Gareth far too harsh on his young Lions

MASON GREENWOOD and Phil Foden (left) have been punished too severely by Gareth Southgate, after being left out of the latest England squad for their disciplinary breaches.

I thought sending them home from Iceland and missing the next game was enough.

You have to show young players they can’t do what they did, but that was their punishment. They have been back at their clubs, won’t do it again, and have learned from it.

What benefit is there from leaving them out? Three Lions boss Gareth has set a precedent – step out of line and you get four games.

It happened to me once, when I chucked a Paolo Maldini replica shirt in a bush during an interview, before Wales played Italy in 1998. I was sent home from a squad. I was embarrassed and naïve and never did it again. But it was forgotten about and I was in the next squad.

THIS is a big year for Premier League clubs in the Champions League after such a poor showing last season.

None of our clubs reached the semi-finals and it was a pathetic challenge from our elite.

The Champions League group stage draw has been kind. Manchester City will see off Olympiakos, Porto and

Marseille. Chelsea have a cruise to qualify. Manchester United have a tougher test against Paris Saint-germain and Leipzig.

Liverpool against Ajax is one to look forward to but there is nothing to fear initially. Then can our clubs produce the special moments in those tense last-16 and quarter-finals, with such an intense, compacted domestic season ahead?