URZZZZ Hoop Blah How anonymous was Mason Mount last night by the way?
People bang on about Barkley not deserving a place in the side, but if Mount is the alternative I don't see how anyone could make an argument for Mount based on his England appearances to date. He's obviously still young and inexperienced, and is probably in need of a rest after a heavy workload for Chelsea, but apart from being neat and tidy I've never really seen anything to get excited about with him.
I'm still not sure about Winks either. It's hard to know if he's got the defensive awareness to play that holding role (sorry, it's call the midfield pivot these days isn't it!) when he only really gets to play against the weaker teams (yeah, and Spain I think). I'd still favour Henderson over Winks or Rice, but it's the biggest question mark in the side still.
Currently, Maddison and Grealish are better players than Mount IMO. But I have no problem with seeing Mount in and around the first XI given his age and chances of development. Whereas Barkley has been in and around the England team for over 5 years now and still regularly flatters to decieve with the occasional brilliance against lower league teams. I think Loftus Cheek will go onto be better than Barkley but not sure exactly where he can fit in this team
I think Barkley is judged harshly for some reason. He's done better for England than he gets credit for, and not just by scoring against the weaker nations. Like Winks, Barkley played a key role in the win in Spain and has done well against other bigger teams. Loftus-Cheek and Grealish are both players to consider, as are Maddison and Alli of course, although I think Oxlade-Chamberlain is probably ahead of all of them as one of the more attacking midfielders in the 3.
For all the issues in the midfield, we've actually got a quite a few good players to compete in there.
URZZZZ I can't ever seem to make my mind up about Winks, he's not a bad player but I don't exactly think he's great either. As you say, Henderson is probably a better option there but people seem to criticize Henderson all the time (Champions League winner and all that)
I reckon Henderson offers the best mix for that holding midfielder. He's not as neat and tidy as Winks, although he's a better passer than he's given credit for, and he's not quite as defensive as Rice, he is more mobile and more likely to get the ball forward though.
A Barkley, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain midfield three would be a good start for me, with an in-form Alli most likely to replace Barkley. I'd love to see Maddison in there, but he's more of a 10 than an 8 from what I've seen (as is Alli of course).
URZZZZ I'd also put a question mark over wingers. Sterling is the only one I'm confident about. Rashford probably pips Sancho (never really seen him play well) and Hudson-Odoi (who I think is overrated at this stage of development) but Rashford hardly inspires with confidence. It's a shame we only play with one striker because I'd want to see Kane and Abraham in the same XI
Agreed, although if Rashford continues his return to form then that's a very effective front 3 with lots of pace and goals.
URZZZZ Hopefully though, Southgate has established the best fullback partnership in TAA and Chilwell. I'd be a bit wary of using TAA in a flat back four against the top sides because I think his defending can be improved upon and someone like Walker may be better in that department but offensively these two are by far and away the best
I'd certainly take Walker over Trippier or Wan-Bissaka at the moment, and maybe he'll make the squad after Southgate has looked at the rest. Stones and Maguire are probably the right centre back pairing, but they need to play a run of games again to forge at proper partnership.