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I don’t recall who it was, but their point about England basically only having a right side avenue of attack was bang on. Southgate’s decision to take Luke Shaw as his only left footed full back looks more ridiculous by the game.
andyp-
Jonathan Liew:
Yet these were not the only grounds for the disorienting disposition of this encounter. Every time the men in white took possession of the sphere in the proximity of the left wing, they were consistently forced to funnel it, in turn, to the centre of the pitch, rendering most of their offensive efforts tortured, even disjointed. The side in red could simply defend their territory in the middle with impunity, secure in the knowledge their opponents were powerless to hurt them on their right verge.
That’s a pretty terrible paragraph, right? But that’s what happens when you wilfully restrict your options. You have Kieran Trippier, a right-footed left-back who doesn’t even bother trying to disguise the fact – no feint, no shimmy, no darting eyes – that he’s going to turn back inside. You have Phil Foden, a left-footed player with very little interest in playing on the left wing, who always wants to come short into the central areas. England are essentially a team playing on 70% of the pitch, which is like trying to write an entire paragraph – like I did above – without using the letter A.
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I've been saying it for a while.
villa-ru
ELbowloh
It never did Harry any harm.
But seriously, a mobile, spiky, centre forward, who likes pressing and isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers might not be a bad idea with Foden, Bellingham, Saka behind them.
Then maybe we can address the TAA as Philip BeckaLahm problem/question.
Along with Keiran Trippier.