“Unnecessary Favoritism He needs to be Sacked Or Else England won’t win any Teoohy”- Rio Ferdinand slams Southgate for benching Chelsea star in favour of Harry Maguire
Rio Ferdinand criticises Southgate for benching a Chelsea star in favour of Harry Maguire because it was unnecessary favouritism.
Harry Maguire, a defender for Manchester United, has been battling for his team for the past two years.
Since then, he has lost both his position under Erik ten Hag and most recently, the captain’s band.
Even though he has only played four minutes of Premier League football this year, Maguire was nonetheless selected to start England’s most recent Euro qualifier against Ukraine alongside Marc Guehi, a former Blue.
Rio Ferdinand, a former player for Manchester United, has spoken out against it and thinks it’s unfair to up-and-coming players like Chelsea’s youngster Levi Colwill.
When asked about Southgate’s selection of Maguire on Vibe With Five, Ferdinand responded, “If England were in a knife-edge situation, I’d get it, but they’re going to qualify, they’re by far the best team in their group.”
“The morale and confidence of the other players in that position would be my main worry. He is essentially admitting that he has no alternative centre halves he can trust.
“John Stones, the best centre back in England right now, is hurt. When Marc Guehi enters, he effortlessly ascends to every level to which he is requested. He does so with ease.
“Maguire hasn’t played, but he’s probably thinking, “Thank God Gareth Southgate is manager because no one else would play me like this,” while he sits there.
The other players must be thinking, “Wow, that’s unbelievable to see someone who doesn’t play a minute of football, doesn’t start for their club, comes in and wears the England badge,” while they sit there.
“In the past, it seemed as though you had to work miracles at your club over an extended period of time to get a call-up, much less a start. And a significant adjustment appears to have been made.
“If I were one of the other young centre backs – [Lewis] Dunk, what he’s doing at Brighton by the way, the new manager, the style of play, he’s the captain of that side, he’s probably sitting there thinking, ‘if I can’t get a game now, I might as well just chuck it in’.
“You’ve got young player Levi Colwill coming up. When people who are not playing for their club are in my path, I used to think, “Wow, he obviously doesn’t rate me.” I was that young man once.
When you go to an England camp, you’re sitting there at training thinking, ‘I know he [Southgate] doesn’t rate me, because the evidence is in the pudding,’ even if it’s just a tiny bit of a percentage.
“As a young defender myself when I was one, I couldn’t understand how you can claim it’s because we’re lacking a little experience.
“[Fikayo] Tomori isn’t even the biggest one, he’s merely one in a cluster, in my opinion. They are currently present in a group, including Colwill, Guehi, and Tomori.
“The biggest issue for me is that Gareth is unaware of their level of skill. At the club level, athletes are free to act anyway they choose, but if they have the chance to compete internationally, the game is played in a different way with a different tempo and style. When will we learn how good these people are? You can’t know unless you’re tried and tested and given the opportunity to play some games.
If Stones or Maguire falter in a competition, what happens to these lads when they are plunged into the deep end? Is that when you’re going to find out? It’s not the best method to get ready for a competition; you want to know what these players are capable of when there are points on the line and the Three Lions on your breast.
The message it sends to the rest of the squad can’t be right, in my opinion. Guehi has performed well, but there are others there. Give them a chance.
