England

[Nobody]

18 minutes ago, Paully said:

One in Italian and one in Swedish too!

[Dokko]

5 minutes ago, Hanshithispantz said:

Rashford will be returning to Man Utd won't he?

 

Technicality. He's not playing for either manure or livrael this season, and both club and player would prefer it that way. 

[Robbo2]

Not a lot of midfield legs for a tournament that's going to be played at a million degrees

[Collage]

Where the fuck is Lewis Hall???

Jordan Henderson 

[TaylorJ_01]

Why has he picked Penaltony Scoresnone and Djed Spence and Henderson

[Rafalove]

Smooth

 

 

 

[Collage]

Tuchel is obviously a fucking idiot. Picks Tino, Burn and Gordon but not Hall?

[RS]

Harry Maguires mother is raging. Reckon she’ll be going in to see the headmaster 

[Fenham Mag]

2 hours ago, Super Duper Branko Strupar said:

 

2 of them want away, like. 

Dan Burn is worth 2 of both of them. 

[OoOGazOoO]

12 minutes ago, RS said:

Harry Maguires mother is raging. Reckon she’ll be going in to see the headmaster 

 

The whole family are fuming by the looks of it!

[Sidg]

Baffled as I am by certain individual selections, you only need to look at Liverpool's hilariously bad season to understand the importance Tuchel is placing on balance. 

 

The back-up selections in attacking areas are worrying over the long-term, mind. It's not just the ageing CF position. Our wide options looked great a few years ago, but now, with Grealish and Bowen finished, it's starting to look bare. 

[Yorkie]

Couldn't really give a shite about England at the moment but I'm glad I won't have to watch Phil Foden perform at about 1% of his capabilities in an England shirt.

[ikri]

6 minutes ago, Sidg said:

Baffled as I am by certain individual selections, you only need to look at Liverpool's hilariously bad season to understand the importance Tuchel is placing on balance. 

 

The back-up selections in attacking areas are worrying over the long-term, mind. It's not just the ageing CF position. Our wide options looked great a few years ago, but now, with Grealish and Bowen finished, it's starting to look bare. 

 

We always seem to go through periods where we're absolutely stacked in one or two positions whilst being threadbare in others.  Right now we have number 10s coming out of our ears but all our good number 9s are over 30.  We'll probably have some great forwards in a few years but then manage to have no midfielders.

[Pilko]

Absolutely staggered by that squad the more I look at it

 

You'd imagine if there's a couple of injuries we'll see Benson and Hedges called up.

[CallumG6]

2 minutes ago, Pilko said:

Absolutely staggered by that squad the more I look at it

 

You'd imagine if there's a couple of injuries we'll see Benson and Hedges called up.

 

"I've always said, if you're old enough, you're good enough..." 

 

[triggs]

On paper looks your worst squad in a while but should still have a good first 11. Also think a proper left winger is preferable to putting Foden or Palmer out there

[matta]

Spence ahead of Hall 

[alexf]

18 minutes ago, matta said:

Spence ahead of Hall 

Didn't even clock that at first. 

Tino and Spence are basically the same player, no need to have both there. 

[St1pe]

If you’re looking at systems the more I think about it you can see the argument why some of those players have been picked or rather you can see the thought process behind the ones that haven’t gone. MGW is probably the most in-form player to miss out but in that system he’s got Bellingham and Morgan Rogers. It’s harsh but you can see it. 
 

Taking Henderson over Wharton is probably the most controversial one but I guess if neither are going to start he’s gone for experience and apparent leadership that everyone with inside info mentions. 
 

Hall is unlucky but Livramento can cover both positions and is arguably a better defensive full back even in Hall’s favoured position. 
 

Im pleased both of our shite keepers missed out. 
 

Spence is an odd one id still have gone TAA but again you can sort of see why. 

[Ben]

1 hour ago, matta said:

Spence ahead of Hall 

 

The guy who sits on the bench from Spurs !! 

 

In what world is he there and Trent is not ?

[leffe186]

5 minutes ago, St1pe said:

If you’re looking at systems the more I think about it you can see the argument why some of those players have been picked or rather you can see the thought process behind the ones that haven’t gone. MGW is probably the most in-form player to miss out but in that system he’s got Bellingham and Morgan Rogers. It’s harsh but you can see it. 
 

Taking Henderson over Wharton is probably the most controversial one but I guess if neither are going to start he’s gone for experience and apparent leadership that everyone with inside info mentions. 
 

