Why Gareth Southgate's England Tactics Aren't Working (Yet)
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- Опубликовано: 9 июн 2024
- After defeat to Brazil, a draw against Belgium, and an uninspiring victory over Bosnia, Gareth Southgate's England fell to a shock defeat to Iceland at Wembley.
But how can a team packed with so much talent fail to excite its fans? What could possibly be missing from a side featuring Kane, Foden, Palmer, and Rice? Adam Clery unpicks the game, and their recent performances, and suggests it might not be time to panic just yet.
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When Adam speaks, Gareth Southgate takes notes! 😎
Hes probably watching this video
Blaming mainoo is just following the media narrative. Rice was at fault, Foden was dogshit all game.
Who is Gareth Southgate? I thought the England manager's name was Booooooo.
@@learntooilpainthe literally didn’t blame Mainoo…
Thought the problem was Southgate setting us up too defensively, now i have seen him set us up to attack i realise the problem is that Southgate is setting us up. Quarter final max
Well according to Aaron Ramsdale (on that's Football) Steve Holland does a lot of the tactics while Southgate works with the players
no, this is just a friendly and southgate is taking advantage by giving players minutes aswell as experimenting tactics... thats kinda the whole point of friendlies especially in the run up to major tournaments.
@@Ghfjgjggj123shdhfnfmdk that would be terrifying
@@ashleygoggs5679 Do Serbia play similar to Iceland and dig in a lot?
you brits are elite at unlikely savage takedowns
By far the best football content around. Thanks and keep it coming.
There are so many impressive established and up and coming pundits/analysts/entertainers but absolutely none of them come close to the depths of engagement and learning I feel when watching these vids. It's actually astonishing.
I think their brains, usually hard- wired for intense competition, were just not switched on yet. Anthony Gordon said he hadn't played a football match in 4 weeks.
I'm new to watching your videos, Adam.
Fab. Looking forward to more excellent delivery. Thank you!
this should really not be underestimated, the match gap really does affect players!
Gallagher's press is highly underrated
And the rest of his abilities are correctly rated
@@Big_flizz32 They are also underrated honestly. He has an occasional long range goal in him, he had 9 assists too in the season. I think his best position is in a double pivot
Pressing intensly and aggresively: sounds like a Gallagher job to me
Mainoo is absolutely nowhere near international level. Stop buying the hype because of the club he plays for. He’s quite good, that’s it.
They'll do well. It's common for players to be less intense in friendly matches prior to a big tonourment. No one wants to fatigue or get injured prior a tournament. England are a major challenger in this tournament.
That's why they struggle against the big boys
People forget that England hadn't won a single game in six prior to the 2022 World Cup. No win in 7 months, all competitive Nations League games. Two defeats to Hungary.
@@redbloodcell4047what England do of significance in the WC? Pretty sure they went home in the quarters, probably like they will in this tournament too
@@CMJames Some people seem to think that because of England's form over the past few months, we'll crash out of the group stage. I'm just making the point that England have performed better during tournaments and meaningful qualifying games compared to games we don't actually need to win.
This is partly because we prefer to experiment with formations and lineups when we can afford to, i.e. when the games are insignificant. It's really the only time the manager can experiment.
@@redbloodcell4047 France 1998 were poor in their friendlies before the WC. Portugal 2016 almost crashed out in the group stage and hadn't won in 4 before the knockout matches!
I think Deschamps has the right idea for International football, although its the old Marseille style.fromm the esely 90's. Solid disciplined defence and midfield, then let the forwards do what they want, keep it simple.
Yeah but he has Kante, which is pretty much cheating.
@@IncredibleMet Yeah, and English Kante would be nice. Camavinga as well.
I do think if you add Gallagher, Bellingham and Saka, we'll definitely see some improvements. However, the point about synergy does raise some concerns about how many of the players in this squad just aren't used to playing together.
Our team needs to learn what a professional foul is. We are too nice. Brazil kicked the shit out of Bellingham and got away with it so many times, frustrated him and took him off his game.
And as an attacking team, Rice needs to learn what a forward pass is and I’m praying Shaw is fit soon.
Playing fair and not smart definitely cost us in the past. You would hope that in a real match the ref would have punished the Brazil players for those challenges, the refs do tend to let too much go in friendlies.
