Southgate’s warning ‘I will not be handing out any easy caps’
Southgate warns Foden and Co of new hard line Shaw, Gomez, Tarkowski and Lallana are recalled
Gareth Southgate has warned young England players that he will no longer hand out any “easy” caps after resisting the temptation to fast-track the country’s wonderkids into his squad.
Southgate is worried youngsters are being mis-sold Premier League dreams by clubs who stockpile the best talent without giving them first-team chances.
The England manager named his first post-world Cup squad yesterday for the Uefa Nations League game against Spain and the friendly with Switzerland, recalling Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Joe Gomez and James Tarkowski.
But there was no place for young players such as Manchester City’s Phil Foden, Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon.
If the message was not clear enough from the names in Southgate’s 23-man squad, then he made it loud and clear when he spelt out exactly why Foden and Co had not made it.
Southgate asked: “What have they done to warrant an England senior call-up? We are as excited by them as anyone else, but given the profile of some of those lads at the moment we have got to be really careful.
“I think those guys have got a good mentality and can cope with most things, but there are issues. How much are they going to play for their clubs? So if I’m going to elevate them internationally, I have to ask is that realistic.
“It’s been too easy to get into the England squad for some of the youngsters over the last 12, 24 and 36 months. They’ve gone in and done brilliantly, but what you want is real competition that makes it really hard to get in.
“It’s very difficult to pick a 17-year-old who’s had 10 minutes of first-team football. You’re talking about replacing senior players with some 17-year-old’s who haven’t played Premier League football. The comparison is Spain. We’re going to be playing Spain, who have to replace David Silva and [Andres] Iniesta, and the questions are: is it Koke, [Cesc] Fabregas, Saul or Thiago Alcantara? It depends how good we want to be and what level we want to challenge at, but that is a clear indication of the task we have got.”
Southgate believes the debate over B teams and how the country’s players can get more opportunities needs to be reopened after just 31.2 per cent of the starters at Premier League clubs were English last weekend, which represents a two per cent drop on last season.
“I think it is worth us having the debate and getting people around the table to discuss that missing piece because there are some very good players,” said Southgate. “None of the Under-20 World Cupwinning team, as an example, have really established themselves in a first team and if they prove themselves to be as good as any players around the world, then that opportunity needs to be there.
“If we are encouraging kids to go into academies, then presumably we are selling them the dream that they can play first-team football. There is an ethical challenge there.
“They’ve got to play in front of a crowd and they’ve got to play in games where there are consequences if they don’t win. So I think there’s room, even though we’ve had success in youth development, for people to sit again and say, ‘What is the right thing?’.
“I know that a lot of the foreign coaches would say B teams. Whether that could work here is a huge emotional debate as well, but I don’t think it is something we can leave because we saw in the summer what enjoyment the national team can bring and if we don’t try to affect that, we are on a graph that is heading heavily downwards, particularly with the top teams.”
Southgate has recalled Lallana and stuck with Ruben Loftus-cheek, Fabian Delph, Marcus Rashford and Danny Welbeck, even though they have not played regularly over the first three Premier League games, while ignoring the likes of Ross Barkley, Will Hughes and Callum Wilson, who have all started the season well.
“We are only three games into the season and some of the guys who have come back from the World Cup are not in the side because they missed key preseason with the team, and some physically are getting up to speed,” said Southgate.
“I did not think to jettison a group who got to the semi-final would be fair. But, next month and the months coming, we will have to take a view on that because we will be going into matches where fitness levels are important for one, and form will be key. I don’t think too many over a three-game period can do enough to force out players who have given us a good contribution in the summer.”
Other than having to make important calls over his squad, it seems Southgate has also made a big decision over his appearance. Asked whether he has picked out a new post-world Cup waistcoat, he replied: “I am not sure I will ever wear a waistcoat again, frankly!”