SOUTHGATE SPOT ON WITH HIS JACK THE LAD TACTICS
A fantastic option to bring on late in a game
Gareth Southgate is getting it so right with Jack Grealish. He’s an impact sub now and what an impact he made against Germany.
I’d love to see him from the start as much as the fans who sang his name throughout the second half atWembley – but who do you drop for him?
Raheem Sterling was making things happen all night, long before he tucked away his third goal in four matches.
He’s answered every question asked of him and made those who thought he shouldn’t have started the first game look foolish.
Bukayo Saka was another player willing to run all night.
He and Raheem were getting high up the pitch to support Harry
Kane and trying to relieve the pressure on our defence.
Neither deserves to be dropped after playing such a vital role. The only way you could do that would be to change formation and I think that would be a mistake.
Five at the back gives more flexibility. It leaves you more secure under pressure and, when the full-backs push high, gives more options in attack.
Jack is a fantastic option to bring on late. He is never fazed. He was dispossessed time and again and yet still he wanted to go again.
That’s what you need when you come up against stubborn teams – players who are brave enough to demand the ball and go at them.
He is able to get the ball between the lines, drive at the back four and slide the likes of Kane in.
As for a player of his quality being on the bench, that’s what all the top teams have – a quality bench.
Jack is what you need to change things in a tight game.And make no mistake, the games ahead will be tight.
Don’t buy into this nonsense the remaining games are a shoo-in.
France thought that when they came up against Switzerland and look where they are now. The Dutch thought they would see off the Czechs and look where they are.
It’s difficult not to dream. But that was our undoing at the World Cup.We looked ahead to the final and were undone by Croatia in the semis.
We’ll come up against teams now who want to play a low block. It will be hard to defend against – I know because I played it at Crystal Palace.
We’ll have to keep moving the opposition from side to side. Harry Maguire did that against the Czechs when he played diagonal balls out to Luke Shaw.
That’s the beauty of this squad.We have options for every eventuality. But we also have players who will shut out the noise and the people getting ahead of themselves.