Who should start in the World Cup? - Marcus Rashford

The cycle of English football fans:

Step 1: Get let down and knocked out of a major tournament early.

Step 2: Realise just how average the side is and how far behind the Three Lions are from the worlds elite.

Step 3: Draw the easiest qualification group for the next competition.

Step 4: Qualify with ease.

Step 5: Regain confidence.

Step 6: Learn all the words to 'World in Motion' for the tenth time.

Step 7: "We're gonna win the World Cup!"

Step 8: Draw the opening game.

Step 9: "Quarter finals would be an decent finish."

Step 10: Scrape through the group in 2nd place and draw an average side in the next round.

Andddd repeat.

For English football fans it's becoming harder and harder to watch the national side. Many people will admit to not watching the qualifiers, not caring about the friendlies, or showing no interest in the side at all. The Three Lions have became the laughing stock of the international set up. Not because Southgate's side are losing game after game. But more because of the style of our football and the incredibly miss placed over expectation of our fans. We're boring. We're repetitive. We're generations behind the elite of world football.

I am not immune from this. I will be, like millions of others, watching the World Cup wearing the new shirt I've spent £50 on (That is a completely separate issue.) Singing God Save The Queen at the top of my lungs everywhere I go. Convincing myself that this tournament will be different to all the rest. And then, finally, I'll be writing on this blog about what exactly went wrong when we're knocked out in the second round.

In the 90's we had a wealth of the best strikers in Europe. Shearer, Fowler, Cole, Ferdinand and Sheringham. Surely success was a given? A 1996 European Championship semi-final defeat was the best we could manage. Then came the 'Golden Generation.' Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, Terry, Owen and Rooney just to name a few. A catalogue of the best the Premier League had to offer in one side. Quarter final defeats in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. The same fate in Euro 2004. Total failure to qualify for the European Championships in 2008 and the Golden Generation failed. Now we have the current generation. Perhaps the most underwhelming England squad in mine, and most fans lifetimes. Now that is doing a disservice to the likes of Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling who are currently ripping up the Premier League. But with the likes of Jake Livermore making the squad, Harry Winks earning a cap after a handful of good games for Spurs. Nathaniel Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek touted for the plane despite both being judged as 'not good enough' by Antonio Conte at Chelsea. I mean... it's not exactly the debate of the early 2000's when Sven had to pick between Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes in the heart of his midfield is it?

Now I do have a point and I'm getting to it.

I was listening to talkSPORT the other day and the question was who will be on the plane to the World Cup. Talking about attackers, Harry Kane is a certainty. You'd imagine Jamie Vardy would be also. This was what the presenters were suggesting. England usually take three or four out and out strikers on the plane with them, and the options for those slots were being suggested. Glenn Murray at Brighton. Andy Carroll from West Ham. Daniel Sturridge, currently on loan at West Brom. Jermain Defoe at Bournemouth. No disrespect to any of these players, I would celebrate a goal scored by any and all of them with everything I have. But they seem to pale in comparison when compared to the previously mentioned shoe ins. But one man was left from the list, and that man was Marcus Rashford. If you ask me, the youngster is an essential part of not only the squad, but the starting eleven.

Why exactly?

Well if I had published this piece last week you might need some more convincing. 'Rashford hasn't started since Christmas' would be most peoples response. That is very true, the influx of star power at Manchester United has seen Rashford's game time drop like a rock in the ocean. This isn't a knock on the speedy forward however. Jesse Lingard was turning heads in the first half of the season. With his brilliant goals and his shocking dance moves. He also is struggling to get a start. Jose has such a vast supply of attacking brilliance in his squad, that it's only natural that the youngsters would miss out. That brings me to Saturday 10th March. Manchester United vs Liverpool.

Perhaps the biggest game of the season on our shores. And Jose made the big decision to start the local boy. He came on against Palace the Monday before and was a catalyst in his sides comeback, from 2-0 down to win 3-2. Rashford was fronting up against fellow English youngster, Trent Alexander-Arnold. Playing left of a front three, besides Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez. Despite not being a natural winger, Rashford is gifted with such pace, and an ability to read the game players 10 years his senior would dream of having. So it came as no surprise that, despite his lack of starts, he came flying out the blocks. The greats take their opportunity when it is given to them, and that is exactly what happens from the first whistle. Two goal kicks from David De Gea; followed by two flick on headers from Lukaku. Pretty basic up to this point. Twice Trent A.A allowed Rashford to cut onto his right, and twice he was punished. Two clinical finishes gave United a 2-0 lead over their biggest rivals, and it was the local boy who had done it. Rashford was, and is a match winner. And that is what Garath Southgate NEEDS in Russia.

Harry Kane scores goals. But at Spurs he plays ahead of Christan Eriksen, a midfielder who can pick a pass as good as anyone in the world. Add Son Heung-Min and Dele Ali to the mix and Kane has constant supply. It's not like that with England. Put Southgate's men against Germany and Kane won't get a sniff. Do you know who just might? Rashford. At just 20 years old (1 day older then me... I'm not jealous at all!) The United man is still filled with such hunger that seems to die down as players get older. But despite his youth, he's made 70 first team appearances for one of England biggest clubs; as well as 15 England caps. Vastly experienced when compared to many his age, combined with the hunger of youth, he has a unique advantage. Drifting onto Alexander-Arnold against Liverpool was no accident. He knew the 19 year old would have a rick in him, he's still learning after all. He knew if he came at the full back, he might just be allowed to cut inside and from that point on it was curtains. As a natural striker you'd almost expect Rashford to come inside, into the channels between the centre back and full back, playing off the through balls from midfield. But he saw an opportunity and took advantage of it, it may seem so slight but it proved huge.

