England manager Sam Allardyce in a fix ahead of first game in charge
Sam Allardyce was announced as England manager after Roy Hodgson and his men failed to make an impact during Euro 2016. He is set to take charge of his first competitive game against Slovakia on September 4 – the match will be England’s first FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifier.
The former Sunderland manager will announce his squad over the weekend but Big Sam is in a fix over who to include.
The dynamics of the Premier League have shifted since the conclusion of the European Championship. Some members of the 23 man squad who went to France for the tournament find themselves unsure of their future with their clubs and the national team.
In a recent interview, Allardyce expressed his doubts about including players who had lost their places in the first team after the arrival of new managers and regimes.
The manager was present for all games during the opening weekend of the Premier League that had a bearing on the national team. What he saw could not have been reassuring. First choice goalkeeper for England, Joe Hart has been relegated to the bench by new Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and Allardyce is hesitant to name a keeper who doesn’t get enough minutes.
Things would have been fine if Everton had continued pursuing Hart but their interest seems to have died down and even if he is included in the squad, he might not be the first choice.
Marcus Rashford, the teenager from Manchester United who broke into the senior national team after making just 18 appearances for his club could be left out of the squad too. The young striker has not seen any action on the pitch since the appointment of Jose Mourinho as manager.
Allardyce is likely to relegate him to the U-21 national side. Even though he came on as a substitute in the Euros and always made a positive impact, lack of regular game time at present is what concerns the English manager more.
Allardyce even spoke about the possibility of asking Chelsea captain John Terry to come out of retirement. England lacks a strong partnership at the back and Terry’s form for Chelsea has been impressive enough for the manager to consider having a conversation with him.
Chris Smalling who was one-half of the centre-back pair for England has also not played for Manchester United yet this season after the arrival of Eric Bailly. John Stones who was an unused substitute during the Euros has been impressive under Guardiola so far at City.
Big Sam said, “this job... is the pinnacle of my career” and as such wants to be successful with the men he has right now and not dwell on potential. “I don't want potential. I want ‘the thing’. I want right now. Potential is great for the future, but I want it now...”