Even Barca in their prime, if they lost the ball high up the pitch they would just fowl the player, usually before the halfway line so a lot of the time they didn't even get booked for it.
@@jaybe2908 exactly this!! Brazil played the game against us like it was a World Cup knock out game but knew it was a friendly so they could get away with it more.
Maybe trying to have a high pressing system with players unfamiliar with each other is a mistake? When Liverpool signed players under Klopp it could take months for them to learn the press, it's not something you can do half heartedly because of the space left in behind if the opposition play through it.
Southgate's success has mainly been down to simple tactics and well defined roles. I think it's a mistake to try a club-style counterpress unless you're prepared to heavily select specialists e.g play Trent, Elliott, Jones, Quansah along with Kane, Saka, Rice, Gallagher
@@AnchisesSouthgate success has been beating teams worse than his in an unconvincing fashion and not getting the most out of his players
It's not just the press, it's how players, specifically the midfielders, back it up, and also cover attacking movements. The whole system isn't designed just to press, but to press, take on, and then press again. Then create a rest or repeat until you or the opponent breaks. I don't think you can play that game in summer football at all really.
@@sensibility1174 I don't think the pressing system will work in tournament football like Euro or World Cup. First not all player familiar with the pressing system and second you can't press 90mins each game for the tournament. Thats why you don't see team play like Pep or Klopp in national level. Spain is probably thr closest you gonna get but against better team they might not get all the possession.
number one rule taught to under 10s at latest is if your defence is playing a high line there must be pressure on the ball especially in midfield,this was known b4 we even heard of pressing or counterpress or geggenpress or pressing que's it was known as closing down by sprinting and getting stuck in,nothing complicated
Lets be honest, the team were still trying to take a breather between the end of the season and the start of the Euros. They don't want to get injured etc. Lets not panic everyone.
100% agree, even teams like Germany, France and Spain didn't exactly do great in the last 2 games they had before the euros. Why go flat out and potentially injur your players a week before a big tournament. Look what happened with Trent Alexander Arnold the last time. He went home before the damn thing started
Bottom line is, this was a friendly. You cant take anything out of a friendly just before a big tournament. I wouldn't read too much into the Iceland result. Imagine England smashed them 4-0. You'd already be reading "It's coming home". This is a nice refreshing change of pace.
Formation is one thing- but more important is tempo and tempo control it is like we only have 1 gear when the ball is in our half
12th man is tempo and it is never used by england
Exactly. Simple look at the difference at Palace
@@garylantow-humble7611 spot on . they never switch it up .all the top teams do . england just plod
Great analysis. You're spot on about Mainoo. I've been trying to tell people he's a press resistant, box-to-box midfielder (more of an 8) and not the no. 6 destroyer everyone seems to think he is. This game showed it.
He's been good defensively at times for man united, tackles, goal line clearances, but also got some positional learning to do.
You fix it with the way Liverpool do by putting Trent from fullback to midfield. The same city and Liverpool do
I agree with most of that, but it 100% _does_ matter where your defensive line is when your forwards are pressing correctly. Top teams will find a way out of the best press at times, and if your back line is too far back, there's going to be a huge amount of space for their attackers to work in. That's been our problem under Southgate: the absolute ease at which teams are onto our back 4 four within just 2 or 3 passes. The Brazil friendly really showed that. Top teams will kill you if your not nice and compact.
Fastest growing Football Channel and deservedly so. All thanks to great analysis from Adam.
Great explanation. Thanks. Really enjoyed that.
Another huge reason to include Trent is that he has a profound understanding of the pressing/counterpressing game thanks to Klopp.
A lot of this stems from our tactical approach going forward. We're one of the best teams at keeping the ball but with nothing to show for it. We are slow to build up, forcing us to look for tight little flicks to break teams down, which against a well organised defence isn't cutting it... Leads up to pushing the team very high and committing players which when the ball is turned over we're there for the taking. I'd like to see us playing more direct, we have the pace and the talent to create more chances. Look at Iceland, they had minimal possession but looked dangerous every time they had the ball, does anyone remember our 4-0 loss to Hungary? We largely dominated the game but Hungary were killer in their approach.
yes nice one plus the kane dropping deep thing doesnt help
callager has to start for this english team for this tatics to work he has that gegen press ability
As an OH Leuven fan, I'm really happy our Johny boy scored and won against the big England, should've been twice though
Looking at defensive frailties, and getting trent on.
