Tom Carroll

[richardanthonyc]

Carroll is a brilliant little player. Will never get the praise he deserves as he does all the basics so well you hardly notice it. Kind of like the way England ignored Carrick for years, Carroll is that kind of player

 

[Coys300]

Yes, some really good short range passing, Kane's first was a rebound from Carroll hitting post.

Wasn't it Winks alongside Stambouli in the first half, with Carroll as 10? Seemed to me that way at least.

 

[Cochise]

Yeah Carroll was at #10 with Winks deep alongside Stambouli. I expected to see Carroll get some time back there, but Winks stayed there whilst Carroll got subbed.

Not a bad thing mind. I still think his best position is further up the pitch. Maybe if we went for some wingless formation with two strikers he could play at the tip of a diamond or on one of the flanks, but imo competition is fierce for CM.

 

[Hully]

Will be interesting to see how well he links up with Kane in the U21 tournament, they looked good in the qualifiers.

 

[Cochise]

I expect to see him back in his deeper role for the U21's as Southgate has favoured him there during the qualification campaign albeit in a 433 with a bit more of a licence to roam. He's been starting in a 3 with Forster-Caskey and Hughes with Hughes being the one closer to Kane. Loftus-Cheek has been included in the squad though and could end up nicking one of those spots mind.

 

[Yoof]

I expect to see him back in his deeper role for the U21's as Southgate has favoured him there during the qualification campaign albeit in a 433 with a bit more of a licence to roam. He's been starting in a 3 with Forster-Caskey and Hughes with Hughes being the one closer to Kane. Loftus-Cheek has been included in the squad though and could end up nicking one of those spots mind.

Which would be terribly undeserving, it's more likely he's cut from the squad when it's reduced to 23 than making the starting 11 though. Southgate likes Forster-Caskey, Carroll, Hughes and Ward-Prowse so it'll be interesting to see who makes way. I don't expect Pritchard to start which is a bit annoying and I have a bad feeling he'll pick Chambers over Dier.

 

[Cochise]

I'd agree it's a tad undeserving that he's in the squad, but if he stays then it should be ahead of someone like Chalobah

 

[Mumorn]

what makes loftus cheek undeserved? he's tore it up for chelsea youth and tore it up for england u19s. What else is he meant to do?

 

[LutonSpurs]

He has a lot of skill. Loves to try a pass. Left footed. Hard to say if he has the potential to really become a top player but I would defo not write him off yet. He has something.

 

[Cochise]

what makes loftus cheek undeserved? he's tore it up for chelsea youth and tore it up for england u19s. What else is he meant to do?

In the sense that he hasn't been with the squad before nor contributed to the qualification campaign. For him to waltz into the starting lineup would be undeserving.

 

[Yoof]

In the sense that he hasn't been with the squad before nor contributed to the qualification campaign. For him to waltz into the starting lineup would be undeserving.

Plus I don't agree with a player that has so little 1st team experience getting called up, regardless of whether they've "torn it up" for the u19s.

 

[Spaceman]

what makes loftus cheek undeserved? he's tore it up for chelsea youth and tore it up for england u19s. What else is he meant to do?

tore what up exactly? for 2 years running he was part of the u19 team that couldnt even qualify for a tournament

 

[Mumorn]

tore what up exactly? for 2 years running he was part of the u19 team that couldnt even qualify for a tournament

His performances have been more than good enough. The fact he is one the most highly rated midfielders of his generation is no surprise he's in there.

I imagine if Onomah had been called up (if circumstances were similar) this wouldn't even be discussed.

 

[Yoof]

I doubt there are any other players going to the u21 tournament with as little 1st team experience as what Loftus-Cheek has. I wouldn't expect Alli to be called up for it either but at the same age he has 88 senior appearances(as well as 24 goals) under his belt compared to Loftus-Cheek's four. As I said though, I imagine this is just for the coaches to get a look at him for the future before they cut him from the squad along with Woodrow, Afobe and maybe Targett or Moore.

 

[Maltese Falcon]

Not a great way to start his European Championship... had a stinker apparently

 

[Yiddo]

Not a great way to start his European Championship... had a stinker apparently

James Ward Prowse was worse, looked uncomfortable on the ball and gave it away in dangerous positions on a number of occasions.

 

[Spur of the moment]

Not a great way to start his European Championship... had a stinker apparently

Stinker? No way you could call it that, in fact for me it was at the very least an okay performance, not brilliant but not terrible either. I specifically watched him, looking out for the things others on here have criticised him for, one of which is a tendency to pass backwards, and noticed most of his passes were in fact instant, short, intelligent and forward. He did a lot of grafting but the problem was most of the time like the rest of the team he just couldn't get close enough to the nifty little Portugusese to dispossess them. That was particularly noticeable in the build-up to their decisive goal.

 

[Maltese Falcon]

Stinker? No way you could call it that, in fact for me it was at the very least an okay performance, not brilliant but not terrible either. I specifically watched him, looking out for the things others on here have criticised him for, one of which is a tendency to pass backwards, and noticed most of his passes were in fact instant, short, intelligent and forward. He did a lot of grafting but the problem was most of the time like the rest of the team he just couldn't get close enough to the nifty little Portugusese to dispossess them. That was particularly noticeable in the build-up to their decisive goal.

Relied on media reports - hence the "apparently"

Good to hear that; small mercies at least...

 

[Cochise]

Southgate split up the midfield trio which has served him well. Carroll was however poor defensively not because he couldn't get close to Silva (which was JWP and Chalobah's job and they were both caught wrong side of him far too often), but because he literally bounced off of Carvalho every time he tried to put in a tackle. His passing can be backwards quite often but that's because he is playing deeper and bouncing passes back and forth with the back four.

 

[DubaiSpur]

Soooo...the window's closed and he still appears to be here. He's only got a year left on his contract, so he can negotiate a pre-contract with other teams in January when he'll only have six months left. Erm...what do we plan to do with him, exactly?