Shelvey the ideal man to take if Southgate needs a midfield game-changer

IT MIGHT surprise a few people when I say I would take Jonjo Shelvey to the World Cup, as he is a maverick who has not played in qualifying matches. The one thing he provides which England lack, with Adam Lallana’s fitness in question, is a pass from midfield which opens doors. He can pick out players with a precisely-weighted ball over the top or a pass threaded through a group of defenders.

Shelvey is a player you would bring on for the last 15 minutes. If you need a goal, he can unlock defences and if you are winning and a team are attacking you, he has the ability to launch a quick counterattack and open a team up.

My only worry is that sometimes he loses himself positionally but he has improved in that regard under Rafa Benitez this season.

JACK’S THE LAD

JACK BUTLAND is the starting goalkeeper for me. Jordan Pickford did some exceptional work with his feet against Holland and that is an important part of Gareth Southgate’s game plan, so everyone assumes he has the best chance of starting.

But Butland is capable playing out with his feet from the back and he is a better all-round goalkeeper. He can pull out a spectacular save and will command his box. His confidence is greater than the others.

It is sad that Joe Hart is not at the peak of his career now at 31. Really, he should have huge authority and poise now. He is still capable of outstanding performances but there have been too many mistakes.

BACK THREE FOR ME

I HOPE Gareth persists with a back three and I would go with Eric Dier in the centre of defence, with John Stones and Harry Maguire either side of him.

I know Kyle Walker did well last month but I think he is a better attacking right-back than Kieran Trippier and we need his strength there.

The most-heated point of discussion would seem to be left-back, where three into two does not go. You have Danny Rose, Ryan Bertrand and Ashley Young.

Rose has played just enough to prove he is free from injury and sharp enough. At times he has had Ben Davies ahead of him but he is an excellent full-back with a great attacking game. He gets the nod, which means Bertrand misses out because of Young’s consistency this season. He can play left and right side if necessary and out wide in an emergency. WAITING FOR ADAM LALLANA would be my Darren Anderton. He is a player you wait for. Darren had qualities which we would need in France 98. Even though he had had a difficult couple of years with injury and had not played any part in qualifying, I was willing to let him prove his fitness in training.

Lallana, by contrast, was crucial in qualifying in terms of goals and assists. He was probably our best player. Since then injuries have held him back but, like Shelvey, he has the pass that goes through the eye of a needle, finding space in a crowded penalty area.

England’s other midfielders, Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard, are more about coming onto the ball with strong runs and their pace. They are fine attributes but not always effective if there is no space to run into. Hopefully, Lallana will at least play some part against Brighton today and that will get him on the plane to Russia. Jack Wilshere and Ruben Loftus-Cheek should go as well. Their passing and comfort on the ball is something you need in an international player.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

I AM hoping we go with two up front and I would love to see Marcus Rashford unleashed in a central role alongside Harry Kane.

That is immediately going to put any team on the back foot. The pace of Rashford and the all-round excellence of Kane will be a challenge for any team. Most defences are used to dealing with one central forward. Two will give them a headache; an unfamiliar challenge.

I know Rashford has only 12 goals for United this season but I believe he is a better finisher than Raheem Sterling. He is shackled at United, playing out wide but I want him released from those defensive responsibilities, so that 70 per cent of his game is about attack. I think he would thrive with Alli and Lingard feeding him and working off him.

Sterling is in superb form for Manchester City and I am aware he has 23 goals this season but he has been playing for England regularly since 2014 and has gone 19 games without a goal. His last came against Estonia in October 2015. Before that he scored against Lithuania in March 2015.

You cannot play someone as your second striker with that record. For City he is playing mainly in a 4-3-3 and coming off the wing to score. Most of his goals are from a few yards out. He plays that position very well but he does not get to come in off the wing like that when England play a back three.

Of course, at some stage we may need to play a 4-3-3 and then he comes into his own. I think he can be a real threat off the bench and he may end up in the starting XI. But against Tunisia and Panama, I would be bold and hold him back.

BREAKING BAD NEWS

SOUTHGATE might find it hard breaking the news to the players he will leave out.

People think that leaving Paul Gascoigne out of the 1998 World Cup squad was my hardest decision but telling 18-year-old lads at Swindon that they probably did not have a future in the game was much harder.

I remember thinking that, the night before I told the players who was in and who was out. I did not want to do it by phone or text. I felt it had to be done face-to-face. But I was comfortable with it.

A fit Gazza would have been first on the team-sheet. But he had been struggling with a calf injury, was not in shape and then picked up a knee injury. We would have been waiting on a half-fit player. And I felt for the others equally, like Phil Neville and Dion Dublin.

It is true that dropping Paul was the saddest decision I have had to make, simply because of the talent he represented and that sense that this was his last chance at the World Cup. I knew I had made the decision for the right reasons. I was confident it was correct but it was extremely sad to have to tell him.