Revert to the 3 at the back. Walker, Stones and Guehi. Experience and pace. Stones xan drift into midfield sometimes
Teent at R/wing back. Tripper or maybe Gorden as Left back.
Middle, Rice and Bellingham
Front 3, Saka, Kanr and Foden
Yes but I’d take out Foden for Gordon and use Trippier as the LWB. Trouble is we just don’t have the time to implement a whole new system mid tournament
Amazing football content! Honestly so impressive
I love this analysis - makes so much sense and the off-the ball examples are on point. Gallagher seems like the most obvious pick to deal with the midfield issues, but I'm confused that Southgate didn't give him and Rice any time together in the friendlies. The whole left side of the pitch is a bit of an enigma going forward too. I tend to think pushing the back four up is the best option for the group games. Plays to Walker's strengths, who isn't the greatest at bombing forward on his own and posing a threat.
Was waiting for this
Personally, I think it's high time England adopt the 1933 Arsenal formation, as seen on Harry Enfield, and play in black and white.
Great commentary - as ever !
Question: how do we get a similar video about the US national team, who is also wildly underperforming their talent level
"yet?" hilarious!
I died too😂😂🙌🏽
copied from the famous phrase :: NO TEAM HAS WON THE LEAGUE FOUR TIMES IN A ROW (((YET))) 🗡️🗡️🫀
Southgate hasn’t changed his formula since 2018… yet
@@user-mw3fp7qf1wclearly you didn’t watch the video then
For the 1st goal, Foden didn't track back on the Iceland no. 10 who releases the ball in the opposition penalty area and then runs through and picks up the ball in space to provide the assist to the goalscorer!!
As a United fan myself, I appreciate your analysis and the evidences you’ve shown to highlight that it ain’t Mainoo’s fault. Coming to the “United Gap” I’ve been seeing this mistake all season and you’re bang on with the reasoning. The forwards at United press at different intensity compared to the midfield and the defence. You can see Hojlund or Bruno over commit while the wingers just hold back and opponents play through the team so easily.
Rice was as much at fault as Mainoo for that goal but to protect Rice they went after Mainoo and blamed him. This is the people in the media with 0 knowledge of football giving an opinion based on personal bias.
Southgate replaces Foden and Palmer with Bellingham and Saka and it's completely fixed. Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and Cole Palmer have been at fault for multiple goals this season because of their lack of positional awareness. (Just think back to Martinelli's winner at the Emirates)
Rice was probably the best player on the pitch that day. I'd argue he was 2nd only to Trent who created a dangerous chance with his 2nd or 3rd touch. It seems to me Southgate wants to play the hard running counter press style of Arsenal with a squad that simply hasn't played together that much. A quick glance at FBref tells me Saka and Odegaard have far more tackles and interceptions in the final 3rd than Foden or Palmer
@@Drawn2B Rice was MOTM, neither were at fault, it was just the media with 0 knowledge of football trying to find someone to blame for the goal so went for Mainoo
@@Drawn2B and yes exactly, Bellingham and Saka are 10x better at pressing than Foden and Palmer. I wouldn't be surprised if England switched back to a mid block in the tournament as Southgate couldn't figure a way of playing a high press
Rice was far from being the best player. Red tinted glasses won't make him that @@Drawn2B
Friendlies really don’t matter.
Iceland going for it because they’re not at the tournament. England desperate not to be injured.
I really think it’s that straightforward.
(And I’m Scottish)
Everyone England plays in friendlies goes for it because it's a shopping window to the Premier League scouts. So yes you're right although it was still a dire performance from England. Hard to see the Euro 96 team losing a game like this.
This was the most cant be assed pre-tounament game ever!! Not bothered. Lets see how far we get this time.
Credit where credit is due, that was a top save Adam!
Great video
That ending haha. 😂
This was a friendly, I expect us to still show up defensive like we did in 2020 where we didn't score too many but barely conceded. OR 2022 where we were the top scoring team in the whole tournament up to the QF.
I’d love an analysis of why our attack was so toothless. Despite a lot of attacking possession we achieved few clear chances and it was hard to see any pattern.
In my opinion, the reason was because England had only 13 shots all game, and only ONE of those was on target, with 68.1% possession all game.
