England U21

Dithering Dougie · May 20, 2015

When was the last time Stones played for them? He's been in and around the full squad for about a year now surely?

blueloon · May 20, 2015

There's the answer , Stones and Garbutt both in initial squad and no reason to think they won't make final squad. Stones could go WC last year , u21 s this, European Champs next year . Somebody needs to be taking a wider view and making sure he's not being overplayed with little summer break s happening for him.

mightymoyes · May 20, 2015

they'll have a few weeks off in july. my only worry is martinez wont be able to get them (though garbutt unlikely to be our problem) with his half-assed pre-season.

Pienaar's gloves · May 20, 2015

I couldn't actually care less about England. I'd only want them to go if they were sure it was good for their development and not a hindrance to next season.

Tramps_mate · May 20, 2015

They need them all in the squad, Barkley and sterling too.. Its the only way to bond a team. Follow the German example of 6 years a go..

LinekersLegs · May 20, 2015

Dithering Dougie said:
When was the last time Stones played for them? He's been in and around the full squad for about a year now surely?

He was in the 21 squad in their last game when they beat Germany 3-2, as was Garbutt. Playing in a few of the other qualifying matches before being called up by the senior team, he knows the manager and his squad mates well. In contrast Ross has never played under Southgate, would have been ridiculous to parachute him into the group even before considerations about him needing rest.

Glad both Stones and Garbutt are going, especially as both will probably be first chocie, neither played last summer or excessively this season so no risk of burnout. Gives them the type of experience under pressure that can be very valuable to their club careers.

maltablue · May 20, 2015

And don't forget........... England have NEVER won a major tournament without a left back from Everton

Tramps_mate · May 20, 2015

Adrian Durham the massive tit, just said Martinez has seen the downfall of Barkley this season and has flattened him out?!?

Basically says its Martinez's fault Ross isn't going..

Jozzy · May 20, 2015

Glad Ross isn't going had his break out season last year, played at the World Cup last preseason and has been a part of the first team this whole season. Next season Ross needs to become one of the leagues best players, at the age where he should start dominating games so a nice break before a big preseason will be very important.

Stones did train with the England squad in Brazil which would have been a fantastic experience but he did come home before the cup, he also missed quite a bit of the start of the season and didn't play as many games as Ross so I don't mind him going as much, I'll cry if he gets injured though.

In all honesty I dont think Garbutt is going to sign at all so good on him for making the squad but it's not going to affect us.

Cels · May 20, 2015

Not too concerned about England to be honest, but I would have liked Ross Barkley to be in there.

Just feel a different environment, the change in set up, experiencing different tactics and playing style, etc. all would have been good for him. He looked to be in a bit of a rut this season, and sometimes a change can be far better than a rest to help jump start you again.

Eric Djemba-Djemba · May 20, 2015

Tramps_mate said:
Adrian Durham the massive tit, just said Martinez has seen the downfall of Barkley this season and has flattened him out?!?

Basically says its Martinez's fault Ross isn't going..

Martinez has horribly mismanaged him this season. Durham is closer to the mark than usual the horrible bellend.

Dithering Dougie · May 20, 2015

LinekersLegs said:
He was in the 21 squad in their last game when they beat Germany 3-2, as was Garbutt. Playing in a few of the other qualifying matches before being called up by the senior team, he knows the manager and his squad mates well. In contrast Ross has never played under Southgate, would have been ridiculous to parachute him into the group even before considerations about him needing rest.

Glad both Stones and Garbutt are going, especially as both will probably be first chocie, neither played last summer or excessively this season so no risk of burnout. Gives them the type of experience under pressure that can be very valuable to their club careers.

Stones is a difficult decision he's cleary destined for the top and it will be a major shock if he doesn't go to the Euros in 12 months time. He's had a mid season break because of his injury so game time shouldn't be a real problem at the moment but looking ahead 18 months to 2 years it will no doubt mean he's not had a good break from football to rest and recuperation for a long time. I can understand the benefits of gaining competitive tournament experience but that needs to be weighed against a players physical growth and development. Id be firmly in the no camp if he hadn't had his injury this season but as it is I'm undecided whether it's a good or bad thing for his long term career.

Garbutt I could care about to be honest, if as looks likely, he's not going to be our player. Good luck to him obviously but he's on his own path and its of no interest to me now really.