Sport

Gareth Southgate explains notable England squad exclusions and the ‘one gamble’ he had to take

Only time will tell if he's got it right.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 7th June 2024

Gareth Southgate officially named his squad for Euro 2024 on Thursday afternoon and there were some notable names left out, with the England manager explaining his reasons and why he had to take a ‘gamble’ on one player.

Releasing the final 26-man team earlier than planned after premature reports of Harry Maguire and Jack Grealish being cut proved to be true, the Manchester duo were among a number of key exclusions along with Marcus Rashford, James Maddison, Jadon Sancho and others.

Southgate told BBC Radio 5 Live that the early release of the squad was because he simply “didn’t want to keep the players waiting until Friday”, adding it “would have been a mess” and “wouldn’t have been fair” on those not

Speaking in a press conference immediately after the announcement, the 53-year-old praised all of the players involved for taking the news “really respectfully” and went on to detail why some of the bigger names, in particular, weren’t retained.

While the decision to leave Maguire out was much simpler given his ongoing injury issues, having suffered with a recurring calf problem for months, the Three Lions boss went on to admit that it was tough to leave out players and that deliberations amongst his staff have been happening for weeks.

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“Of course, players believe they should be in, and that’s why they are top players”, said Southgate. “They have self-belief and that mindset.

“But the fact is we have players who have been playing extremely well all season in the league, and we just feel other players have had stronger seasons, particularly in the last six months or so.” The likes of Cole Palmer, Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze and Kobbie Mainoo have all shone over the past year and managed to break into the national team.

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Detailing that Jarell Quansah has been put on standby despite being dropped from the final England squad given the depleted numbers in defence, he did confess that taking Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw was the “one gamble” he felt comfortable taking, assuring that he’s hitting fitness goals.

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The reaction to the final Euros squad has been pretty mixed, with many criticising him for leaving out potential game-changers like Grealish and also for using up two places on a pair of backup strikers in Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney despite it being unlikely either will play.

However, as many have noted online, Southgate has long been bemoaned for picking players based on loyalty rather than form and despite seemingly having gone the other way this time, he is still facing criticism from the fans for finally taking that approach.

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What about you – do you agree with the England squad Southgate has picked for Euro 2024?

You can watch his press conference along with the captain for the Iceland game, Declan Rice, in full down below:

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Featured Images — England/Sky Sports

Sport

Manchester city centre’s first indoor padel club set to open later this year

Danny Jones Danny Jones indoor padel club opening in manchester city centre

The first fully indoor padel club is coming to Manchester later this year and is set to open just a 10-minute walk from Victoria Station for anyone looking to come into town for a game.

Seemingly one of the biggest crazes on the planet at the minute, while this is by no means the first padel facility to open in Greater Manchester, it is set to be the only place where you’ll be able to play the increasingly popular tennis-lite sport inside anywhere in the city centre.

With an existing site down the road in Alderely Park, Macclesfield, Pure Padel has already grown a loyal following since opening back in October 2023, but by bringing their expertise nice and central, their super accessible ‘pay to play’ approach is sure to take off even more.

You can see the renders of what the space is set to look down below:

pure padel manchester city centre
Credit: Pure Padel

As you can see, the state-of-the-art setup will include six indoor panoramic padel courts and a mezzanine viewing platform to watch all the action.

But there’s much more to this place than just playing surfaces.

Set to include a pro-padel shop, a bistro-style café and bar; fully equipped changing rooms with showers, plus the comfortable seating are upstair on the mezz, there’s a bit of everything going on here.

Further still, Pure Padel has ambitious plans to build another 30 padel clubs in the next five years, with eight currently in planning and a further 15 in the pipeline, with further expansion across their home county of Cheshire. 

Plus, there’ll be free onsite parking and WiFi at available to customers at this latest location – sounds simple but it’s always a nice bonus.

places to play padel in manchester city centre
book pure padel manchester
Credit: Supplied

Set up by two experienced padel coaches – originally from mainland Europe where the game first took off – you can also rest easy in knowing that you’re getting the very experience of the sport you could hope for when Pure Padel lands in Manchester city centre.