When you have so much possession, and so much of that possession around the 18 yard box, you shoot accurately on sight, double the shots, test the keeper at any level, and if England had done this they would have won this game. What England did was tried to tika taka their way to a goal, the worst possible way to try and score.
Nice video as always. But who's Knosa ?
I honestly hope Southgate and the England squad watch this brilliant analysis.
Gotta agree, think this guy is very watchable and sound analysis/subjects to discuss of the various footie channels doing the rounds.
Sooo the problem is intensity. Not gonna be a problem come kickoff in the WC
Excellent video. A perfect illustration of why Bowen should be in the side ahead of palmer. Far better at the press, far more disciplined and fit, and a better finisher when the chances arrive.
Austria wins crazy friendly games, but hardly ever even qualified
UK will be fine and at least win a few for the fans
I only saw the last 1/2 hour & England showed a lot of individual promise on the ball, often getting past a man, but.. when they were passing they often panicked and the ball went into the air and they lost it again cheaply. Iceland, on the other hand, had a lot more discipline of being calm and playing to feet and keeping the ball slightly longer and not getting flustered. England also took a few half chances that weren’t on and when they moved the ball around the final third they couldn’t force any gaps in the Iceland defence. I think they could have, though, if they had just had a bit more patience and made even a couple more passes and trying to draw someone out of position.
Any chance of a video about Scotland? Very interesting qualifying campaign, winning their first 5 games only conceding 1 goal, a Haaland penalty. Asking as an interesting Welshman
Bro, those were two middle fingers at once -at us. You can't explain yourelf out of it.
WHAT a save
Not working is an understatement, he can’t change his tactics to suit a game plan full stop.
obsession with 'pressing' will kill the game. its all a bit graham taylor for me
Get yourself off to Germany Adam, Southgate could do with a mentor 😊
If you are going to press high, you better have a quick defense and midfielders that can also run back to help out.
If Southgate is insistent on 4 at the back then I'd assume given England's strong offensive players:
FORMATION: 4-1-2-1-2
In effect: Rice is the Holding (DM) midfielder which imho is his best role especially given Bellingham behind the front two should be a combo of box-2-box and AM and creator given his world class abilities. His energy should also add up in defence as well as attack.
In front of Rice, in midfield either TAA + Foden or Gallagher/Foden. Saka up on the left could be subbed with Palmer and Kane the other up front.
Fundamentally with 4 defenders and Rice in front solves the hole. Frees up England to load up on offensive players with Bellingham the pin in the middle balancing. A lot depends which attacking players work well together, press with high energy and contribute to dangerous goal situations more successfully. On paper Saka is a threat but Palmer seems to bring out other players as well as contribute to goal situations on form stronger and may be a better option up front with Kane? Equally Kane is great and should be able to feed other players as well as strike at range or in the box so Foden if he's not working in midfield replace with another player.
Overall it's the balance and maybe Rice being deeper is the key to setting up the balance for England given the flood of offensive options they have while avoiding that massive space in front of the defence? Shame England can't go to 3 at the back with confidence and rotate more in midfield...
Can't believe you gave us the double finger to end the video, absolutely appalled
up yours
Pushing your forward line so far up the pitch, makes it so much harder to retain possession. If you look at the defeats in major competitions, everyone will know it's our inability to retain the ball, that leaves chasing shadows. We inevitably tire and concede momentum, which makes it nigh on impossible to regain.
Netherlands just beat Iceland 4-0. It's hard to ignore that when England may well meet the Netherlands along the way. I haven't heard anyone say that the Netherlands are one of the favourites, so there are still bigger fish to contend with. Hmmmm.
England should have scored 3 or 4 this match despite being awful. Comparing friendlies like that doesn't make much sense.
These are literally the world's best players in numerous positions. There is no excuse to not win.
Not really grasping what sport is are you
There’s even a case for Rice where Guéhi is, Wharton where Rice is. Don’t trust any of our CBs bar Stones.
I’d also rather Foden central so push Bellingham back to Gallagher’s spot and have Gordon on the left for defensive work rate and set piece winning.
@@bens4602I feel like foden can drift into the centre but starts on the left on paper. I feel like the main thing is how much freedom the central players get as we all know foden is best at central and Bellingham is best as a box to box midfielder or false 9
@@rohanpreetsingh4862 correct
Great analysis. Looks from today's training videos that they are working on pressing! If they get it right, which they know how to do, and we get the balance right, we SHOULD be fine... until we meet France or Portugal that is. I would also be wary of Denmark. We have to get a good result against Serbia otherwise we could be in for a tough route through this tournament.
