A thought occurred to me whilst watching Lee Carsley’s England team play the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League group game last night.
The ball had been passed back to Harry Maguire, who immediately came under pressure as he was swarmed by the Irish pressing game. His passing lanes were cut off, leaving him with the options to either hoof it up the pitch or dribble the ball forward into midfield himself.
In the end, the Manchester United defender chose neither, opting instead to pass it back to the goalkeeper for a reset. It wasn’t a particularly pivotal or exceptional moment, but I found myself wondering how long it will be until Max Kilman gets a chance with England.
The Three Lions have some talented central defenders, and once again, I was impressed by Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guéhi, who oozes quality. Maguire, on the other hand, was as average for England as he is for his club side.
While Maguire started the season for the Red Devils, he was omitted from the starting line-up for Manchester United’s last game against Liverpool. In effect, Maguire is a player in decline, whose best days are behind him. I’m not suggesting for a moment that he is past it, but it’s unlikely he will ever recapture the form that prompted Manchester United to pay £80 million for his services.
Maguire will struggle for game time at Manchester United
Kilman offers tempting alternitive
Kilman, on the other hand, is very much a player on the rise. While West Ham’s early season results have been mixed, the former Wolves captain has been exceptional for the Hammers. Nobody truly knows how long Carsley will remain in the England hot seat, given the precarious nature of the position. But if he truly wants to move away from Gareth Southgate’s stamp on the team, I suspect he will need to ditch Maguire.
The defender became synonymous with the former England manager’s tendency to pick players who were out of form and, in Maguire’s case, not even playing. So, when the inevitable happens and one of Gareth’s former favorites is jettisoned from the team, Carsley could do a lot worse than look to Kilman to fill the role.
I was thinking this myself whilst watching the game. Hopefully he gets his chance soon.
Unfortunately Lee Carsley is just a Gareth Southgate replacement. New manager but same business. We can look forward to another ten years of same old same old. Players like Max Kilman won’t get a look-in. Under 21s who came from U19s who came from the FA academies are the only players who fit the system and selection criteria. Yes there will be the occasional Vardy or Toney, Given some cameo appearances and the chance to show how they don’t fit into the ‘England Way’.
A great shame as form and quality players never get their moment as internationals. Mark Noble surely deserved a cap or two. Others have gone to play for Jamaica or even Ireland. Lee Carsley himself had to plump for Ireland because he wasn’t a Lion Cub.
COYI
You talk a load of rubbish