Southgate's Crazy Kalvin Phillips Excuse

In a strange statement after the game, England coach Gareth Southgate has transformed further into David Moyes with a surprising confession.

Southgate has admitted that England is finding it difficult to find a suitable replacement for Kalvin Phillips, who hasn't played for the team in seven months. He mentioned that Trent Alexander-Arnold is being tested out as a potential solution to the problem left by Phillips, which is still apparent two matches into Euro 2024.

This new information was discovered after England's unimpressive 1-1 tie with Denmark. Alexander-Arnold was once again replaced by Conor Gallagher, even though he had spent a year learning how to play in the midfield under Southgate.

When questioned about Alexander-Arnold, Southgate stated: "He has had some instances where he has shown what we expected of him. We are aware that it is a trial, and we do not have a suitable substitute for Kalvin Phillips, but we are exploring various options, and currently, we are not performing as smoothly as we would prefer, that is certain."

The England manager's justification seems weak and confusing to West Ham supporters. They remember all too well how poorly Kalvin Phillips performed while on loan with their team. It was a risky move for David Moyes to rely heavily on Phillips during the European campaign, almost careless in its approach.

Currently, Southgate seems to be trying to figure out how his team can perform well without Phillips, even though he has had a year and a half to adapt to his absence. It is surprising that a coach with such talented midfielders on his team cannot create a successful lineup without a player who wasn't able to make it at West Ham or Manchester City.