Cricket legend, Ian Botham, has controversially questioned on Twitter whether England manager, Gareth Southgate, has a ‘problem’ with Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish.
The Aston Villa playmaker started only one game at Euro 2020, as England were cruelly beaten on penalties by Italy in the final at Wembley last night.
Many felt that the Villa man, who only came on after extra-time yesterday, was under-used during the tournament despite his expert ball-carrying and creative talents.
Even though England took a very early lead against Italy, the game, especially in the second half was crying out for his talents.
But Southgate waited until extra time to give him a crack, and unsurprisingly enough, England played their best when he was on the pitch.
This is what former England all-rounder, Botham, had to say about Grealish and Southgate.
From an attacking sense, England were at their best during the first half of their group stage win against the Czech Republic, after an hour against Germany in the knockout stages, against Ukraine and in the second half of extra time against Italy.
Surprise, surprise, apart from the Ukraine match, who were the worse team to progress through to the knockout stages, Grealish was on the pitch every single time.
There’s no doubt that he should have earned more minutes, but unfortunately, there is this myth and narrative that he cannot be trusted or is not strong enough without the ball.
That’s how English talent of high, high quality gets poured down the drain!
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