When mums can't afford Iceland there's always lidls😂
I always struggle with players who have been beaten, gently trotting back slowly, even when the ball is just meters away. Is just bizarre to me that they're not getting stuck in, or busting a lung to get back into defensive areas, even in a friendly.
I know u mainly do European football but I’d love a video on how Gregg Berhalter’s strategy (or lack thereof) is ruining the USMNT
No one cares
Have you ever thought of being a manager?
I’ve watched Gareth’s England be so easy to play against for years and it all seems very easy. The ease the opposition get to the edge of the box is mad.
England had the most clean sheets at the last two tournaments
This is nonsense, they conceded two goals at the last Euros. In the semi final and final
@@CMJames not conceding goals is different to conceding ground. If the opposition can get to the edge of your box with 5 simple passes you’ll be in trouble. We labour our way to chances, opposition breeze onto chances.
Lets also not kid ourselves about the opposition we played in these runs. Germany an exception (and Muller missed a sitter) we played France and lost in the WC and lost to an Italian team who then failed to qualify for the WC.
Crystal Palace were crap and negative with Hodgson in charge, get a positive coach and their on fire .I'm worried like everyone else that Southgate just hasn't got the know how to lead England
The midfielders are ambling back for the second goal instead of busting a gut to provide some additional cover.
Excellent knowledge thanks - BUT Why do you say beat off and not beat by?
No need to panic, but we do still have a clown in charge who has no idea what he’s doing tactically beyond “5 at the back makes us hard to beat, let’s do that”.
This is a talented group of lads and he’s not at their level
Why was Saka on the back pages?? What's wrong with the English press?
Hi. Please analyse Portugal. We've been looking good, and it's great to see Ronaldo happy again
People saying pep doenst play with risk cuz he controls possesion and plays high line
When one slip up and your defense is wide open
absolutely zero reason for that line to be that high up the pitch. The drawbacks FAR outweigh the positives. Southgate has this obsession with playing a high line up the pitch in order to hem in any chance of a quick counter but it actually serves the opposition as we saw against Iceland.
If he set the line back further into there own half then there is less chance of a threw-ball over the top or around the back four. Our players don't play together often enough to use an offside trap like you see implemented in club football. We have seen this at multiple tournaments now and it just doesn't work
Agree. England would be better with Rice as deep DM. Trent on the right of midield and Foden or Wharton on the other side with Bellingham in the middle as B-2-B/AM feeding Kane/Saka. Trent/Rice should unleash fast ball up the pitch with Bellingham or Kane hold-up and Saka pace or Foden ability to turn or Palmer up as well.
Objectively, outside looking in as a Singaporean and an Arsenal fan, Southgate just doesn't know how to utilise players. He's gotten off on the best players the country has to offer - which is bloody substantial. He has neither the foundational, formational or tactical nous on how to leverage the strengths and offset the weaknesses of THE BEST ENGLISH PLAYERS ; I'd go as far as to say that this crop of very obvious talent today, would've smashed several shades of shite out of the "Golden Generation" IF PLAYED PROPERLY
Nobody wanted to get injured which is why the pressing was off. They will do better in the tournament but are unlikely to win it. We always get wobbly when in the lead then defend deeper and deeper rather than going for it.
United fans: "at least if England have any tactical failings in the summer it'll make a change from hearing about this enormous gap in midfield constantly" Southgate: "Hold my beer..."
If pressing is the problem then just play Conor Gallagher. He's the best man for the job.
Title should’ve been, Why Gareth Southgate’s England tactics have never worked…
Except for when we were a couple of pens away from winning the last one.
@@garethmorgan3665 he made the wrong tactical change that cost the team the trophy.
12:36 can we get analysis on your starting position there?? 😅
We all knew judging by Southgate's approach recently and squad selection he wants to perhaps stop being as defensive as he usually is. However, we will need to actually score and do so via open play and not set pieces. Quite the predicament he is in. All this talk about our attacking options being the best depth in the world but none of that matters if we're not playing Iran every game. Last Euro we were known for defence, only scoring 2 goals in the group stage and not conceding until the semi final. Southgate obviously knows he needs a different approach this time. He says defence wins tournaments but you need to actually score in order to defend something lol
Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer, Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Saka were easily in the top 10 best attackers season just gone. Knowing England, though, we will likely average a goal a game via penalty looool I hope I am wrong.