Co-founder and head of commercial operations, Sammy Arora, said: “Padel has taken the UK by storm – and the North West is slowly becoming a padel hub after leaders London and Bristol who set the scene…

“We hope bringing indoor padel to Manchester will help make it even more accessible to those living and working closeby. Currently, north Manchester residents are travelling as far as Huddersfield, so we know there’s demand for more padel courts in the city centre that are reachable by car and public transport.

“Choosing a site so close to Victoria station is a real asset – we hope it’ll help bring players into the city centre who will go on to spend on hospitality and shopping to further support the local economy.”

where to buy padel rackets in manchester?
You’ll even be able to gear up and relax in here.

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Sammy went on to add: “Manchester’s cold and wet climate (fair point) makes our indoor proposition even more attractive to players who are looking to keep up padel year round. Unpredictable weather can really impact the game, so a club away from the elements ensures the best playing experience.”

Having got hooked on the sport back in Milan, he added: “It’s fantastic to see such a broad mix of people picking it up, from those who no longer play fast paced racket sports like squash and tennis, or those wishing to step away from work for exercise and to socialise.”

Scheduled to open this August, you’ll be able to book courts simply through Playtomic from 7am right through to 10pm, with the easy to use app also enabling first timers or solo players to find and play with others of a similar level and matches them accordingly for a fun and fair game.

No member fees either, just plain old fun and the ability to play as much or as little as you want without the constraints of the traditional sports club model. See you on the court some time soon!

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Pure Padel (supplied)

Sport

Calls for Southgate to start Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer grow following England’s lacklustre second game

Danny Jones Danny Jones Calls for Southgate to start Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer for England grow at Euro 2024

The calls for Gareth Southgate to start Manchester-born duo Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer in the next Euros game are growing after England’s lacklustre second game against Denmark.

The Three Lions have four points on the board, which should be enough for them to advance into the knockout stages of the competition, but it’s fair to say that the 1-0 and 1-1 scorelines have summed up a somewhat underwhelming start to their Euro 2024 campaign.

Most of the frustration surrounding England‘s opening fixtures has been the lack of attacking intent from the team as well control in the middle of the park, with Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold being played there due to his passing range.

As a result, lots of fans are already questioning why the Southgate is yet to start Stockport-born Kobbie Mainoo – Man United’s breakthrough midfielder from this season – as the national team boss looks to find the right balance in midfield, with many already declaring the Trent ‘experiment’ a failure.

As you can see, lots of pundits and supporters alike believe Mainoo could be the solution to why England don’t look as commanding in the midfielder, especially given numerous standout appearances in his debut campaign – not least his man-of-the-match performance in United’s FA Cup win over Man City.

The consensus seems to be that Southgate is cautious of throwing the tournament debutant into the mix, despite the Stopfordian having clearly shown his maturity even at the young age of 19.

The same goes for Cole Palmer, as there seems to be just as many fans crying out for the inclusion of the attacking midfielder from Wythenshawe, who picked up the Premier League’s Young Player of the Season award and who boasted the goal contributions (33) of any player in the division for 2023/24.

Commentator Arlo White simply posted, “Get Mainoo and Palmer on!!”, while former City and England striker Daniel Sturridge added: “I’m genuinely shocked we haven’t seen Cole Palmer grace the field yet.”

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With so many echoing the same sentiment, you have to start wondering when not if, with plenty of others also backing Conor Gallagher to come into midfield as Southgate chose to sub him on against the Danes.

That being said, we have seen this fractious relationship between the fans, the manager and his often cautious squad selections plenty of times before, with the 53-year-old refusing to use Jack Grealish early enough at the last Euros.

Only time will tell if Southgate will listen to the calls to bring Mainoo and Palmer into the side but one thing’s for sure, England need an injection of new energy or something if they are to spring into life and turn into the best version of themselves we’ve seen previously.

You don’t get too long to fine-tune your squad on the big stage and they need to get a rhythm going if they want to go far as we know they can.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Kobbie Mainoo (via IG)/soccer.ru (via Wiki Commons)/Cole Palmer (via IG)

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