Putting Kieran Trippier in at left-back is useless… | OneFootball

Gareth Southgate is one hell of a stubborn guy, or maybe he is a genius… I am not here to wax lyrical about him, nor to condemn him, that is the job of social media, I am here to focus on the left side of England, in particular, Kieran Trippier.

There have been many pundits and experts highlighting the fact that England are playing with three right-backs in the starting eleven, Southgate having picked the same team against both Serbia and Denmark.

Kyle Walker actually playing right-back and although the most criticism is directed towards Trent Alexander-Arnold who is turning out in central midfield, a fair few criticising Kieran Trippier as not having a positive impact on the England team as he is mainly a right-back.

We all know that Trippier lost a little bit of form for Newcastle United before getting injured and barely proved his fitness to be included in this England team. Thus, we don’t expect him to be as good as in the opening months of last season. However, there is no doubting his quality, as he at the top five when it comes to assists in the Premier League, from the position of a right-back for Newcastle.

The thing is, he has been quietly efficient for England so far in the two games but hasn’t shown any signs of being able to contribute attacking wise. As a result, getting flak from people. It seems that there there is not one single left-back that catches the eye, or up to England standard, certainly whilst Luke Shaw remains unavailable.

I am not here to add more criticism towards Gareth Southgate, though I feel that actually I am…

What mystifies me, is that, if you want Kieran Trippier to be your left-back including wanting him to be contributing going forward, you need to support him.

Instead, in his wisdom, Southgate puts Phil Foden in a marginal left side position.

How many times do we see Foden track back and help Trippier to deal with the opponents?

The more the game progresses, the more likely for Foden to go to the middle, to support attack and leave Kieran Trippier on his own.

While Trippier is okay as a left-back, with no one to support him any criticism of his performance is debatable.

In order to utilise him properly in this role in the team, Southgate needs someone who can attack the left side, to work in tandem with Trippier. Those little exchange of pass to open up the opposition defence, plus also be there when England’s left side is under threat.

Foden is not that person, Eze is not that person, but our Anthony Gordon can dovetail nicely with Trippier.

While I am excited at the clamour for Gordon to play on the left side for his ability to beat players, his directness and goalscoring ability, it is more so because he provides balance to the left side.  Plus, there is a trust and understanding between them already, due to their relationship at club level.

Importantly, Kieran Trippier is more likely to help England in an attacking sense if Anthony Gordon is playing, because he knows that if he is caught out on the counter-attack, our Flash will cover for him, with his pace and commitment to get back. Foden just simply can’t and isn’t suitable for this interchange on the left hand side, Premier League player of the year or not.

You will not see Anthony Gordon leaving Kieran Trippier on his own.