Gareth Southgate's got a savage explanation for dropping Chris Smalling
Normally when a player gets dropped a manager will offer up some vaguely reassuring platitudes. 'We wanted to have a look at other options but the door's always open', that sort of thing. But when Southgate was asked why the Man Utd defender hadn't been included in the England squad for their upcoming friendlies with Germany and Brazil, he had this to say:
"I have huge respect for Chris. He is a player playing at a big club."
There's a 'but' coming...
"We want to play in a certain way and the players I have brought in I want to see using the ball from the back and building it up in a certain way"
So what you're saying is that Chris Smalling is shit on the ball? Right you are!
Here's the squad in full.
Here's the #ThreeLions squad for this month's games against Germany and Brazil!
— England (@England) November 2, 2017
🇩🇪 https://t.co/E4ThMiHz0C
🇧🇷 https://t.co/hm7mZF0nVY pic.twitter.com/baVjCGjoIs
Ashley Young gets a recall after more than 4 years out in the cold, and Spurs defender Danny Rose returns from a fairly lengthy absence through injury. Elsewhere there's debut call-ups for loaned-out Chelsea pair Tammy Abraham and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, as well as young Liverpool defender Joe Gomez.
It's Germany up first on November 10th, followed by Brazil the on the 14th. Both matches will be played at Wembley.
Should be a decent couple of games, right?
