Liverpool legend wrong with assessment of Spurs star
Published:
Steven Gerrard has taken time out of his busy MLS schedule to cast his eye over the state of the current England team.
The Champions League winning Liverpool man was particularly interested in Dele Alli and sung the Tottenham man’s praises.
However, he also issued a word of warning about getting over-hyped in relation to the 19-year-old midfielder.
In a column for The Telegraph, Gerrard said: “There are hundreds of England managers whenever a tournament comes around and most of them are attracted to the idea of change rather than sticking by those who worked hard to earn qualification.
“As a country we can’t wait to discard those who’ve been around for a long-time no matter how invaluable their experience.
“We grow tired and unappreciative of players too quickly.
“Exciting youngsters seem to offer a ready-made solution.”
Obviously sticking by players who have achieved something for a side is a fair comment, but qualification alone is hardly an accomplishment for the Three Lions.
Making it to a tournament should be the bare minimum for a nation such as England and big name Premier League stars shouldn’t be lauded for doing so.
Furthermore, Gerrard’s so-called Golden Generation failed to qualify for Euro 2008 after making hard work of a relatively simple group.
Along with the LA Galaxy man, the likes of Sol Campbell, David Beckham and Frank Lampard were in the side that lost the crucial game to Croatia that denied qualification and clearly their experience didn’t help there.
England haven’t got past the first knockout round of a competition since 2006 and those squads since obviously haven’t been up to scratch.
Anyone who watched Dele Alli against Germany, or at all throughout this season, would see that he has to play at Euro 2016.
Excluding him for the likes of Fabian Delph or Jack Wilshere, two players who started a number of games in qualification, would be ludicrous.
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