Will Magpies pair get the call-up from Southgate?
CHRONICLE WRITERS GIVE THEIR OPINIONS ON STARS
ANDY Gowens endured a tough start to his latest spell in charge of Whitley Bay after they were beaten 6-2 at home by Sunderland RCA.
Gowens’ side were also reduced to 10 men after just eight minutes when Noah Summers was shown a red card for a professional foul.
Newcastle Benfield produced an impressive display as they came away with Seaham Red Star with a 4-0 win.
Daniel Candlish scored the only goal of the game to give Whickham a narrow win over fellow Division Two promotion challengers Willington, while Jarrow won for the first time in five games as they beat Tow Law Town 1-0.
Elsewhere, Consett needed penalties to progress into the final of the Durham Challenge Cup.
The Steelmen beat Shildon in a shoot-out and will face either Dunston UTS or Hartlepool United in the final. THE England squad is set to be announced tomorrow for what will be the last chance for fringe players to force their way into the thinking of England manager Gareth Southgate.
Southgate will take his side to Holland before welcoming Italy to Wembley at the end of the month, and there is a real chance that Newcastle United players could be picked for England.
The last Newcastle United player to be picked for an England squad was Andros Townsend back in May 2016, who – despite United’s relegation to the Championship – did enough to earn a call-up but was cut out of the final Euro 2016 squad. Before that United fans have to go back to March 2010 for the last player to play for the Three Lions when Andy Carroll took on France.
But with Newcastle hitting a nice run of form in the Premier League, there is a chance that captain Jamaal Lascelles could be given a call-up along with midfielder Jonjo Shelvey. The debate is raging over whether two of United’s most prized assets deserve a chance to prove themselves on the international scene and our writers have answered the same question. SHOULD JONJO SHELVEY AND JAMAAL LASCELLES BE INCLUDED IN THIS WEEK’S ENGLAND SQUAD? MARK DOUGLAS Having played for England already, Shelvey will be on the radar. And I think he is starting to prove once again that he can impose himself on games at Premier League level, so why shouldn’t he be involved when so many of England’s big hitters are not involved? Counting against him are disciplinary issues - two red cards this season plus last year’s FA charge but if England call him up, they’ll see how much more professional he is under Benitez. As an England fan, I’d like to see him involved. Is Lascelles good enough to be in an England squad hit by injuries? Yes. He has played regularly, he’s performed well at Premier League level and he has the potential to be of that calibre. But he is still on a steep learning curve and if England look elsewhere it wouldn’t surprise me. There are still rare occasions when Lascelles makes the sort of mistakes that would be punished at international level. LEE RYDER For me Jamaal Lascelles would be worthy of a call-up based on his performances over the season overall so far. I think he’s got the right mentality to fit into Gareth Southgate’s squad and his form has been good enough to warrant a cap.
Jonjo Shelvey is an interesting one, he seems to be out of favour with the Three Lions and there’s been no explanation on that.
Is he capable of playing for England? Yes he is. But it comes down to whether Southgate is prepared to take what others seem to think is a risk after two red cards already this season.
CHRIS WAUGH To be honest, I hope neither of them do get call ups from a purely selfish point of view. I report on Newcastle United - and I would far rather do it with them in the Premier League next season and with Rafa Benitez still at the helm than in the Championship and with someone else in charge.
Call if self-centred if you like, because it probably is, but I believe Newcastle will have a better chance of surviving if neither Lascelles nor Shelvey are called up; instead, they can work with Benitez during that fortnight and that duo will be key to keeping United in the top flight.
Obviously for each of those two players on a personal level I would like them to be rewarded with national call-ups, but I am looking at this from a completely Newcastle-centric point of view. I don’t think either player would really be in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup