Walker call was refreshing

GARETH SOUTHGATE deserves credit for changing to a back four when a 3-5-2 served us well at the World Cup. You have to play the system that is best for the team and if that means leaving out good individual players, and in England’s case we have three excellent right-backs, so be it. The Golden Generation could have played a 4-3-3 to get the best out of Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. The problem was leaving out David Beckham, and nobody was prepared to make that call. When England play a 4-3-3 now, Southgate won’t be able to squeeze Kyle Walker (left) and Kieran Trippier into the team. Trippier is clearly fantastic at set-pieces and crosses but I think Walker is ahead of him — at Manchester City he’s superb and shown to be as good a right-back as anyone in the world. Making those calls is part of being a manager. The change of formation was the best thing to come out of Friday’s game.