth and anyone with a hint of maverick or unpredictability about them I think hinders us.

He’s a great player but exemplifies what I feel is a common English attitude of picking hard-working model pros over anyone with a hint of maverick about them. Talent-wise he’s not close to Foden and Grealish, who have proven to be consistent club players also, so there’s no good reason he should occupy the attacking mid role over them. Furthermore, he seems to be impossible to sub let alone drop/rotate, much like Sterling and Rice, despite not justifying that at all with his performances. Almost forget with Southgate that we have 26 players.

He's not brilliant but I think he's decent. Certainly a solid Premier League midfielder that is way ahead of lower Championship standard. Same with Fraser also though we've not really seen much from him. Tierney is back for this match apparently. You'd think a couple of class left-backs shouldn't really change the outcome much though.

Tierney and McTominay also and I think that's a bit harsh on the manager tbh. Aside from that though I agree they are trash and we should really thump them.

Not great management though to be fair.

Interesting. Maybe we played for the same club ?

I played for Newcastle CC in Jesmond for a few years when I lived in Newcastle and played him in a midweek T20 against Tynemouth 2s when he had just made the PL squad in 2018. I think he often plays a few games a season but around the end of football season it should be fine. Seemed weird he was allowed to play in August though. The level he plays I’m not sure can be classed as amateur (North East Prem, lots of paid players). Pretty sure he’s better at cricket than he is a football. He was rapid. Did get a second ball duck though.

We’ll lose a right-back but will almost certainly go with three in the 26 in case Southgate wants to play wing-backs (as he likes Walker in a back three). When you look at the attacking options though, it seems crazy he’s gone into matches with seven defenders/DMs. Also no idea how Bamford isn’t in there. Joint fourth top scorer in the league and more goals than any English player after Kane. Nothing against the other strikers there, but think he adds something a bit different also.

I'm of the much rather this than nothing mindset. There's no real scope for delaying it again and it will be great to have on TV while restrictions will still impact us a fair bit this summer. I've watched so much football this year the thrill of it isn't really there and without the fan atmosphere home and abroad it won't be the same, but I'm sure there will be plenty of excitement once things kick off.

Perhaps I'm missing something but he's generally very reliable. Solid positionally, tackles well, makes great blocks and has reasonable speed. Certainly not the most talented player, but the level he plays at he does well defensively. As well as that he doesn't seem to make shocking mistakes that lead to goals like some of our other defenders.

He is a good defender though. Just crap on the ball.

Love some of the attitudes on here. As if a few thousand people going to one game this season is a problem Willock is unbelievable. Was saying just before Murphy’s crossing is underrated. Turns out he’s so good the commentator thinks he’s him. It’s not like they even look like each other...

Yeah regardless of whether or not either are good enough, I was confused Rafa was playing Gayle and Joselu over Mitrovic in 2017/18 (before he eventually left) At the time Gayle had 14 in 64 in the Prem and offered even less away from goals. It's now 25 in 132. Joselu has 10 in 68. I don't even think Mitrovic is great and as I said I don't want him back, but there's enough evidence to say he is a goal scorer when he's first choice and his relegation history is harsh on him given the lack of creativity he's surrounded by. Most relegated strikers don't get into double figures, whereas he did in 2018.

Depends how you determine not good enough. If 9-11 goals in a crap side isn't then fair enough. I mean he's not going to take anyone into Europe, but there's lots of strikers that can't get into double figures but will still get careers in the Prem. I don't want him back mind.

How do you define 'shocking'? Before this season he had 20 in 77, including a fair few sub appearances. Hardly sublime but at the same time not shocking either given the teams he was playing for. As I mentioned above, only a handful of strikers get into double figures these days and most of them are in the top 10. He played for rubbish Newcastle and Fulham sides. Yes he has been crap this season, but he's also been out of favour, hence why he keeps coming off the bench. This goes back to my point before that when he is the main man, he proves himself to be a goal scorer. He showed it twice at Fulham in the Championship and didn't disgrace himself on either occasion in the Prem before this season. Just the 41 goals in 64 for Serbia also. And the classic Champions League winner (16 years ago) can never be wrong comment. The best managers in the world will all make mistakes, I'm sure we can all agree on that. I mean I just had an opinion you didn't agree with. No need to get so angry

Sorry I have a different opinion to you. Thanks for your very kind words though I was talking about in the Premier League by the way if that helps. I know Gayle was much better in the Championship, but he definitely isn't a better Premier League striker and Joselu certainly isn't. Saying that, maybe you should go check Mitrovic's stats in the Championship since 2017? You know, as in more recently, when he was actually first choice unlike when Rafa was manager. 38 in 57 is pretty good.

Mitro’s embarrassing premier league record is a bit harsh on him tbh. He’s not had the most creativity around him and his stats when being a regular previously aren’t too bad. Only a handful of strikers get in double figures and usually in much better teams. He didn’t suit Rafa’s style, but Rafa’s insistence on playing Joselu/Gayle over Mitro was still bizarre given how ineffective they were. It’s clear Mitrovic has ability and does score goals when he’s the main man. Saying that he loves missing chances and could lose some weight. Plus that neck tattoo makes him look like a member of the Serbian mafia.

I like this formation btw. How long before the players start to look clueless in it?