PAUL MERSON has revealed his stunning theory about why Gareth Southgate did not select Jack Grealish in his England Euro 2024 squad.
The Three Lions secured four points in Group C after a 1-0 win over Serbia and a 1-1 draw with Denmark.
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This put them top of the group and put them on track for a place in the knockout stages, but their performances were not without criticism, with a lack of attacking talent being a common thread.
Phil Foden was selected to play on the left wing, with Bukayo Saka on the right and Jude Bellingham behind captain Harry Kane.
After the toothless displays, there were calls to select Anthony Gordon or Cole Palmer to freshen up the front line.
Meanwhile, 28-year-old Grealish’s departure from the final 26-man squad has also been called into question following his inclusion in the 33-man provisional squad.
However, former Arsenal star Merson has revealed his theory as to why the £100million Manchester City star was not brought to Germany.
Appearing in The best football pod alongside legendary broadcaster Jeff Stelling, Merson was asked about his thoughts on Gordon and Palmer’s zero minutes so far, revealing a theory on how to avoid conflict on the field.
The 56-year-old said: “That’s why they’re there and Jack Grealish isn’t there. Because Jack, I imagine, would be going crazy right now. I can’t imagine Gordon and Palmer saying anything.
“I just imagine them sitting there, just saying to themselves, ‘Well, maybe I should go for it.’
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“I don’t see him saying anything to him. I could see a Grealish going up to Gareth and asking: ‘Why am I not playing?'”
Merson, who won 21 caps for England, also gave his opinion on the decision to replace the three attacking players against Denmark with Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen and Ollie Watkins.
He continued: “I think he brings Eze, who is one of our most talented players, to do a job, he is the running back.
“He puts Bowen on the other side, Bowen is fine if you want to keep the lead, you know if we are winning like last week [against Serbia].
“We are one-nil up, you put him on the right, he will do what he says on the tin, get up and down, block crosses, hit crosses.
“But you don’t put him in to win a game, in my opinion. You know there are horses to race.
ENGLAND VS DENMARK RATINGS
ENGLAND drew 1-1 with Denmark.
See how SunSport’s Tom Barclay rated the Three Lions team.
Jordan Pickford: 6
Looked a little nervous early on, although there was nothing they could do about Morten Hjulmand’s goalkeeping and he made a decent save after the break.
Kyle Walker: 7
He scored England’s first goal by rounding a sleeping Victor Kristiansen – he’ll have nightmares about that forever – and setting up Kane with a deflected cross.
John’s Stones: 6
OK, but you might be wondering how he feels after barely playing for Man City in the second half of the season, plus injury and illness problems over the last month.
Marc Guehi: 8 and my star
Very encouraging again from the Crystal Palace centre-back, looking sharp in his interceptions and confident in his distribution.
Kieran Trippier: 6
Like Stones, he was fine, but England really need Luke Shaw back as soon as possible because not having a natural left-footer at left-back is a problem.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 5
This experience of playing against Trent in midfield is far from convincing, especially when his pass was misfired as it was here, barring a good ball to Saka. Substituted in the 54th minute.
Declan rice: 5
He had to cover a lot of ground as England fell in worrying fashion in the first half and also lost a couple of times in front of their defence.
Bukayo Saka: 7
Not as electrifying as the first half against Serbia, but another solid performance from our right back, who has been our most consistent striker in both games.
Jude Bellingham: 6
Nowhere near the majestic display he put in against Serbia and one of many who looked tired.
Phil Foden: 7
He was much more involved than against Serbia – although it wasn’t difficult – and had some dangerous shots from distance, including one that hit the post after the break.
Harry Kane: 6
He scored his 64th goal for his country with an opening goal that he could not miss, but then lost the ball to the Danish marker. Surprisingly subtitled.
SUBS:
Conor Gallagher (on Trent, 54): 7
Vital clearance in the final straight when Christian Eriksen was lurking and wasn’t afraid to put his foot down.
Ollie Watkins (in place of Kane, 70): 6
Picked up by a lovely ball from Bellingham after coming in, but was unable to finish from an acute angle.
Jarrod Bowen (in place of Foden, 69): 6
He received a nasty tackle that saw Joakim Maehle receive a yellow card.
Eberechi Eze (in place of Saka, 69): 6
On his tournament debut, although he was rarely involved.
“You have to put Palmer, he has scored 20 goals this season. You know he can play with that talent. Eze comes in and barely touches the ball, there is no plan.
“You know I would play against Watkins, but I would have to keep Kane in the team. I would have to find a way, because you know you have to keep world-class players on the football field.”
On his decision to drop Grealish, Southgate said: “I’ve just had a very difficult conversation with a lad who is devastated.
“It certainly doesn’t get any easier. You put yourself in the shoes of a player, a father.
Experts and legends arrived in England
ENGLAND’S lifeless display in their 1-1 draw with Denmark left pundits and legends alike queuing up to criticize Gareth Southgate’s side.
Here’s the best of what was said…
ALAN SEARER
“Terrible performance, especially after moving up in the game.
“I don’t think a single English player can look at themselves and say, ‘I did my job tonight’.
“England were all over the place, sloppy in possession, losing the ball too much and getting caught too many times.
“There was no energy, no pace, no guile – Southgate is simply not getting the best out of England’s best players.
“It is worrying and Gareth will be asked some serious questions.
“You saw England players lying on their backs – they looked absolutely devastated, but there’s no excuse for that.”
GARY LINEKER
The BBC presenter called the performance “lifeless and tepid”.
Of Harry Kane he said: “He needs his manager to ask more of him. I would have expected that if I had given that kind of performance.”
RIVER FERDINANDO
“The players don’t look the same as their clubs. It’s a big concern.”
ROY KEANE
“Courage and bravery, we’re not really seeing that.
“There is something wrong with the balance. Bellingham is waving his arms.
“This is a big test for Gareth. It seems like he’s overthinking things.”
JAMIE CARRAGHER
“My big concern watching this and the rest of the tournament?
“England look absolutely exhausted. They can’t get close to the ball.
“The surest sign of fatigue is falling deeply.
“Declan Rice is having to cover a lot of ground. No one can convince me that this is a strategy.”
JACK WILSHERE
“It’s strange that we’ve taken the lead in both games so far, but instead of that calming us down and giving us the confidence to play, we haven’t been able to take control.
“But the most worrying thing was that Denmark had a clear way of playing, while we didn’t.”
“You understand that for these players this is a devastating time. We knew we had some really tough days ahead.
“The whole period was difficult, from the conversation with Marcus Rashford and Hendo (Jordan Henderson). Lots of difficult calls. But we got through it all.”
Grealish was reportedly shocked by the decision to leave him out of the squad, while the Three Lions stars were also surprised by the call.
The former Aston Villa star cut short his holiday to return early for his club’s pre-season.
Since then, Southgate has lamented the team’s lack of fitness, which left England unable to press as they would have liked, and Kalvin Phillip’s lack of profile in midfield.
England face Slovenia in the final group game tomorrow.
If they fail to win the game and top Group C, the Three Lions will face tournament hosts Germany in the round of 16 before a possible match with Spain in the quarter-finals.
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