Over the past two seasons in particular, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool have proven just how scary pace down the flanks can be. And this time around Salah and Mane have been terrorising defences, but also exciting the fans. Nothing quiet gets a crown to come alive like seeing your winger in full flight, burning past defenders. Raheem Sterling's incredible growth under Pep at Manchester City this season makes him a certainty for Southgate's team you'd imagine, and down the opposite side, Rashford is the only option in my eyes. No one who is even being considered for the squad is as direct as Rashford. He will just as easily get his head down and leave a full back in his dust as he will drill the ball into the bottom corner.

This brings me back to my point earlier about Harry Kane. Spurs' number 10 needs the supply, an excellent finisher no doubt but without support he can be snuffed out. Any defender will tell you they HATE dealing with a player with pace who knows how to use it. Rashford can create chances for himself. His raw physical abilities, pace, size and strength. When combined with the knowledge and know how to read the game and take advantage (proven against Liverpool) makes for a match winner. A game changer.  Now I hate to do this to you, but cast your mind back to the summer of 2016. England vs Iceland. Perhaps the lowest point for England in the last two decades, yes I'm including 2008. Marcus Rashford was introduced in the 86th minute, and created more danger in four minutes then any other player in white did in the whole 90. He instantly showed drive, and a desire to get in behind, which was non existent leading up to the change. Now, two years on, the desire remains but his knowledge of the game has grown substantially.

In the summer of 2018 Marcus Rashford will no longer be the 'new kid on the block'. But the proven goalscorer, constant threat, and injection of life England need. A world class attitude, after not starting since Christmas 2017, shows a maturity beyond his years. A fan favourite no doubt, and a player who will just continue to get better. With a run of games on his back, heading into the world cup, Rashford will be flying long before he gets on the plane. After his performance against Liverpool, how can Jose leave him out? Answer, he can't.

Kane might be the star of the show come Russia, but my money is on Rashford stealing it.

England - When is the real 'golden generation' going to begin?

As qualifying for thist years European Championship draws to a close, England boast the only perfect record in qualifying, with 10 wins from 10. A strong qualifying campaign is, for most teams, a sign of intent for the major tournament, however for England, its been quite the opposite on more occasions then most. The best example of this in recent years is perhaps the 2010 World Cup in south Africa, despite a very strong qualifying campaign and a new manager in Fabio Capello who had appeared to rejuvenate the three lions. However, just one win in the tournament and a 4-1 humbling by the Germans showed how far behind we appear to be compared to the rest of the top sides and that our strong qualifying counted for nothing! This underachievement at major tournaments has because a far too common occurrence for the nation which invented the sport, and is even worse when you consider the players who have pulled on the famous white shirt in the last 20+ years!

Since the turn of the millennium, the national team haven't progressed past the quarter finals in a single major competition, with many of those eliminations coming against side which we Englishmen compare ourselves to, but seems to be years ahead of England in terms of ability and progression.  One other thing that happened at the start of the 2000's was perhaps the worst thing that could have happened to the current crop of talent, that certain English side was declared as the 'golden generation' this put much unneeded pressure on the players, and made the poor performances at major tournaments an even more bitter pill to swallow. Players such as Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, David Beckham, Michael Owen, John Terry and many many more players where tipped to lead the 1966 World Champions to glory, but under performed when it mattered most!

With countries such as Germany, Spain and France in the last 2 decades taking advantage of a generation of amazing talent to push themselves to the top of the footballing world, you have to wonder if the three lions are capable of achieving a similar task. When you consider the caliber of players to have played at Wembley and failed to deliver on the big stage in recent years, you have to wonder if our current crop of talent, who are seen as being not even half the side we had 10 years ago, have the slightest chance at competing next year in France or in future tournaments.

Lets not rule out the current squad without taking a look at the key members. Of course the highest goal scorer in the history of the national side is the current captain, Wayne Rooney, with 50 international goals. With Daniel Sturridge (when he's fit), Harry Kane and inform Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy adding more options to the England attack, the three lions certainly still have their bite! When you add in the attacking threat from the wings, with Raheem Sterling and Theo Walcott being the stand outs for those roles, England have got pace in abundance. The worry for this English side comes from the back, I would personally not put a single midfielder in the current England squad, into the side we fielded ten years ago, with the stand out player on form at the moment being Ross Barkley, who has been incredibly inconsistent in the past few seasons. With defenders such as Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling, Ryan Bertrand and Nathaniel Clyne, Roy Hodgson can field a strong back four, but one which pales in comparison to English defenses of the past! One final positive is the strength between the sticks, Joe Hart has been a stand our goal keeper in the Premier League for years, and number two Jack Butland looks destined for greatness.

Despite not losing a single competitive game in 2015, I can't see our current crop of talent getting anywhere near the top spots in world football. In the future, a new generation may come along and push England towards greater heights but right now... It looks like we might be waiting a while for the true 'Golden Generation'.