Who should make England World Cup Starting 11

Gareth Southgate has already been told that no matter what happens at the World Cup he will be in charge at the next European Championships if England qualify. I believe that this competition is the perfect time to introduce his philosophies and start blooding in new players to the squad.

With Joe Hart falling off the radar a bit this season I believe he will be included in the squad but will not have any match time. I severely doubt that Southgate will take Jack Butland, Nick Pope and Jordan Pickford as none of them have much international experience. Hart will be able to guide and advise the other two keepers picked. I feel as though even though Pope has been better than Butland and Pickford this season, the latter will get the nod ahead of him. I feel as though Pope may miss out on this tournament but I would not be surprised if he Is in the preliminary squad. I believe the starting Goalkeeper in this tournament will be Pickford as his ball distribution suits Southgate’s style of play.

With Gareth Southgate adopting the three at the back formation in recent weeks I believe that the starting back three will be Kyle walker, John stones and Phil jones. I believe Kyle Walker always has a mistake in him, but his unbelievable pace and strength means he wins back the ball a lot and is an asset against those fast strikers which Stones, and Jones may struggle to cope with. John Stones will partner him as they both have the Manchester City connection and have played with each other a lot this season. I believe the third spot will be given to Phil Jones over Gary Cahill as he seems to be favoured by Southgate in recent Friendlies.

The wingbacks I feel Gareth will start with are Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young as both have amazing crossing ability. They cross with pace, accuracy and power and it can be a wonderful outlet for us. As well as their crossing ability, they are also very good defensively. I believe Trent Alexander Arnold also has an outside chance of sneaking into the first 11, based off form this season.

The three central midfielders I would start with would be Ali, Henderson and Dier. I’d also play Sterling in the number 10 position. Henderson and Dier are the perfect defensive pairing whilst Sterling and Alli can cause havoc to opposition defences and feed Harry Kane who will undoubtedly start up front.

I believe England’s chances of winning the World cup are very slim but not impossible and with these players I believe we would have a very good chance of at least reaching the quarter finals.

LIVE EVENT- Wolves vs Burton

Molineux had a mix of nerves and anticipation as the two teams walked out onto the pitch. The fans were in a buoyant mood but you could tell there were a lot of nerves before this one. A midlands Derby is always a good game but add in the fact Wolves are aiming for the title and it became a great game.

When I arrived at Molineux I saw thousands of Wolves fans in optimistic spirits and many Burton fans  looking discontent. They were 23rd in the table and facing the team at the top. The first 10 minutes went by with little action. But on the 15^th minute Helder Costa scored a very neat finish to make it 1-0 the wolves. After more good build up play, potential player of the season Ruben Neves fed Benik Afobe with a  wonderful through ball. Many of the Wolves fans left for half time at this point but they would have returned gutted as Burton pulled back a goal a minute before half time.

At half time , I managed to speak to a couple of Wolves and Burton fans. One fan said ‘ this is the best wolves team ive seen in a long time, but I also feel like we need to learn to put chances away. We should have scored four or five in the first half.’ Another wolves fan added ‘ As long as we get to the Premier league, im not too fussed if we win the title or not’.  Amongst the many Wolves fans, I I found one Burton fan who was willing to talk. He said ‘ We are still in this game and if we come away with a point id be chuffed’.

The second half started slow paced but the Wolves fans were soon chanting and screaming as AFobe scored a second on the 56^th minute. Wolves then turned off the gas and Burton seemed resigned to picking up 0 points as their goal was the only shot they registered on target.

The result means Wolves extended their lead to 6 points at the top of the table whilst Burton still flirt with the possibility of relegation 3 points from safety in 23^rd place.

Manchester United Vs Liverpool Match report

Marcus Rashford all but secured his place in Gareth Southgate’s world Cup side as his two goals helped Manchester United beat Liverpool in a largely uninspiring game. With 32% possession and only two shots on target the whole game it was an efficient performance from the Red Devils which left Liverpool’s potent front three frustrated.

