LET’S GET BATTING ORDER RIGHT!

Southgate won’t let stars just bowl up

GARETH Southgate chose to use a cricket analogy at Wembley last night as he prepared to begin England’s run-up to next summer’s European Championship.

Such is the weakness of qualifying groups for big tournaments these days — and such has been the improvement in the national team under this manager — that England are a certainty to qualify for a Euro 2020 tournament in which they would play largely on home soil.

So the only issue for Southgate is how to keep an improving squad on the boil between now and June. One way is old-fashioned and involves the mysteries of selection.

‘Every Monday after the weekend’s Premier League games, we sit down and move the names around,’ Southgate said last night. ‘We have a batting order of who we think are our best players, but to be honest we don’t have too many guarantees. We have a lot of really close calls.’

There are two schools of thought about how best to prepare for a summer tournament, especially one for which you know you will qualify.

Do you try to settle your players down into a regular starting lineup in the hope that it gels in advance of the serious stuff? Or do you keep alive the competition for places and hope that professional pride elevates the performances of not only the younger players but senior ones, too?

In the past, England managers have placed faith in the latter method, with varying degrees of success.

For example, Roy Hodgson’s team who started the first game of the season leading up to Euro 2016 in France featured just two players who would start against Russia nine months later.

Equally, Southgate’s XI that started the build-up in September 2017 to the World Cup the following summer had just four players in it who won the opening game against Tunisia.

If that seems strange then it is often the way. As Southgate explained ahead of this evening’s qualifier against Bulgaria, players drift out of form and fitness too often over a season to place any firm bets at this stage. ‘I was talking to a couple of club managers and we were saying that competition for places is a good motivator,’ he said. ‘ If players know there are people who can come in, then it is motivating.

‘With us, some of the younger ones are after the older ones, for example. And, of course, the older ones don’t want to let go.

‘We are always ready to adapt. There can’t be any point where people can switch off. If they do somebody is waiting.’

The respective merits of a settled team as opposed to the increase in performance levels that healthy competition can bring are open for discussion. A personal view is that no team ever suffered from the understanding and unity that tends to come on the back of repetitive selection, especially when a side is winning.

For Southgate, there is likely to be a mixture of both. At the top of his formation, it is hard to see him varying too far from the trio of Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane.

In midfield Jordan Henderson is a trusted pick while central defender Harry Maguire and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford are in firm possession of their jerseys.

Elsewhere across the defence it is harder to call. Three right backs will fight for one spot, for example, while today’s expected inclusion of Michael Keane alongside Maguire will make the injured John Stones and the ring-rusty Joe Gomez take notice of the challenges that lie ahead.

It will be interesting to see how Keane goes. The Everton defender has suffered from injury and confidence issues since he left Burnley two summers ago and he will hope his selection is the precursor of better times to come.

England will play at least two group games at Wembley next summer while the semi-finals and final will also take place at the national stadium.

So the opportunity that presents itself to England is clear. Southgate was part of the England team

that almost reached the final of Euro 96 on home soil — he missed the decisive penalty in the shootout defeat by Germany, of course — and knows exactly how such a tournament can energise a nation.

As expected, he only wished to preach caution when pressed on the matter last night.

‘I feel that we have started to build that excitement whenever we play and I know the level it can go to,’ he said.

‘But I can’t afford to get carried away with that. It’s great for everybody else to experience but somebody has to control things.

‘I want supporters to get excited and for beer sales to go up. But I can’t afford to live in that world.’