Hall is unlucky but Livramento can cover both positions and is arguably a better defensive full back even in Hall’s favoured position. 
 

Im pleased both of our shite keepers missed out. 
 

Spence is an odd one id still have gone TAA but again you can sort of see why. 

Yeah I’d say this was almost entirely my thinking. Anybody saying they can’t see any reason why Jordan Henderson or Spence (for example) have been picked is either being dim or disingenuous. You can disagree with the decisions but the reasons are obvious. 
 

I think Tuchel’s earned some trust. At various points in the last year I’ve seen or had arguments with people who swear that at least 10 players now not going should be locks. It’s very clear that Tuchel is mainly concerned with the team and systems both on and off the pitch. I think you’d struggle to argue with him just based on his competitive results.

 

I’d absolutely disagree with him on a few choices but again, each time I can see his thinking. I haven’t seen all that much of each player individually but I can guarantee he has, and I haven’t seen anything of how they’ve been working with him and obviously he has. Generally there’s an emphasis on versatility, ball-playing and positional discipline. There are a handful of decisions that seem very close to me but will have been tipped by how they performed with him in practice and in games. There are also one or two players who it feels like are there not because they’re the best football player but because they’re the best person to fulfil a particular role on or off the pitch. Henderson obviously, Toney, and I think Spence.

 

Henderson was always going to go and it’s bizarre that people still think there was a chance he wouldn't. Aside from Pickford and Kane he’s probably the third name in the squad. We all know why, we might disagree, but Tuchel has told us. I think Toney is there because there’s simply nobody else that can lead the line in his style who’s ready. I wouldn’t have been surprised with DCL, but he’s a very different player. Spence is there because he’s incredibly fast, can do a job across the whole back line and is an extremely good defender one-on-one. And he’s done well for England and presumably well in training. Again, you can disagree, but those are the reasons.

 

Of the others, the ones that I’m on the fence with are Mainoo and Eze in midfield, Madueke up front and some of the defence. You guys probably have the other two keepers in the mix and everything you’ve said this year means I guess those three are the best options. I don’t know enough about Mainoo or Eze to def take them over Wharton, Palmer, Foden, MGW or anyone else I’ve forgotten there but I’d say he’s picked two from those guys and you could probably toss a coin as to which two. Madueke up front feels like a guy who can do a particular role and has done it well for Tuchel. The other choices would be presumably Bowen or Barnes (anyone else?) and again it’s close but not a surprise.

 

The defence is the one with the most question marks but again there aren’t any wild surprises. We’ve got a lot of guys who are very similar and that’s part of the reason why toys have gone out of the pram. I’m surprised Tuchel didn’t pick Hall because he’s a proper left back and I know you’ve fallen out of love with Livramento a bit, but clearly Tuchel rates him and his versatility. I feel like it was something of a choice between Burn and Maguire, and despite Maguire being a man with a very particular set of skills I think he gets found out at the very top level on a regular basis. I can’t help but feel that the reaction to his omission tells a bit of a story about him off the field. The other defenders have been picked for versatility partly because there aren’t many standout exceptional players - they’re all about the same. Versatile, decent on the ball, disciplined. The ones I’m on the fence with are Stones and Quansah but again they fit that mould.

[leffe186]

26 minutes ago, Ben said:

 

The guy who sits on the bench from Spurs !! 

 

In what world is he there and Trent is not ?

In the world where Tuchel doesn’t want to play a system that accommodates Trent’s pluses and minuses. The revisionist attempt to suggest Trent is actually not as bad a defender as we think is not convincing to me. His defensive positioning is poor, he struggles one-on-one and his positional discipline within Tuchel’s system is questionable. Do you think that is not the case?

[Optimistic Nut]

3 hours ago, Shearergol said:

 

11 games worth of minutes this season. Not exactly picking on form is he.

.

He'd have played the majority of games at pretty much any club bar Arsenal. Is he likely to start over Konsa?

[hithere]

You can make a case for any of the selections bar one.

 

The omission of Hall is utter stupidity, and I say that as a Mackem. Albeit one who absolutely abhors full backs who play on their wrong side.

[tgarve]

16 hours ago, andycap said:

Cannot see us getting past the semis with that defense we have. 

Konsa burn a sick note in tino and James. pickford still England's number one is a problem aswell,

would hate having a mackem mong shouting on when he makes errors.

 

Pickford always been good for England and was arguably the 2nd best keeper after raya in the league?