When Gareth Southgate took over as England manager he talked about how he would pick his squads based on form and not by what club the player played for, many hoped he would be a breath of fresh air, but this latest squad shows just how much Southgate has lost the plot.

The announcement that James Ward Prowse was not in the England squad was not a shock to anyone in the football world this afternoon, after all it seemed to be common knowledge in the media.

Based on consistent form in the Premier League, James Ward Prowse is up their with the best of them, add solid displays in the last couple of months and there seemed to be no way that Southgate could leave out a player who also has a knack for being the best dead ball specialist in the League.

But this is Gareth Southgate and he has axed Ward Prowse and preferred to put in players who have a lot less proven experience not just in the Premier League but also for England.

But the tactical ineptitude of Southgate and lack of foresight has been exposed before not least in the 2018 World Cup, but also how he has selected his 26 man squad.

Firstly he has picked three goalkeepers, the rules of the tournament allow goalkeepers to be replaced for injury reasons so why pick 3.

Secondly he has picked four right backs, why does he need four for that position ?

Thirdly he has selected two players who are currently injured, Jordan Henderson had not played a single minute in the Premier or Champions League since February 20th until the final day when he was an unused sub for Liverpool.

But at least Henderson seems to be fit enough to be on the bench, unlike Harry Maguire , the Manchester United centre half picked up an ankle injury which meant he missed the last four games of United's Premier League season and then bizarrely was selected on United's bench for the Europa League final despite having a protective boot on his ankle.

If Maguire was a true leader of men and indeed puts his country before himself, then he would have made the decision for Southgate and stepped down from the squad.

But at least with Maguire Southgate has other defenders, if Henderson isn'f fit enough then there are only another 4 midfield players in the squad.

Weirdly there are 8 forwards including players like Raheem Sterling who hasn't had the greatest of seasons and Marcus Rashford .

Im not going to mention the selection of players who disregarded Southgate's discipline and risked the whole squad due to breaking covid 19 restrictions and were barely told off.

So once again Southgate has done what he once promised not to do, pick players on ability and the name on the back of their shirt not the badge on the front.

We will probably have the same result as in 2018, we will beat the lesser sides in the group with the same players showboating and then struggle in the knockout stages when we meet teams whose players actually have some regard for doing the job they are paid to do.

I'm obviously biased and i'm gutted for James Ward Prowse a truly honest and model professional, but in one way I'm glad that he won't be going and thus exposed to the prima donnas in the England squad who will try to turn his head with stories of massive wages and Super Leagues.

Photo: Action Images

Saint_Chunk added 21:25 - Jun 3 Spot on ... England failure here we go.
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AirFlorida added 09:05 - Jun 4 Stop crying everyone, he may still make it and you can start following England again, yay.
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LoisDeem added 10:07 - Jun 4 Looks like Southgate’s going Right Back to basics. Alas, his myopia is incurable, as evidenced by his trying to play JWP in a more advanced role, seemingly unaware he can play right back. Though not surprised, many pundits have expressed their dismay at JWP’s exclusion, especially given his versatility and incomparable dead ball skills. The paradox too, is Southgate’s apparent ‘knowledge’ of the player, having worked with him in the Under 21’s etc.

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KriSaint added 11:14 - Jun 8 I look forward to see how Southgate will be doing as Crystal Palace manager after the Euros.
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