The Win was a big one for Mourinho’s side as it meant they had tightened their grasp on Second place and cut the gap to City to 13 points. The game plan seemed simple. Target Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defence frailties. Both of Rashford’s goals came from the United players attacking down the left wing.

The first goal was well crafted as Lukaku headed it on to Rashford who dazzled Trent and cut inside before firing an accurate but powerful shot past Karius into the bottom corner. Old Trafford expectably erupted and it wasn’t long before they were on their feet again. Fourteen Minutes later, Rashford got the better of Trent again and scored via a slight deflection to all but end the tie.

After half time, Liverpool started to go through the gears but struggled versus United’s deep lying defence which smothered Liverpool’s attack at every opportunity. Eventually Liverpool got a goal back when Sadio Mane’s cross was turned in by Manchester United defender Eric Bailly on the 66^th minute. Interestingly, Bailly still claimed bes.t defender whilst scoring an own goal showing how masterfully united defended in the game. This game proved the well know fact Mourinho knows how to see a game out.

United held on to win the game and will now e looking forward to facing Sevilla in the Champions league game on Tuesday and Brighton in the quarter finals of the Fa cup next Saturday and Mourinho and his side still eye the Double.

English Players Abroad

With England having not won the World cup since 1966, many feel as though that is down to players not learning their trade abroad. One of those people is Pep Guardiola who believes that if more players played abroad it would help the national team and that the Premier Leagues high wages is what discourages players from challenging themselves abroad.

 Recently a few young players have transferred abroad to learn a different style of football and to challenge themselves. The high profile examples include Jadon Sancho who transferred from Manchester City to Borussia Dortmund. Whilst Ademola Lookman is on loan from Everton at RB Lezpig and West Ham’s Reece Oxford is on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach. However, I feel the best example of an English player playing abroad and benefiting is that of Eric Dier.

Eric Dier started playing for Sporting Lisbon’s academy when his parents moved there when he was seven. Dier once said ‘I think of myself as a little bit Portuguese but I still consider myself English,’. ‘My dream is to play for England but no-one has ever been in touch about representing them. I don’t know if they know about me and maybe it’s got something to do with me being abroad. I guess it’s hard to come out and watch my games.’ Interestingly as soon as Dier got his move to Tottenham he got his first call up to the international squad.

I believe that now Gareth Southgate is in charge he will start looking at these players playing abroad and genuinley consider giving them a shot if they perform consistently well. I don’t believe these opportunities will come before the 2018 World cup but after that I can see a lot of new faces entering the frame. Gareth Southgate used to manage the England U21 team and is a big fan of young players. Hopefully with players playing abroad and learning football from a different perspective, it can help the national team as a whole. Hopefully in the European championships 2020 we get to see some of these players perform.

LIVE EVENT- Great Barr Harriers vs Walsall Warriors Match report

With Much anticipation for this cup game. There were clear nerves in the air from kick off. With Great Barr fielding a very strong team they were very confident from the offset and that confidence paid off in a 3-1 win over Walsall meaning they moved on to the Quarter finals.

The game started very quickly with Great Barr falling behind in the 4^th minute due to an own goal from the Left back Kyle Figgs. Figgs then turned that disappointing start into a good performance when he raced down the left wing to provide a cross for the prolific Conor Byrne to score. The game was end to end but it was changed by a red card for Walsall Centre back for a cynical last man tackle on Conor Byrne.

Walsall held on in the first half but were quickly 2-1 down in the second half when Kyle Figgs again crossed into the box to the onrushing captain Bradley Gun who headed into the top corner. Matt Hendrals 60^th minute strike was enough to seal the win for Great Barr as they progressed into the next round of the cup.

Great Barr will be happy to progress and best of all not have any injuries or suspensions as their next league game is crucial if they want to stay in the promotion race.