THE HEARTBEAT OF THE TEAM THAT LED ENGLAND'S REVIVAL IS GONE... GARETH SOUTHGATE COULD BE FORGIVEN FOR PINING FOR THREE STARS WHO AREN'T IN GERMANY, WRITES SAMI MOKBEL
- England went to major tournaments before with a team packed with leaders
- Gareth Southgate's squad picks have left the team without several key figures
- LISTEN to It's All Kicking Off! 'The Luke Shaw call by Gareth Southgate has been an absolute stinker! It was another mistake and left England so lopsided
The strongest dressing rooms police themselves. Gareth Southgate once had that luxury. Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson, Harry Maguire and Raheem Sterling were the England head coach's eyes and ears.
His go to guys, the standard bearers. What they said went. When they spoke, players listed. In the toughest of times, Southgate would take comfort in Henderson’s authoritative manner. But here’s nowhere to be seen.
Maguire? He’s not here. Sterling? Gone. The heartbeat of a team that led England’s revival has disappeared and you’d forgive Southgate for fearing the worst.
Kane remains a constant for Southgate while Kyle Walker’s recent induction into England’s leadership group - despite the controversy regarding his private life - will arrive as a source of comfort for Southgate.
New leaders will emerge, that’s football. But if the England boss is privately pining for Henderson, Maguire, Sterling and - to a certain extent - Marcus Rashford then it’d be understandable.
You cannot put a price on experience and leadership; the intangible qualities data simply cannot record.
Most certainly in moments like the one England are facing at the moment with their backs against the wall following a rather lacklustre start to Euro 2024.
Nothing can quite prepare you for life under the major tournament microscope. Around half of England’s squad haven’t experienced this sort of pressure before.
Henderson, Maguire, Sterling and Rashford are all well-versed in coping with the undulating rigours of tournament life.
Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham, the other two members of England’s leadership group, are 25 and 20, respectively.
Both are among the best midfielders in European football, but equally young enough to do without the added responsibility. Similarly, Kane has his own personal fitness issues to contend with.
Rice and Bellingham will no doubt emerge stronger for their leadership roles here in Germany. Rice has already captained England and it’s a matter of time before Bellingham follows suit.
Yet learning on the job in a tournament England are supposed to win is something altogether different. Juggling your own needs can be daunting enough, let alone trying carry the burden of others.
Southgate’s decision to leave Henderson, Maguire, Sterling and Rashford at home was brave but one made for the right reasons.
The England boss felt Henderson simply hadn’t played at the level required last season having started in Saudi Arabia before moving to Ajax in January, where the final few weeks of his campaign were hampered by injury.
Equally, Maguire wasn’t fit while Sterling and Rashford hadn’t performed well enough to warrant places in the squad. Off the pitch, though, Henderson, in particular, would be handy right now.
Kane wears the armband, but the former Liverpool midfielder - for many - was captain in all but name.
Ironically, Southgate may even have turned to Henderson in solve his midfield dilemma ahead of the game against Slovenia if he was selected.
Wayne Rooney, who knows a thing or two about the pressure of tournament football, has made his opinion clear.
‘I think I would have taken Jordan, because you haven't got that experience in the middle of the pitch,’ Rooney told BBC Sport.
‘But he's also a voice. Harry's not the most vocal, and he doesn't speak as much as he probably should.’
As the remnants of the failed Trent Alexander-Arnold linger, England’s need for greater control in the engine room has been laid bare.
Henderson’s not at the peak of his powers. That much is clear. But if England need a safe pair of hands next to Rice; they don’t come any safer than Henderson. Just ask Bellingham, who was mentored by Henderson when he first broke into the international fold.
So how exactly does Southgate navigate his problem in central midfield?
Does he ask Bellingham to drop into a deeper midfield role, in a move that would allow Phil Foden to be deployed in the No 10 role so many of us want to see him utilised?
But can Southgate trust Bellingham to show the sort of discipline required by a conventional No 8 when his season at Real Madrid has been defined so brilliantly by his attacking forays?
Would England lose impetus in the final third if Bellingham does drop back? They’re questions Southgate, together with his trusted assistant Steve Holland, will be asking over the next 24 hours.
The alternatives are Conor Gallagher, Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton - who, let’s face it, were brought to Germany to primarily sit on the bench.
Speaking on Saturday, Crystal Palace midfielder Wharton insisted he is ready to step into the breach.
‘I think I have got belief that no matter who, where, when I play football that I can affect a game so I think you have to think like that.,’ said Wharton.
‘If I think I can’t handle this, then what am I doing here? The way I look at it now, I believe I can affect any game I play in so I am just making sure I am ready if I am called upon to help.’
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