There is no better seat at a major tournament than one sat directly next to an underperforming England team, protected on all four sides from the slings and arrows. It is usually a type: creative, technical midfielder, the solution to a stodgy attack; a young player, bright-eyed and fresh-faced; perceived X-factor.
There must always be one designated “clamour” player, the new national obsession who would absolutely, definitely, undoubtedly make everything better. This is subliminal emotional self-preservation, because one simple answer is easier to process than multitudinal layered tweaks. Jadon Sancho in 2021, Jack Grealish in 2022, Cole Palmer in 2024.
If Palmer in 2024 fits the brief more than most have, this is usually based upon what we know. Memories flicker back to the qualifying campaigns or glamour friendlies, when our chosen one changed the game or made any of the mess we’re now in possible.
Palmer is the opposite. England’s coaches have long been aware of the talent, Palmer picked for three different age-group teams and embedded within the St George’s Park system before starring in the Under-21s European Championship win last summer, but rarely before has a player bolted so far from the edge of England’s set-up to being a certain inclusion in a major tournament squad so quickly.
The rise since last August has been ludicrous by any reasonable standard. Before the start of 2023-24, Palmer had started three Premier League matches and two of those were dead rubbers after Manchester City had confirmed a title win. Our impression of him was blurry and half-formed, based on those fleeting glimpses of prodigious control that can prove misleading.
The move to Chelsea was widely mocked, remember, evidence of an unhinged club spending unhinged money on the final day of the transfer window just because they could, like the questionable sartorial choices you made in post-Christmas sale with newly acquired vouchers.
Palmer became the second most expensive uncapped Englishman in history after one competitive Premier League start. This wasn’t normal.
Nothing has been normal since either. In his first full domestic season, Palmer was the second highest Premier League goalscorer and provided the second most assists. Only two English players created more chances: Bukayo Saka and Morgan Gibbs-White. Chelsea were still a maelstrom; that prediction still held. But Palmer rose above our adage about young players needing positive working environments. He became their leader.
That is what now fuels the urge that Palmer can make a difference now. When a young sportsperson hits the ground running, we urge for infinite liberty: “just let them play” syndrome. Any roadblock risks stemming the progress and breaking the magic spell.
“You can see on social media what fans think,” Palmer said. “There’s loads of different teams people want to play, so it’s normal. It’s nice to see [people clamouring for me] but it’s not up to them, is it?
“Last season went a lot better than I expected. Obviously I believed what I could do anyway, but I didn’t think I would go there and have that sort of impact that fast.
“Personally I think [I’m ready to start] but it’s not up to me.”
With Palmer and England, it is an appealing prospect because magic is the ingredient that this campaign has so obviously lacked.
It does not matter that Palmer or Anthony Gordon may be inconsistent and unpredictable because England have been drowning in their own predictability. We are not asking nor expecting any replacement to be perfect. We are demanding that we cannot predict every pattern of attacking play and where it will fall down.
But it’s not that simple. Palmer’s problem is one of position. If the suggestion is that Southgate is crowbarring players into roles, it’s instructive that Palmer insisted that his best position is wide right (he studied Riyad Mahrez, watching YouTube compilation videos before matches).
To start in this team, then, you must drop Saka, England’s Player of the Year in each of the last two seasons. Everybody’s preferred England XI has 13 or 14 players with nobody getting dropped.
It may not happen for Palmer in Germany as a result. This is not a slight on anyone: him, Southgate, those ahead of him in the queue. It is merely a question of timing and circumstance, of England being blessed in certain areas and a team curated when he was barely even a Premier League player.
Still, he has time on his side and he is getting used to major tournament disappointment. Palmer’s first England memory is of Frank Lampard’s ghost goal against Germany in 2010. His first World Cup was in Brazil, when he went to stay with his grandfather who lives there, and by the time he had arrived England had already been eliminated from the group stage. Things can only get better from there.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/IQOC6oj
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