Micah Richards criticized England manager Gareth Southgate for abusing Phil Foden in his team’s unconvincing 1-0 draw against Serbia on Sunday night.
England picked up three valuable points thanks to Jude Bellingham’s 13th-minute header, but struggled to create clear-cut chances, with Foden unable to make an impact from the left flank.
Richards was frustrated to see that Foden, who was named Premier League player of the year last month after winning the title with Manchester City, was not operating in a central area.
He is convinced Southgate must move Foden into the No. 10 role for England’s next match against Denmark, even if it means moving Bellingham out of his favored position.
Richards, opening up about his frustrations, said The rest is football. Podcast: ‘Phillip Foden. Phillip fucking Foden. I’m not going to say bad words because he doesn’t deserve it. What can you do? I told you it doesn’t work.
Phil Foden failed to make an impact in England’s 1-0 win against Serbia on Sunday
Jude Bellingham scored the only goal of the game to cap an excellent performance.
Micah Richards is convinced that Foden should be moved to the No. 10 position and that Bellingham should drop deeper in the future.
Richards accused Gareth Southgate of leaving Foden out of position for England
“It works for Manchester City if they play on the right, on the left or as the number 10 because of the rotation.
You already know how Pep places his sides. There will be movement, rotation, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Grealish, Doku, whatever alongside Haaland up front. I just think with England there’s not enough of that and sometimes he gets isolated.
‘Cesc (Fábregas) and I had a very good debate afterwards. He said he was protecting (Foden), he wasn’t protecting Foden, but it’s frustrating. I felt sorry for him. With Foden, it is very disheartening to see a player of that quality out of position.
“Cesc was right, he had the ball, he was moving towards the number 10 role, but he still had to press down the left and when he received the ball, it was almost as if he was a little lethargic. We are talking about a player of the ability from Phil Foden, who is better at receiving the ball on the turn.
“So he has to play at number 10, put (Jude) Bellingham further back next to (Declan) Rice and play Foden at number 10. I said against Iceland, he didn’t have the best of games at number 10, but “Other players have had opportunities to play in their favorite positions and if we persist in it, it can have an impact on this team.”
Richards’ opinion is likely to spark much debate given that Bellingham was widely seen as England’s best player against Serbia.
Southgate is still trying to work out how to get the best out of Foden when playing in the same team as Bellingham.
Richards wants Bellingham to take on a deeper midfield role alongside Declan Rice to accommodate Foden
The Real Madrid midfielder was the protagonist of the first half and his goal put the finishing touch to a great performance.
Richards is convinced Foden and Bellingham can play together in a midfield three, but Southgate has been reluctant to try them together alongside Declan Rice.
England have previously struggled to fit all their world-class midfielders into the same team, most notably when Sven-Goran Eriksson had Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes at his disposal at Euro 2004.
The Swede opted to play all three, but Scholes was moved to the left flank and retired from international football after the tournament following a disappointing campaign.
Reflecting on Southgate’s current dilemma, Gary Lineker admitted he had some sympathy for Foden but hinted that he expects more from the City star no matter what position he plays.
He also wondered if Southgate could try to improve things against Denmark by bringing in a more natural left winger like Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon.
Gary Lineker has some sympathy for Foden but wants to see more of him
He thinks Anthony Gordon could be pushing to start on the left wing
“I think Phil Foden was caught between a rock and a hard place in the sense that he starts in that position, he’s been told he can come in, but coming in from a wide position is different to starting in the center and being able to go in any direction.” Lineker said.
“At the same time, you think, ‘Come on Phil, you’re really talented, you can figure things out,’ but if you feel uncomfortable…
“It will be interesting to see how Gareth handles that situation on the left side because obviously you have a player who can play on the left side like Gordon.”