Not quite fair with your analysis mate, whatever happened to Rice who was supposed to be the main Defensive midfielder?
That’s not his best role. Even for Arsenal, they have lost crucial games when he plays as the 6. Check out Adam’s video on this.
Ideally, for a defensive mid you want the passing skills of Mainoo, the work rate of Gallagher and the defensive awareness of Stones. This would allow Bellingham and Rice to shine.
@@IncredibleMet Mainoo will replace Rice in the next 3 years don't worry, Mainoo, Bellingham and Wharton will be the perfect midfield for England in the next 10 years
Hahahaha kobbie mainoo won't even be in the squad for the next tournament! He is FAR too slow @@tynn443
@@tynn443I think Mainoo is not the right partner for Rice at the moment. Good ball player but doesn’t do the ugly stuff, is not good at pressing and is pretty slow. With better coaching he may become a Jorginho type player where he is the one that sits more and plays balls into the 8s and forwards. I think Gallagher and Alexander Arnold will be ahead of him in the pecking order. Wharton looks a great prospect and is probably in the squad to cover Rice, but I would love to them play together. You maybe right about Wharton and Mainoo in the future, but I think it will come down to how well they are coached at their respective clubs.
England at tournaments is too often same old, same old. Southgate’s crab like slow build up allied to a lack of cohesion means that as soon as they meet a decent team they lose.
England is still coming to terms with Rest Defence. The squad choices added speed to the backline and flexibility for when the press doesn't work, they'll get it done. Kobbie won't start, a more athletic Gallagher will support Rice and sure it up. Think the 3 Lions might have a chance.
Gonna do a vid on the scottish team?
This is the issue with 4-2-3-1. If we played 4-1-3-1-1 or 4-1-3-2 it wouldnt be an issue because you keep the DCM permanently deeper.
I dont think they were in sync in that match
I saw foden put balls in behind for gordon but he wasnt making the run
Theyre not used to each other or their not just switched on cuz theyve gone a bit without playing
When the competition begins and eveyone is in the mood they'll get in the groove
Fodens game was off as well
His first touch was off
That second chance kind of is to do with the defensive line though isn't it? They played him on.
5:40 what is it they say? Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. If the press isn’t reliably on it a week before the tournament then it’s probably not fit for purpose.
Because he hasn't got a clue and been carried by a golden generation of talent?
As a Dutchman, I am a big Southgate fan. With him at the helm, there's no chance for the English to win any titles :)
Correction, last preparation game.
"What England must, absolutely, desperately get right before the Euros."
Cutting it a bit fine it starts next week, I thought that was what the last few years was about?
I think you're mistaken!!.
To assume Southgate has tactics is a bit of a stretch
(yet) he’s been at it for, what, eight years?
To my mind this is a clarion call for Gallagher to be starting, as the commentator finally said.
A press only works if you press as a unit.
We need a new vid on the signings ETH should make now that he’s staying
the main problem is the profiles in the defensive personnel. Walker is best playing effectively as a third centre half to maximise his recovery pace. Trippier on the opposite flank mitigates his key strength which is ball progressing because all his angles are wonky. Between these two and the abundance of wingers who like to play in the half space theres a real width problem going forward and spacing issues when defending.
Guardiola and Arteta have the best two teams in the league this season set up with a 3-2 in defence. Covers the internal channels more effectively and would have been better placed to block these through balls that got Iceland joy. Southgate should just set the team up the same way, although you can only do so much when you've got no left footed left back
Yeah I hate that we don't ever try the 3241 hybrid system when all the players know how to play those roles and it works so well to have that block of 5 players narrow at the back for any counter attacks.
Trippier is on his last legs this season and my hot take is that if we don't have a fit LB we may as well be playing Trent as an inverted LB. Set him up with Rice in front of Gomez, Stones and Walker as a back 3 when we have the ball, so everyone is in a position where they excel at club level when we're attacking.
We would get that Rice/Jude/Foden midfield and the best of both Trent and Walker. If we're really under the cosh we can go 442 and protect that weaker left side.
I would have kept Grealish around specifically because he knows the LW role in that system better than anyone else, even if he isn't playing as much this season 🤷♂️